�鶹��

Available for over a year

In the last episode of the current series of The Crown, amid a growing challenge to Margaret Thatcher’s power and position the Queen says, “I am merely asking the question, whether it is right to exercise power simply because it is yours to use. Power is nothing without authority”. Thatcher replies, “The difference is you have power in doing nothing. I will have nothing”. This dialogue between these two powerful women though fictional, highlights the heavy weight of the interpretation of power, as the shifting sands beneath it are ever changing. It raises questions about when and how to act and when to listen to. For power holds within its definition competing forces. The word power means ‘to be able to’ but power is much more than being able, it is as the quote suggests, about exerting force or action, while also developing authority and influence. Given these complexities, it is no wonder that there is a ferocious appetite to understand the different interpretations of power and how they relate to leadership and success. I recently did an interview with Cardinal Tagle on wise leadership. We reflected on Nelson Mandela’s quote, in which he equated a great leader with a Shepherd. Mandela said, “He stays behind the flock, letting the nimblest go out ahead, whereupon the others follow not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind”. To lead wisely, means to recognise that one does not have all the power and that power can be modelled in different ways, despite powers seductive reinforcement of one’s ego. Wise leadership involves a collective group of people with different gifts and skills, in which different people at different times come forward to steer the group in the best direction. The distribution of the coronavirus vaccination will be our next call on this kind of collective distribution of power. Mandela’s metaphor also hints at the words Jesus used to describe himself as the good shepherd, whose value and worth lie in the well-being and care of the sheep, particularly the most vulnerable. This particular vision is never lost and neither waivers, nor falters. It points to an interpretation of the power of love rather than the love of power and that a quieter form of influencing people, can be far more effective. As I said, power is complicated, it is therefore wise to examine where our own interpretations of power come from and whether these are healthy models which are beneficial for all?