The appearances of power

However benevolent or sociable some people can be, they can exert power over others in subtle and normative ways. Here is a short list of examples:

  • "Offering" to create meeting agendas
  • Delivering opinions in a serious, authoritative tone of voice or body language
  • Dominating converations, cutting people off and interrupting
  • Hogging a shared screen or white board
  • Controlling the converation with slides
  • Dismissing a question or emerging converation as "out of scope" or off agenda
  • Using questions to regain attention and control 

Fortunately, everyone else in the group can take preemptive and counter initiatives to make the interactions more engaging, power sharing, respectful and inclusive.