“How do you handle imbalances of positional power on a team?”
Not surprisingly, the concerns about positional power in team composition tend to stem from situations where an individual is more than just a team member. Organizationally, they are in a more powerful position and have decision-making authority or recognized influence over the career trajectory of one or more individuals also participating on the team. Examples are many and have included their influence over authorship order, tenure, or dissertation defense. Another concern that surfaces regularly it that the person who has greater positional power seems to be the one whose views figure prominently in the decision-making process, with others feeling like theirs have been drowned out.
When a team member who has less positional power is uncomfortable, hesitates to speak up, contribute, or ask for what they need because they are fearful of potential repercussions and/or the negative downstream consequences for their professional development, that is a huge loss to the team.
Given we all mature through systems designed to control behavior through reward and punishment, that is organizational and societal norms enacted by those in positional power, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised it can manifest itself in our research teams as well. Whether explicit or not, there are many systems around us where the individual with positional power had the privlidge of determining what is right and what is wrong and that determination impacts those in lesser positions who are rewarded or punished. A simple example is how the majority of our schools and universities are designed. The simple act of giving grades is based in reward and punishment as is the faculty ranking system at performance review time at many universities.
It is only after reading about nonviolent communication * championed by Marshall B Rosenberg that I have come to see how ingrained this approach has been in my life and the degree to which I viewed it as a normal part of life. I am now shifting how I see it, and especially how I view it in the context of healthy team functioning.
Coming back to research teams, I guess it should not come as a surprise that people more junior in their careers may feel unsafe and are weary of the positional power supervisors, team leads, or promotions committee members have over them and their careers. This perceived lack of safety likely stems from observations, stories, and/or experiences of inappropriate use of positional power. That is, the inappropriate, or unethical, use of rewards or punishments as an incentive to influence outcomes and/or control other’s behavior. The person in power believes they are justified in judging and evaluating others and whether the individual they are evaluating is right or wrong, depends entirely on the viewpoint of the one with the power. In a research collaboration an inappropriate us of positional power creates an unhealthy team dynamic because anyone working in an environment where they feel like they are repeatedly subjected to some form of punishment will act out of a position of threat, not safety.
So, how can teams with a positional power imbalance ensure the power at the table is used ethically? There are a few things teams can do:
· First, talk explicitly about the power at the table. Take time to go around the table and get to know who is there, what their roles/responsibilities are in the organization, and whether there are imbalances, and if so, list out what they are.
· Talk explicitly about the how and where the imbalances could play out in different scenarios and about how that could negatively impact how the team operates if not managed effectively.
· Clearly articulate how those with greater positional power and/or more seniority will mentor, coach, support, or champion their junior colleagues. What explicitly will be done to lift others up?
· For the individuals who have positional power, what can they do with it in the context of the team effort? And what is out of scope?
· Develop shared agreements for how team members will deliver positive and constructive feedback with the goal of supporting each other’s career growth and development. Giving feedback (of all kinds) is how the team will learn together and improve over time.
· And finally, put a safety switch in place for the team. If anyone suspects that another team member has inappropriately used their power, in any situation, there needs to be a safe way to raise this with the team, engage in dialogue about it, and resolve it.
When team members who have positional power use it in ways that help support the research collaboration, they are operating from a collaborative mindset and modeling for others a highly impactful principle of team science.
The very reason interdisciplinary teams assemble to solve complex research problems is that together they are stronger and more powerful together than any one of them is alone. Teams that share their superpowers can nurture and sustain a healthy team dynamic into the future.
*Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, by Marshall B Rosenberg, PhD (2015) PuddleDancer Press.
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