Ethics as Right Use of Power - for Counselors, Educators, Therapists, Psychologists, Bodyworkers, Clergy, Business Leaders, and Personal & Workplace Empowerment

Right use of power is one of the most crucial needs of our time and one of the greatest challenges we face in leadership and in personal development. We have the capacity for wisdom, skillfulness, and service in the use of our power.  Yet we’ve all been wounded by misuses and abuses of power by those we trust, and we’ve also inevitably misused or under-used our own power.

Power is simply the ability to have an effect, or to have influence, but the right use of this influence is both simple and complex. Personally and in positions of trust, the right use of power is the use of power to accomplish goals; prevent, heal, and repair harm; and to promote well-being for all.  Far from being an automatic result of good intentions, right use of power must be learned and practiced.  Acting sensitively, creatively, and effectively on behalf of others and oneself requires attention, skill, wisdom, and a lifetime interest in the impact of your uses of power.

Right use of power and influence is at the very heart of ethics. The Right Use of Power approach focuses on the relational dynamics that bring ethics to life. Engaging both heart and mind, core concepts include grounding in a felt sense of both sides of the power differential, exploration of power parameters and under- and over-uses of power, and working with practical processes for resolving relationship difficulties. Books and workshops focus on awareness, skill, and pro-activity.