The power spiral is at the heart of Right Use of Power. Increasing skillfulness is learned through a spiraling process of gaining understanding and awareness at higher and higher levels of complexity, inclusivity, and transcendence.  As you gain the knowledge and skills you need to use your power wisely, you’ll explore and engage with these four dimensions of the spiral:

• Be informed – Here you’ll learn to gather the guidance you need for right use of power actions. This may come from the lived history of your service profession, gathered in the form of ethical codes or guidelines. You’ll practice sensing and owning the impact of the power differential-its potential, its responsibilities, its distortions and its vulnerability for clients. You’ll also explore ways in which you receive and use information from those you serve as well as you own inner guidance.
• Be compassionate – The focus of this dimension is self and self-awareness. You’ll come to understand and learn from your attitudes, beliefs, wounds and habits in relation to issues of power and authority. You’ll explore your empowered and disempowered self and discover how your use of power and influence affects others. You’ll reflect on examples of misuses of power and work with understanding and healing shame, an isolating and disempowering emotion.
• Be connected - You’ll learn that ethical behavior is dependent upon being in right relationship, which begins by acknowledging the power and complexity of connection.  You’ll increase your skillfulness in sensing difficulties and staying current in both personal and professional relationships.  You’ll learn about the many factors that can lead to unintended harm. You’ll practice staying connected even in conflict and using conflict to clarify, resolve, and repair relationships. Lastly, you’ll begin to understand that accountability as an expression of caring.
• Be skillful - In this dimension, wisdom is developed and utilized. You’ll learn that doing the right thing is more effective when it’s done skillfully.  You’ll identify and study personal tendencies, beliefs, and barriers that may make us vulnerable to specific misuses of power.  You’ll increase your understanding of power dynamics and diversity issues, while putting into action good self-care, which is vital for the wise use of power.  You’ll refine skills of asking for, receiving, giving and using feedback. Ultimately, you’ll come to see that wise and skillful uses of power are a social force for good.