Making Space Room: Power Mapping: A Personal Tool for Navigating Hierarchy Power Structures
Event Type
Lightning Talk
Start Date
25-7-2025 1:15 PM
End Date
25-7-2025 2:00 PM
Description
It can feel particularly overwhelming to keep track of and read dynamics between colleagues, especially when it comes to being strategic about who you can rely on for support or not. Ideally, we wouldn’t have to consider subtext, passive aggression, or empty politeness, but as we know, the people around us do not all have our best interests at heart. This knowledge can make or break any of the changes you are trying to make, big or small, to better serve your patrons or to improve your workplace. For those who can benefit from an organizational tool to best analyze the “playing field,” a power map can help put all of your observations in one place. This can be particularly powerful as a tool made collaboratively, for more trusted people to contribute observations, but can also be helpful to use on your own as you might be getting the lay of the land at a new institution. We’ll quickly go through a few key components to a useful power map, and how you use this kind of tool to identify the major players around you at work.
Outcomes
- Participants will be able to create their own draft of a power map of their own department, or division heads/deans to help them better strategically navigate their institution.
- Participants can approach this tool collaboratively or solo, depending on their situation.
Making Space Room: Power Mapping: A Personal Tool for Navigating Hierarchy Power Structures
It can feel particularly overwhelming to keep track of and read dynamics between colleagues, especially when it comes to being strategic about who you can rely on for support or not. Ideally, we wouldn’t have to consider subtext, passive aggression, or empty politeness, but as we know, the people around us do not all have our best interests at heart. This knowledge can make or break any of the changes you are trying to make, big or small, to better serve your patrons or to improve your workplace. For those who can benefit from an organizational tool to best analyze the “playing field,” a power map can help put all of your observations in one place. This can be particularly powerful as a tool made collaboratively, for more trusted people to contribute observations, but can also be helpful to use on your own as you might be getting the lay of the land at a new institution. We’ll quickly go through a few key components to a useful power map, and how you use this kind of tool to identify the major players around you at work.
Outcomes
- Participants will be able to create their own draft of a power map of their own department, or division heads/deans to help them better strategically navigate their institution.
- Participants can approach this tool collaboratively or solo, depending on their situation.
