What Makes Sharing Power So Difficult? 13 Findings So Far

Do you work in the social impact sector as an entrepreneur or finance provider? Which obstacles have you faced when trying to share power?

We ran a survey in November to explore obstacles to sharing power in organisations, networks, boards and here’s a first round of findings… 13 so far…

Structural and Cultural Barriers

1. Embedded power dynamics: Many foundations have systems, operations, and cultures that inherently create uneven power dynamics, making it difficult to truly share power. They tell you: We want you to have power but EVERYTHING prevents this from happening. The Double Bind situation (1)

2. Resistance to change: There’s often a tendency to revert to old routines and mindsets, even when there’s momentum for change.

3. Risk aversion: Foundations are often structured to minimise risk, which can conflict with the need to give up control and trust partners.

Funding and Resource Challenges

4. Limited access to capital: For many social enterprises looking to scale, consistent access to capital remains a significant challenge.

5. Funder priorities: When you bend your business model to serve funders’ priorities rather than community needs, you misalign resources and impact.

6. Non-transparent reporting: Organisations sometimes lack honest, two-way conversations about challenges, burnout, and resource needs.

Leadership and Equity Issues

7. Inability to listen: rush and inattention make us make crucial insights that could enhance decision-making and problem-solving processes. It also invalidates other people’s feelings and experiences

8. Inequitable transitions: When racialised leaders or people from underestimated groups take over organisations, they often inherit weak revenue streams, poor management structures, and a lack of funder relationships.

9. Burnout and exhaustion: The sector often fails to acknowledge and address long-term exhaustion among leaders, particularly those from marginalised communities

10. Gender and Race Pay Gap: leaders from underestimated groups often receive lower compensation than their white counterparts despite taking on significant risks and responsibilities.

Governance and Decision-Making Challenges

11. Complex agendas: leaders often have to navigate multiple, sometimes conflicting, priorities from various internal and external stakeholders

12. Lack of board support: Governing boards may not fully understand their role in supporting power-sharing initiatives, leaving leaders to navigate challenges alone

13. Weak adoption levels: When one or more groups have weak levels of adoption of power-sharing arrangements, it can lead to exclusion, dominance by other groups, or unresolved contestation.

To move away from these obstacles, our power lies in our capacity to take the time to think and

  • reflect on how we interact together and think independently, either in 1-2-1 or in a group.
  • reflect on structural inequities, reimagine funding models, support diverse leadership, and foster genuine collaboration between all stakeholders.

This time, if invested, will be returned to you ten-fold.

What about you, which obstacles have you faced when trying to share power?

Want to read more on “Sharing Power”?


(1) Key Features of a Double Bind Situation

  • Two or More Conflicting Messages: Individuals are confronted with messages that contradict each other, creating a paradoxical situation where responding to one message negates the other.
  • No Escape: The individual is unable to leave the paradoxical situation or address the conflict without facing negative consequences.
  • Repeated Experience: This cycle of contradictory messaging is not a one-off; it’s a pattern that repeats itself, reinforcing the double bind.

Hello! I am Servane, founder of Conscious Innovation. As an Imagineer, Time to Think Consultant and Team Coach, I help Impact Leaders and Investors navigate transitions and adapt to changing times, by turning insights into positive and impactful action.

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