Heimans, J., & Timms, H. (2014, December). Understanding “New Power”. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/12/understanding-new-power
Tension between old and new power “will be a defining feature of society and business in the coming years.” Old power is held by few and is leader-driven. New power is participatory and shared. Old and new power actors differ in two ways: the models they use to exercise power and the values they embrace. Old power actors derive power from the passive consumption of ideas and goods, and value managerialism, exclusivity, authority, competition, confidentiality, professionalism, and loyalty. New power taps into people’s desire to participate in collective action, and values opt-in decision making, self-organization, crowd wisdom, sharing, radical transparency, making things themselves, and conditional affiliation. Traditional organizations may want to prepare for a shift in new power by assessing their place in a shifting power environment, considering criticism, engaging in honest conversations about their impact, and learning how to mobilize supporters. They should also respect and listen to their communities, try to develop both new and old power capacities, and consider how to optimize their organization’s structure.
As a communicator, it’s important to keep in mind society’s shifting preference toward new power values. As a social media practitioner in particular, I can think of a few ways to embrace new power values: Post audience-made content, make messaging as transparent as possible, respond to comments, use negative comments to drive improvements, host live events where people can ask questions in real time, and don’t delete or prohibit negative comments.
Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals.
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