18 Feb Power, Love and… Strategy

On 13^th February Donald Trump issued executive orders against South Africa, and nothing happened to the R/$ exchange rate. Or at least, nothing yet. If anything, the Rand is slightly stronger against the dollar. We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far there has been no loud clump on the economic ceiling. We hope writing this doesn’t in some mystical way bring the roof down. 

Our more learned friends tell us that “this was all already priced in”, but we don’t really believe that. Who could have foreseen the pouted lip, hands on hips, red faced tantrums, and then priced it in so well that there was not even a nudge on the currency when it happened? 

If you have a theory about why the currency isn’t responding to the recent USA/SA events, please let us know. We would love to hear it!

Now we need to talk about our February theme – Power and Love – and connect it to the idea of Strategy. Then bring all of that back to this question of the exchange rate. We hope you stay with us for that short journey.

By some definitions, strategy answers the question “how will we…”. It is the response to the purpose and goals, or intention, or sense of direction in an organisation – even when they are recursive, when the one influences the other.

Let’s say that President Trump is pursuing a purpose and call it “MAGA (Make America Great Again)”. And let’s say that signing his executive order against South Africa is part of the strategy to achieve his purpose. It is a strategy based on power and power alone, without any sense of unity or love.

We wondered whether some people are wired for power, and others for love – and so what they “see” as their strategic options is driven by their nature. That may seem obvious when we talk about President Trump’s recent actions – as incredible as they may seem (not just in South Africa, but globally), they make sense in some way as we have come to expect such aggressive, blunt, powerful ways of being from the man. 

The contrast could be said to be true when thinking about South Africa’s President Ramaphosa, whose measured response and leaning toward dialogue and discussion is part and parcel of what we have come to see as constant efforts to find unity and hold things together when some would prefer instant and decisive action (a la Trump). 

Could it be that in his drive for power, and in the absence of the unifying forces that Adam Kahane and Paul Tillich call “love”, that President Trump is being ignored by global financial markets – not intentionally, but simply that they are overwhelmed by a collective “WTF”? It might be that rampant power, unleashed in such a short space of time, destroys unity – even in the most capitalist system in the world.

Back in our worlds, inside organisations, we live with the same dynamics. Some people are oriented toward power and others oriented toward love. The significance of this is that certain managers (or leaders, if you prefer – lets not get lost in that particular debate right now) have a bias toward one or the other form of expression. At WorldsView, we work with the enneagram as a way of understanding the motives and inclinations of people in organisations – and our ongoing enquiry is into the effect that these may have on strategy, on organisational design, and on team dynamics and performance. Simply put, some people access power easily, other access love easily, and a few have learned to walk with “two feet”.

While we wait for the sound of another shoe dropping in the USA/SA face-off, we are preparing for our February Conversation Café: Power and Love in Organisations: A Dynamic Balance
Together, we will grapple with questions such as:

• How do organisations balance the drive for self-realisation (power) with the need for connection and unity (love)? What happens when power overwhelms love—or love overshadows power—in leadership and decision-making?
• How can this be a conversation that tough executives can join? (Love – really?)
• Where do power and love show up in South African organisations, as we navigate our unique socio-political and cultural landscapes?

This Café invites you to reimagine how power and love can work together to build stronger, more resilient organisations. Whether you’re a senior executive, manager, or L&D professional, you are invited to bring some love into the tough conversations in February. We look forward to your insights and experiences!

Give aways: One delegate will receive a copy of Adam Kahane’s 2009 classic “Power and Love: A theory and practice of social change”- as relevant (or more so) today than ever and a great addition to your library just as Adam releases his sequel (more about this in the webinar).