POWER STRATEGIES, BROUGHT TO LIFE
The power of
working together.
Every working relationship has two questions underneath it.
01 How different is our power?
02 How compatible are our goals?
01 / Explore the relationship
powerSimilar
power
Drag the point, tap a quadrant, or use the sliders.
THE RELATIONSHIP RIGHT NOW
Negotiation
Neither person can simply decide for the other. Progress depends on understanding what each can give, protect, or change.
A map of a situation, not a label for a person. Positions are illustrative, not measured scores.
You don’t need the same goal.
You need goals that can work together.
02 / Change the situation
THREE FICTIONAL CASESTry a different move. Consider what it changes—and what it leaves unresolved.
A DEADLINE, AND TWO DEFINITIONS OF SUCCESS
“We both want this
to succeed.”
A project lead wants to launch this month. The operations lead wants a service her team can reliably support. They have equal say—and a very different idea of “ready.”
“We need to learn from real customers.”
“We need to deliver what we promise.”
WHAT WOULD YOU TRY?
A question for the room
03 / FROM THE TEACHING FILES
Ideas worth
returning to.
These ideas began on workshop handouts and in conversations about real organizations. This notebook brings one of John Eldred’s models into a form you can explore.
Based on John’s consulting and teaching materials.
Reimagined by his son, Gabe.
The model, and this adaptation
The four names and two dimensions come from John Eldred’s Power Strategies model. “Goal compatibility” is used here for his term “goal confluence.” The diagram keeps the original orientation: unequal power at the top, similar power at the bottom.
The scenarios, questions, and suggested moves are new interpretations. They invite discussion; they do not predict how a person will behave.
Read the published account at MindTools (opens in a new tab)Read the model and all teaching cases