Empowerment

Something that's come up for me in the past and has been on my mind this week is how, as a social worker, in any capacity, can one assist in another's self-empowerment rather than leading, advising, or dominating that individual (or group). One of my readings for class this week said that the idea of "Never do for others what they can do for themselves" is a key component of community organizing (What is Community Organizing? http://www.nfg.org/cotb/07/whatisco.htm). We also watched the film Salt of the Earth (http://www.archive.org/details/salt_of_the_earth), about mine workers and their wives going on strike in the 50s...it was very progressive for its time, you should watch it...Anyway, afterward in class we discussed this concept of truly getting to know one's clients or population and facilitating their own empowerment. I think this really comes down to listening. In social work, I think we talk a lot about being good listeners. But what does this really mean? I know for myself, I can end up preaching at people occasionally (ok, you who know me well probably think it's more than occasional...). And I know that I don't mean to- it's just that I observe and ponder a lot of others' (as well as my own!) actions and experiences, and want to share all these thoughts somersalting around in my head that I think could be useful! But what that often looks like is preaching to- some may say bossing around- those around me, be it family, friends, even clients. (For the record, I tend to save the bossing around for personal acquaintances, which is good for clients, but maybe not so good for my personal life).
When I read Barack Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, I thought about this idea of empowerment vs. dominance during the section about his community organizing work. I wondered, how could someone so clearly meant to LEAD, manage to step aside in order to allow others to decide, plan, enact, etc? My most relevant experience with this was when my school cohort worked for weeks to facilitate a meeting with our department faculty to discuss our requests of and concerns about the department, curriculum, and the MSW experience at HSU. I could fill a whole other post about that experience in relation to community work, but what I will say here is that I personally wrestled with this balance between leadership and dominance. It was a group of my peers, so I was not an outsider trying to organize another group, and I was in no way in charge. But I ended up sort of tracking and attempting to organize our on-going discussions- both in person and via email- into a concise plan and agenda. I initially stepped up to do so just because we had attempted a similar meeting in the past, and it turned out pretty half-assed. I just wanted us to do a better job! But at times I think at least a few people felt I was dominating the process and determining its direction. But I was only trying to help! I meant well!
And yet- isn't that what so many community helpers have been caught saying? Reading through the history of social workers, this has been the apology given after many unintentional injustices. I don't recall the reading or the specific instance, but in our Values & Ethics course last fall we read a piece from the turn of the century where it was the kind progressive who was advocating to 'civilize the Indian-ness' out of the Indigenous people for their own good. He thought he was being empathetic and well-meaning!
This all leads back to the listening. We are taught that everyone is their own expert- that we as social workers, whether as substance abuse counselors, case managers, or community organizers, do not have the answers for our clients. But how do I actually put this value into practice? I can start by whole-heartedly listening, and shutting my trap! I will likely continue to come up with what I think are great ideas/advice/solutions for the individuals and groups that I work with. And certainly there will continue to be times to recommend or suggest or contribute decisions. But if I really value empowerment, which I think I do, I have got to listen.

"A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard. Why aren't we like that wise old bird?"
(unknown author)