At a campfire in Mozambique, a woman who advised billions in philanthropic capital told me she didn’t think she had anything meaningful to contribute.
That moment has shaped how I think about power ever since. Particularly among women who influence capital and/or culture.
This week’s Subtraction Session explores a simple but uncomfortable possibility:
Power isn’t the problem. Misalignment is.
In Monday’s Subtraction Scenario (What If We Subtracted: Power as Performance), I unpack three distortions I see in the way women use (or don’t use) our power:
• We chase gold stars and mistake recognition for leverage.
• We build power in one dimension and wonder why it feels flat.
• We distance ourselves from influence we hold because we are uneasy about the systems that delivered it.
In the video, I expand on how to honor our power by recognizing its dimensionality and directing it consciously.
Power without discernment feels tiring, one-sided, even oppressive. Power directed with intention feels impactful, generous, deeply rewarding.
On the dawning of the Fire Horse year, consider how horses exercise the power they have as large animals. They identify a desired outcome (leave my water/hay alone; don’t eat me, mountain lion; bug off, flies) and then begin with the smallest possible action that could achieve that result. They escalate only if needed.
This approach conserves energy so that they can gallop away from the mountain lion if need be, or go without food during a winter storm.
What would happen if you approached your own influence that way?
Where are you performing ability in a single dimension, toward external targets, instead of directing it strategically toward the outcomes you actually care about?
If you’re up for considering your own approach to power and energy, watch the Subtraction Session above. And read Monday’s essay for the deeper framework. Or listen to yesterday’s song as a soundtrack to your reflection.
You do not need more power. You need to recognize the influence you already hold — and direct it with intention toward the outcomes that matter to you. Keep on rollin’!
Nell
