Research Paper: A Process for Empowerment

Research Paper By Jilean Beharry
(Destiny Coach, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO)

SYNOPSIS

It has been observed that at the heart of abuse is a feeling or state of disempowerment. There are certain similarities among victims, namely a feeling of hopelessness, lack of choices, self-doubt, a failure to take responsibility for their happiness and a significant other who controls the relationship. Research has shown that abuse is about power and control.

If victims could feel or become empowered, it would go a long way in bringing the cycle of abuse to an end. At the essence of Coaching is the belief that the client has his/her own answers to lead an optimal life. The coach provides the support, however the client controls or leads the process. The client is empowered by accepting the responsibility for where sessions go, what is discussed, action steps and ultimately their lives.

INTRODUCTION

The intention of this paper is to explore elements in the Coaching process that facilitate the empowerment of individuals. It will highlight Coaching’s benefits and underscore the ill effects of having disempowered people. At the heart of this paper is a desire to contribute to the effective empowerment of people by offering Coaching as the process of choice, especially as a tool for the empowerment of those who have undergone abuse in all its forms.

WHAT IS EMPOWERMENT?

The WHS Concise English Dictionary defines empower in the following way:

1. To give power or authority to
2. Authorise
3. To give ability to; enable or permit

Empowerment therefore, is the act of giving power to, authorising, or giving ability to, enabling or permitting. Philip Rochford (2010) in his book “Reflective Empowerment” describes empowerment as the strength within you to be and do what you visualise.

It is a state in which the person is at home with their identity and has cultivated a healthy relationship to the world and to their choices. By “healthy”, I mean vital, useful and enriching. As such “empowerment” is synonymous with taking responsibility, avoiding the identity of “victim” and of what some people like to call “integrated” living. Effectively, empowerment gives them CHOICE. (O’Reardon, 2007)

Central to empowerment is the concept of choice. Choice or free will is one of the most powerful gifts we have been blessed with, yet too often, our failure to exercise our power of choice keeps us disempowered. We are servant to whomever or whatever we submit our will to, hence the term “giving up our power.”

WHAT DO EMPOWERED PEOPLE LOOK LIKE?

The fruits of empowering yourself are an enhanced life and your improved contribution to others, your environment, and your community. (Rochford, 2010) Transactional Analysis (The Ok Corral (Franklin Ernst, 1971))

A disempowered person resides in the three quadrants in red. An empowered person resides in the green quadrant. The concept of Blame is related to empowerment. Effectively, a shift from Blame to Responsibility is a shift from Disempowerment to Empowerment. Blame= Loss of Freedom + Disempowerment

Perhaps, we don’t fully understand our power and don’t believe that we can choose the life we really want… When you play the Blame Game, you do not have to take responsibility for your life. (ICA, RVSB)

Coaches shift others from Blame to Responsibility by bringing awareness of who they are, their values, their dreams and lavishing them with acknowledgement of their strengths and accomplishments, so that they begin to see their worth.

We should never blame our present condition on the lovelessness and abuse of the past. We must carefully examine how our attitudes and reactions have contributed to our psychological suffering, in other words, we must face reality and accept responsibility. We’re not responsible for the wound, but we are responsible for its healing. (Reid, 2010)

Empowered people take full responsibility for their lives. They are “OK” with self and by extension others. They are able to accept themselves with all shortcomings, values, skills etc. and feel comfortable, confident and valuable. They live in alignment with their values and respect their personal boundaries. They know that they are free to make decisions about life that support personal well-being and happiness, and do not hesitate to do so. It is clear to that happiness is a personal choice and they will not permit others to determine what their lives should look like. Empowered people are not swayed by the opinions and attitudes of others, but chose how they want to respond. They stand by their convictions.

An empowered person loves and cares for self, and by extension will be able to love and value others in a healthy way. He or she will not attempt to control or manipulate others because his or her sense of self- worth comes from within and not without. He or she understands that change starts with him or her and accepts responsibility for actions, behavior and own life. Empowered people pursue their dreams and lend support to the fulfillment of others’ dreams. Empowered people empower people.

HOW ARE PEOPLE EMPOWERED?

Empowerment is triggered when you have the freedom to do what makes you happy, and the power to get it done. (Rochford, 2010) (Here we see an almost immediate symbiotic relationship between Coaching and Empowerment by their very definitions.)

According to Rochford, making excuses for your condition, and not accepting that it is your responsibility to change things keeps us disempowered. If you want things to change, you have to change.

Central to empowerment is the concept of CHOICE and Personal RESPONSIBILITY.

Responsibility is not just a way to act, it is a way to view our entire lives. It is a perspective that we can choose to empower us…We can change the situation from one where we are powerless to one where we are powerful. Responsibility= Freedom + Empowerment (ICA, RVSB)

With empowerment, accountability and responsibility rest with the person empowered… Empowerment means clarifying required outcomes, not dictating inputs… . Control is not what we should seek if we are truly empowering. (Applegarth.Posner, 1997) Making decisions makes us confident. It is making a choice. (ICA, CONF)

HARMFUL EFFECTS OF DISEMPOWERMENT

Disempowered people carry with them a feeling of hopelessness. Doubt and fear prevent them from moving beyond their circumstances or from taking steps that would free them from the boxes they have permitted themselves to be placed in. Often, they allow their lives to be influenced strongly by the dictates of others, and fail to exercise their power of CHOICE to make changes that support their well-being. Disempowered people make others responsible for their happiness, thus making them susceptible to abuse in all its forms, which in turn causes them to feel more depressed and hopeless. They play the Blame Game. They seldom draw personal boundaries and stand up for themselves because they so crave the approval, affirmation and validation of others. They often unconsciously regard their own values and desires as less important than those of others especially when the perception is that those people are more “whatever” than they are.