In the aftermath of all the recent political excitement, including the meteoric rise of President Macron in France and the recent elections here in the UK, I’ve found myself reflecting on the nature of power and influence, and particularly on a fairy story I wrote some years ago. It was written to support the work of one my brilliant associates who was writing a series of three modules on Influence and Power for Trainers’ Library.
In the story, Bon Bon, a seemingly weak girl, manages to defeat the dragon that is threatening her village. She achieves this, not by using her own physical strength, but by tapping into the skills, attributes and support of those around her. Participants in the exercise are invited to consider where the power that gives her the strength to defeat the dragon comes from.
The key learning is that whilst self-belief and a clear vision are important, power and influence comes ultimately from others, and from the skills, abilities and support they lend us. Lend is an important word here – it’s always important to recognise that influence and power are gifts from others that can be taken back at any time.
The day-to-day strength of our work teams also comes from the various skills and abilities that we have within them, the way that we work effectively to harness those skills, and the support we give each other.
We’ve always considered our members a part of our team. Many of them have been instrumental in the development of Trainers’ Library since we launched the service in 2003, whether that’s through their loyal support, their reviews of training materials, their valuable feedback or the ideas they've shared.
You can read our customers’ reviews by clicking on the numbered yellow star next to a training activity’s title. Here are a few that have been reviewed very recently:
Are you OK with this?
The Department Game
Bridge Challenge – Maintaining Momentum
Murder at Glasstap Grange
Witches of Glum (Available as a Free Sample of our materials.)
As for the modules, on Influence and Power that includes Bon Bon’s story, you’ll find them here:
Influence 1 – The Games People Play
Influence 2 – Sources of Power (Featuring the story of Bon Bon.)
Influence 3 – Profile of Power
As always, I'd love your feedback on this newsletter or anything else at Trainers' Library. Add your comment below or drop me an email at [email protected]
