The Power Flower exercise revealed that I have both born privileges and disadvantages. I am a 29-year-old African American living on the East coast of the US in ab urban area. I am a single mother (living with a seven-year-old son) with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. I am able-bodied, straight, middle class with no chronic illnesses. According to Power Flower, my unearned privileges are connected with language, education level, religion, age group, disability status, sexual orientation, and current geographic location. In particular, since I am a native English speaker with no disabilities at a young age, with a bachelor’s degree, I have a good education and job opportunities. Additionally, my sexual orientation and religion decrease the level of social oppression. However, my ethnic background, gender, family status, and social class diminish my level of social power. For instance, as an African American, I can become a subject of racism. Thus, the Power Flower exercise revealed both strengths and weaknesses of my social identity.
Assessment of the level of power is crucial for human service providers, as awareness of one’s inborn strengths and weaknesses affects how practitioners help their clients, act as leaders, and work as social change agents. In all three cases, human service providers benefit from realizing their level of power by helping to acquire a deeper appreciation of feelings that clients and co-workers may have. In the client-practitioner relationship, such awareness can help to avoid cultural biases (Yan & Wong, 2005). When acting as a leader, the knowledge about the level of power can promote the spirit of collaboration, as the leader starts to understand the complexity and diversity of every follower’s needs. As the change agent, knowing about the effect of social identity on perception can help to develop different strategies to reach all the stakeholders depending on their level of power, which can increase effectiveness (McGowan et al., 2017). Thus, awareness about the personal level of power is crucial for human service professionals.
References
McGowan, M., Shiu, E., & Hassan, L. M. (2017). The influence of social identity on value perceptions and intention. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 16(3), 242-253.
Yan, M. C., & Wong, Y. L. R. (2005). Rethinking self-awareness in cultural competence: Toward a dialogic self in cross-cultural social work. Families in Society, 86(2), 181-188.