ABSTRACT
Supervisory relationships come with power: power to shape one’s daily experience, access to resources, connection to opportunities to “be at the table,” promotional opportunities, and pay raises. We cannot build a trusting relationship if we do not acknowledge the inherent power dynamic in the relationship as well as the social identities at play in the relationship. Failure to integrate concerns of power in supervisory relationships reinforces systems of oppression and is counter to an identity-conscious practice. We discuss opportunities for neutralizing power.
