How We Share Our Power

Dear changemaker,

At Greater Good Studio, we use the design process to share power with our clients and their communities. This sounds simple, but it’s actually quite difficult. Many times, clients would prefer us to be the experts who solve their problems for them.

But here’s the thing: we’ve seen what’s possible when we break down those old ways of working. When we actually design together - sharing decision-making power and bringing everyone’s knowledge to the table - we create better solutions. We’ve codified a framework for sharing power through design:

A diagram with the title "Redistributing power through design," and showing amount of "power for co-designers" on the x axis and amount of "effort for co-designers" on the y axis. "Power is supplanted" is shown on the bottom left

These approaches are not always an easy sell, and there are lots of reasons why people hesitate to try them. But I’m convinced sharing power is worth the effort. Check out my presentation and panel discussion, How to Share Your Power: A Conversation About Co-Design, with the incredible Ahmad Jitan, Lesley Kennedy, and Nicole Robinson. If I can’t convince you, they most certainly will.

As always, let us know what you think!

Sara