Pat Satterstrom: Microwedges: How micro-processes change power hierarchies in teams

Date: 

Thursday, September 24, 2015, 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Location: 

Tata Hall-Room 120, Harvard Business School

Work, Organizations, and Markets (WOM) Seminar presentation by Pat Satterstrom (HBS).

Abstract

Power hierarchies are ubiquitous and difficult to change, reinforced by conscious and unconscious factors as well as social-structural systems. Despite these forces that lend stability to hierarchies, there is evidence that power structures can change. Yet we know little about the micro-processes that unfold over time that help create such change. I conduct a 31-month ethnographic investigation into these processes in “change teams” in primary health care clinics. These teams were specifically charged with moving their organization from a hierarchical structure to a more team-based structure. Through close observation of their weekly team meetings, coupled with interviews and examination of archival data, I identify the in situ moments in a team’s life when members provide information that, over time, undermines taken-for-granted assumptions about power distribution. I induce a process theory of  how a small opening, which I call a “microwedge,” allows the team to form a different understanding of how they can engage with each other and their work, relying less on hierarchy and more on individuals’ skills, experience, and interests. This study extends and generates theory about power, voice, and changes in influence in teams. It also has practical implications for how team members can engage with power differences, alter their teams’ processes, and help their organizations engage more fluidly with power.