Understanding and reframing our role in issues helps everyone move forward!
We all have a natural tendency to view problems and our role in them in a default way. Whether it's a small issue or a major crisis, the story that automatically plays out in our heads colors our perception of solutions. Sometimes, this perception is accurate; other times, it's off-target or counterproductive. But in every case, understanding how we approach conflict followed by positively reframing our role can make real solutions possible.
This is where the Drama Triangle and a more recent interpretation of it, the Empowerment Triangle, come into play. Let's take a closer look at these tools and how they help us overcome issues.
The Drama Triangle is a breakthrough model of human conflict, as explained in an earlier post. Psychiatrist Stephen B. Karpman first proposed the Drama Triangle, a "social model of human interaction," in the 1960s to describe the unproductive ways many people relate to each other and to problems when conflict arises.
Karpman proposed that everyone naturally gravitates toward one of these roles during conflict and switches roles as it suits them. The triangle starts to take shape with one point, either the Victim or the Villain, and others are soon sucked into the other roles. Ultimately, these parts we play in a drama aren't effective at resolving the conflict and the underlying problems that cause it. In fact, they perpetuate issues.
The value of the Drama Triangle lies in understanding it, the roles we tend to play, and why we play them. Each person in a specific position benefits from it. The Persecutor/Villain may enjoy exercising power, whereas the Victim gets to shift responsibility. And the Rescuer/Hero receives a sense of satisfaction for helping. By seeing these unproductive roles for what they are, self-awareness can help each participant break free of them and their short-term emotional rewards.
The Empowerment Triangle
The Empowerment Triangle, officially known as The Empowerment Dynamic (TED), is a “positive alternative” to the Drama Triangle proposed by business consultant and author David Emerald. TED recasts the roles in the Drama Triangle, reframing them from negative to constructive ones:
The Challenger replaces the Persecutor/Villain: Individuals in both the original Karpman role and the new one see themselves as “truth-tellers” who call situations accurately. But instead of affixing blame and dictating actions, the Challenger “consciously builds others up, encouraging them to also learn and grow, despite difficult situations.”
The Creator is the positive replacement for the Victim. Instead of viewing themselves as a prisoner to circumstances and problems, they learn they “can choose their response to life’s challenges.” They embrace “what inspires them” and become focused on solutions and outcomes, not the weight of challenges holding them back.
Finally, the Coach steps into the Rescuer/Hero role. Essentially, they provide real support for Creators rather than enabling their victimhood. A Coach uses “the art of inquiry, curiosity, and deep listening to support others in discovering what is best for themselves.”
Emerald and his colleagues at The Center for The Empowerment Dynamic describe this framework as “a profound, yet clear and simple method to free yourself from your reactive habits.” And Karpman himself has endorsed the idea, calling TED “a highly original and effective escape from the Drama Triangle.”
As with many effective group dynamic models, leadership development strategies, and business coaching approaches, both the Drama and Empowerment Triangles aren’t overly complex. In fact, they may seem pretty obvious and simple. But they give us immense power by enabling self-awareness about how we instinctively react to problems, a recognition that allows us to change our behavior.
#ConflictResolution #EmpowermentTriangle #DramaTriangle #SelfAwareness #PositiveSolutions #ProblemSolving
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