A lot of work I am doing these days centres on supporting activists. Whether it is through the Art of Social Justice, the work of addressing addictions related stigma in the health system, running a pro-action Cafe for the BC Government Employees Union Human Rights and Equity Conference, changing the conversation about immigration in the United States I am surrounded by people both within and outside of systems and corporate structures that are engaged in changing things.
Over the course of the fall I’ve been thinking alot about what I have been learning about action from these folks. I think the model of activist organizing and activity is applicable widely, not just in the fields of social change but in all kinds of change where complexity and new forms of leadership are needed. When I say activism, I mean models of action that are characterized by people working from the power they have, forming alliances, opening up participatory processes and working skillfully within systems to change substance and process. So here are a few insights from travelling the world with people who make things happen.
Pay attention to the process. Ironically, people associate process conversations with a lack of action. But my experience is that that having a focus on process makes action precise, participatory and sustainable and increases the chance of success. Activists who are trying to change systems know that the process is the deep architecture of systems and where systems are stuck, it is because the process is enabling that stuck-ness. You can see this at play in the #Occupy movement worldwide where people are working to learn about and implement new forms of democratic engagement. Skillful focus on process is a way to move innovation forward. At Berkana we say “Slow down to go fast” and this is what that implies. Become skillful with means and radically different ends have a chance.
Look for leadership everywhere. In the social justice movement there is a saying: “check in and step out.” If you come to a change initiative with privilege (ie you have power within the system) the best thing you can do to enable change is to check in with your privilege and step out of the conversation to create space for new leaders and new forms of leadership to come forward. Asserting your privilege closes space down. Becoming an ally to change initiatives is a powerful and important way to support emerging solutions and to allow leadership to come from anywhere. People with power and privilege can open lots of space if we get real about how our power works.
Connect initiatives. Yesterday our addressing stigma initiative had their first champions meeting. Ten people came together and we discussed the 15 action initiatives that were underway. The most important work that we did yesterday was to connect these initiatives together and connect them to existing work within the system so that we could weave a net that lifts the issue through the system. The analogy is similar to weaving a blanket. With single strands you cannot lift anything, but woven together, the strands can form a blanket that can toss people to great heights!
Remember that complex problems require multiple solutions. Using the Cynefin framework for making decisions about process and action has been very useful. The reason is that when we are working in the complex domain, participatory leadership is important and that activist model works well. Creating multiple prototypes and “safe-fail probes” is a powerful way to precipitate change. Relying on analysis and expert leadership is an excellent way to move forward in complicated decision making frameworks. Within organizations, there is a strong bias to defaulting to analysis and expertise. Consultative models are used for complex problems which consult people for ideas, but retreat to expert groups to make decisions based on what they have heard. This is not an appropriate mechanism for addressing complexity. Within organizations, the activist approach can be powerful but it needs to be learned. Wouldn’t it be something for social activists to train people within organizational structures on ways of social innovation?
Become skillful at convening. For me this goes without saying, but Peter Block’s work around emphasizing the competency of convening is an important one. Peter’s redux of this leadership competency is useful here:
– Create a context that nurtures an alternative future, one based on gifts, generosity,accountability, and commitment.
– Initiate and convene conversations that shift people’s experience, which occurs throughthe way people are brought together and the nature of the questions used to engagethem.
– Listen and pay attention
I see these capacities being worked and developed among activists in deep and accelerated ways. When you are working for community change, there is often more at stake than working within organizational settings. Leadership in organizations, especially commercial organizations tends to focus on efficiency, production and increasing revenues. Within communities, change is often precipitated by the threat to lives or livelihoods, addressing violence or inequality and improving complex indicators of health and well-being. Those needs have a way of focusing activist on doing things well, and people who don’t work in this world would do well to learn from those that do. If you are concerned about action, study and learn from those who do it when lives are at stake.
I was down at #occupyvancouver yesterday getting the lay of the land and looking around. Couldn’t help comparing it to New York and noticed a couple of key differences.
First, lots of tents. Yesterday was pouring rain and most people were inside their tents, pitched on palettes to keep them off the wet ground. Thank you City of Vancouver for letting people have their tents.
Also noticed not a single police officer anywhere. There were yellow vested security volunteers from the occupy camp, walking around and checking on people. But not a single police car in sight and not a single uniformed cop around. This is in contrast to other #occupy camps in New York and Melbourne and elsewhere where the police presence is heavy handed and evident everywhere. Here in Vancouver there seems to be a precious level of trust and laissez faire. So far, so good.
Much has been made about the policing expenses associated with the #occupyvancouver camp but it’s important to understand that these expenses are choices, not mandatory. While I was there yesterday a man was discussing the possibility of donating high quality fire extinguishers and training people in their use so that the fire department wouldn’t be needed thereby reducing the public cost. In a conversation I had yesterday we discussed an idea of the possibility of police meeting with the #occupy camp security volunteers and training them in some basic first responder practice. This would be an excellent way to reduce policing costs and build goodwill between the VPD and the campers and keep everyone and everything safe and secure. What a great conversation that would be. I wonder what it would take to make it happen?
Location:Howe St,Vancouver,Canada
“If you really knew how beautiful you are, you would fall at your own feet” – Byron Katie
Working with some organizations, people and communities these days that are going through hard times. Not everyone is dealing with it very well. There is sniping and infighting and distrust and alarm. The narcissism of small difference.
But as a consultant that comes and goes with these organizations, I am continually struck by the latent resourcefulness and beauty that lies within the people and the groups I work with. Sometimes I think that my job is just to help groups see themselves, see their raw beauty, their power and potential in a way that is useful.
The quote above is on my partner’s website. I used it today with a client who holds the deep architecture of her organization, and who does her work in an atmosphere that doesn’t often see what it offers. It’s a gift to be seen, and a gift to have the perspective to see.
If you are a part of an #Occupy group and are focusing on the facilitation teams, I’d like to offer you some resources from the Art of Hosting community.
On my site are scads of Facilitation Resources for use. All of these are offered free of charge of course. In terms of some of the challenges that #Occupy camps are facing, consensus decision making is one of the big ones. I am amazed at the capacity people are showing in undertaking consensus at the General Assemblies. But there will always be frustrations with these processes. My friend Tree Bressen offers a comprehensive set of consensus decision making resources on her pages and that is well worth a look.
In terms of deeper hosting practice Here is a link to a document i wrote a number of years ago called “Hosting in a Hurry” it can be a useful printout to hand to Occupy Groups to help them think about process. It was written for an indigenous North American audience which explains a few of the context specific stuff. But the essence of it is that it conveys art of hosting practice in a simple and succinct way. It can be used to compliment facilitation or as a discussion document among facilitators at #Occupy events who are learning as they go.
There is some amazing facilitation happening in the #Occupy world and people are learning on the fly. I hope these resources can be useful.
Lawrence Lessig has noticed a very important practice that is emerging from the #occupy movement. It is the principle and the practice of non-contradiction:
In this movement, we need a similar strategy. Of course a commitment to non-violence. But also a commitment to non-contradiction: We need to build and define this movement not by contradicting the loudest and clearest anger on the Right, but instead, by finding the common ground in our demands for reform.
This is a a very useful contribution to the tools that are emerging from the #occupy movement. It is edgy because in traditional social activism you are defined by what you stand against, and opposing things is the means to ending them.
But one of the implications of “we are the 99%” is that no one is more 99% than anyone else. That is a big tent, and it is powerful as long as we can practice true diversity within it. This is a massive challenge. The 99% contains every kind of person, friend and ally and loathsome enemy. That is the nature of a huge complex human community. So practicing non-contradiction is like practicing non-violence in that it requires us to be in relationship with those we do not like.
Even though I practice non violence as much as I can I bet there is a limit to that. My job as a peaceful human being is to stretch myself beyond my own limits in practicing peace. Sometimes non-violence gets tagged as “compliance” but it isn’t that really. It is a commitment to a new world and a new way of being.
It is similar with non-contradiction. There are things in the world that probably need contradicting, and I am sure there are limits to this principle in my own practice and capabilities. But for this movement, and for this new world, we need conversational space and space is opened by engagement and being non-contradictory. If you believe that we truly interdependent, then we have to work to see that one person’s racism is my problem too. That I participate in the conditions that perpetuate those things that I would otherwise stand in contradiction to.
Let’s track this modality. Election seasons, protests and events can all benefit from this practice. It is a high calling to call yourself a practitioner of non-contradiction, but is it essential to a world of interconnection, interdependence and mutual benefit.