People are talking about you. No. Really, they are. Those whispers in the office kitchen, at the staff retreat or at happy hour?  Some of those are about you.

And what people are saying may sound like this:

• He is a real ball breaker
• She is really charismatic
• He micromanages
• She is such a hard ass
• They are so out of touch with the real world.

Those words sting, I know. But how often have you overheard or had them told to you? And, how often have you said them? While you may have all kinds of leadership supporters, you have some critics too.

Perception is reputation

How often do you think about your leadership reputation?  You , like me, might have thought that we left our reputations in high school.  We didn’t.

At work, whether you lead an organization , a team, or a project, people are paying attention to the work being done , how it is getting done and who is making sure it gets done.  And the people paying attention may be your staff OR your peers OR your boss.  And they are taking note.

At this moment, I know some of you are being rebellious and thinking: ” I don’t care what anyone thinks of me, I am here to get the job done”. And I would ask “with what team?”

How people perceive you as a leader matters.

Leading in Real Time

Now, that I have your attention, I want to ask you:

So what do you want to be known for? And how do you reliably try to behave like the leader that you want to be? What brand do you want to have?

Are you:

• Bobby Bombastic  who blusters at your staff and colleagues
• Ingrid Indecisive who throws up her hands whenever she hits a leadership roadblock
• Danny Denial who puts your head in the sand and gives no direction

Or are you:

• Tim Transparent that tries to share as much as you can with your staff and peers in regards to a decision
• Debbie Delegator who knows what to take offer her and her staff’s plate in order to get the best results
• Ida Inspiring who whose vision keeps her staff going.

Oh look, lint!

Thinking about this is not about navelgazing. Your leadership brand  is an alignment of your values, your workstyle and what the situation calls for. But many people protest  and think” I don’t have time to think about my leadership, I just have to address the situation in front of me”.

So, if you want to make a conscious decision to change how you are perceived and received, it possible to do so. I promise. Want tips? Read this.

Rock out!

• SOCIAL INNOVATION
  SOCIAL IMPACT
  SOCIAL CHANGE

These are the hottest topics in our field right now with social innovation sitting at the top of the heap. The basic idea of innovation is “how do I make THIS (app, situation, meeting,process,etc)  better?”

Do you feel that pressure to have an “out of this world idea”?  The ideas that you offer don’t have to be the mind blowing, revolutionary kind.  They can be the small, move the needle one point upward kind.  You can still be the experimenter, the risk taker and the mover without blowing it all up or constantly thinking “OMG, where is my big hairy idea?”

I have written before about the ripple approach to social change but I think I am going to say it again: start where you are.

My 5 cents

In this video I share an alternate view of how we should work on innovating.  I think its more realistic and more beneficial.  What do you think?

Ready?

Do you need some questions to get you started on how to tweak social innovation?  Here you go:

• What can I do, from where I sit right now, to move this organization forward? (Answering “nothing” means you need to get up and take a walk, perhaps?)
• How can we bring in new ideas under current circumstances? (Seek out new perspectives from a magazine, a book, an article or  a friend who works in a different job or sector)
• How can we take this idea that we do “over here” and use it “over there”? (Sometimes a solution has more than one application)
• Why are we amplifying our cause and generating more solutions? (Answering “because everyone else is” should be examined. If everyone is jumping off the bridge…)
• Have we found every lesson learned and presented it to the public to help them be better at this? (Refining our process through trial and error slightly is good business. Sharing it with the world is innovation.)

Are you ready to innovate?  I am.  Lets get going!

Yours in social change,

From where I sit in my home office, I stare at a corner where I see young and older men who represent Trayvon Martin every day.  They are black men who congregate in front of a makeshift pizza stop and and convenience store. Many are wearing North Face jackets, baggy pants and tennis shoes.  Sometimes they are wearing hoodies. Most of the time they are friendly with each other.  Sometimes they are not.

I am a middle class, black woman in her 40s who considers herself pretty lucky both in education and profession. For years, I have struggled with both frustration and rage that the situation that I see on my street doesn’t have to be that way.  The situation involves being a black man in this country that incarcerates you at a rate higher than other men, that makes it harder for you to get a job and does not expect for you to graduate from high school. I wonder if the men on the street feel the same frustration that I feel.

Race is a complicated construct to discuss, analyze and change

What has happened with Trayvon Martin has been a jolt to our collective conscience. I am glad.  I  was worried that white people would see it as nothing more than random violence and wouldn’t think that it mattered at all.

But what happened (and continues to happen) was much different.  White women wondered how would they react if this had been their son. White men saw how something as innocent as a “hoodie” could be seen as a threat.  Upper class people marveled that this could happen in their neighborhoods and working class/poor people of color  were relieved that finally the rest of the U.S. could  really understood what their lives were like.

Racism rests on a spectrum

Right now, our collective conscious balks at the horror of the murder of Trayvon Martin  because it highlights our most unconscious and unflattering selves. Some of think that we could never feel this way about another person.  But that is not true.

We all have our lizard brains.  That part of the brain that stimulates us to fight or take flight. The one that helps us notice each other differences, makes judgements and act upon them.  Sometimes those actions are subtle like switching our places on train because we feel uncomfortable. Other times,  they are blatant such as killing a young man that we see as threatening.

It is the part of us that we try to ignore to make ourselves calm and try to stuff away when we are ashamed of what our fear is based on.  But what we don’t admit, we cannot change.

We need to talk

Now is the time for us to have a discussion.  With Trayvon Martin, we have a salient and poignant example that highlights some complicated issues happening in America.  Trayvon was a young, black male who was killed because he looked threatening,  Others are being killed daily because they might be wearing a hijab.

Last week, a young Iraqi woman named Shaima Alawadi, was killed in California.  It was mostly certainly a hate crime.  And for some people, they could care less that this happen because the woman is a Muslim.  But for all of us who are willing to talk about racism, her life had value.

Getting beyond the superficial

Right now, I crave deep conversation on the issue of race.  Conversation that dissects the problem, talks about the messy parts, asks those involved to wrestle with some heavy information and decisions. Conversations that make me and others take deep breathes about our  decisions because we know it might have an element of risk or fear.

In this electrified time, we have the chance to delve deeper into how we can challenge racism in our country  But only if we take some things as a given.

We don’t need to have a conversation that examines every little detail of who did what to whom.  We will never really know.  We don’t need to hypothesize about what happened with the police. We don’t have to ask ourselves why was Travyvon wearing this or Shaima was wearing that.

We do need to think about what was going through Mr. Zimmerman’s mind.  Why was he afraid?  More deeply, what is it about young men who wear big baggy clothing and baseball hats and hoodies that intimidates us?  Why do we question a woman’s choice to cover her head in the name of her religion?

We might even need to think about the fact that we all have our bias, our stereotypes and our prejudices. Each of us have to be willing to  point the fingers at ourselves just as often as we are willing to point it at others.

These conversations need to happen not just in churches, or in protests and they should not be arbitrated by the media.  They need to happen in classrooms, conference rooms, offices, and board rooms. We know that racism happens at personal and organizational levels, so the conversations need to be there as well.  We need to struggle with where racism really occurs: EVERYWHERE.

I am not superior, nor are you

If I could offer one piece of advice about these conversations,  it would be to approach  them with humility, deference and determination. We need to admit that we don’t have the answers but we are willing to find them. We cannot afford to throw our hands up and walk away more entrenched in our beliefs that we were before.  And we can’t dismantle the insidiousness of this problem if we are not willing to discuss it fully.

I am ready for the hard conversations to start. Let’s get messy, confused and scared and lets come out on the other side ready to change the world for the better.

Rest in peace Trayvon and Shaima.

Yours in Social Change,

If you work in an office with other people, odds are you will have meetings.  Lots of them. And when its your turn to run the meeting, it is your chance to shine. There are so many times that we miss this opportunity to exert leadership.

I can’t say this enough:

If you want to gain R-E-S-P-E-C-T from people at all levels your organization (president and ceo-CHECK, your co-workers- DOUBLE CHECK), learn how to run a meeting.

In this video, I will share my top 3 tips on how to do just that.  Take a look!

So, what did you think? Ready to get your agenda on? Revved to sit at the head of the table?

Tell me in the comments below.

Yours in social change,

(P.S. look out for the outspoken bear at the end, she is kind of sassy!)

**Spoiler Alert**

(This is a post about leadership leadership lesson taught to me by watching  ABC Familys “Make it or Break it.” Teen lust, junk food and underage drinking at parties are mentioned. Read at your own risk !)

Recently I have been hooked on a television show, “Make it break it”.  While this show will never win an Emmy (so-so writing, formulaic plot), it has been a fun and sometimes stimulating show to watch about competitive gymnastics AND leadership.

In one episode there was a young lady, Kaylie Cruz, who was elected team captain. She did not really want the responsibility and smiled meekly when her name was announced.  It became pretty clear quickly after she assumed her  role that she was going to lead from a place of insecurity and fear.  She barked orders at the girls constantly about their routines and practice schedules.  She asked the girls to wear promise rings to sweari off any promiscuity or alcoholic drinking  because it would derail their chance for “the gold.”  She went so far as to follow one of her team members to a party to make sure that she was keeping her promise not too drink.

Her behavior was comedic, but not all that weird in terms of leaders.

Pop Quiz

Lets think about when you get a leadership role.  The one where your boss says ” it all rest on your shoulders” to:

• create a campaign that inspire your stakeholders
• gets your team to work really hard on a project that they are NOT excited about
  
• to convince your investors/donors to give more money than they did last year

How do you handle it?

Do you: (choose only one answer)

• Option 1- Get it done at all cost
• Option 2- Outline the goal, outline the initial steps and ask for input
• Option 3- You abdicate leadership but maintain responsibility

Your answer demystified

• Option 1- Get it done at all costs

You round up your team and you “lay down the law”. The conversation is generally “one- sided” with you laying out the expectations and timelines. Your tone and body language suggest that you don’t want to hear a word of dissent because your goal is to get this done.

Silent obedience is the goal. Who cares about buy in.

• Option 2- Outline the goal, outline the initial steps and ask for input

You leave the meeting, go back to your desk and gather your thoughts.  Then pull your team and tell them about the project focusing on the goals, the timelines, the outcomes.  You ask them if they have questions.

They raise their hands either to clarify the project or to object.  In each case you acknowledge their questions and answer them as factually as you can. This method is a little trickier. You have to maintain control of the outcomes but you also have to be open to being asked questions.In this situation, you keep your (and the teams) eyes on the prize and as much as possible.

• Option 3- You abdicate leadership but maintain responsibility

If your team is bothered or disagree with the decision, you may not care about leading them.  You have to get the work done. In this scenario you shrug your shoulders and say “I think it sucks too and this timeline is ludicrous, but we just have to do it.“

This might work in the short term but it undermines you in the long term because you are doing the “I am in the sandbox with you” trick to motivate your employees to get the work done.  You are not inspiring them in fact you are actually weakening your leadership in their eyes and you are also making them resent the other levels of leadership in the organization.  Bad precedent to set.

If there is any correct answer (which there is); It would be option 2.  In the  show that I mentioned before , Kaylie was clearly operating under Option 1. But she came around to option 2 in the end. YAY Kaylie!

Art imitates life

I have watched senior team members struggle to lead a team when their own leaders are pushing on them to “GET IT DONE”.  And I have worked on teams where each of the three options above were used.

Here is the things that I have learned:

Sometimes

• you have to lead in a vacuum.
• you have to follow without all the facts and justifications.
• you can’t be as transparent as your team wants you to be
  
• the work simply has to get done
• you will encounter frustration, anger and even dissent

When you can be transparent, get buy-in and have your team on board, you should ABSOLUTELY do so.  Lead with trust.  Give and expect respect.

Above all, lead on!

Yours in social change,

States where it is legal for same sex couples to marry:

CA| CT| DC| IA| MA| NH| NY| VT| WA

41 to go!

AND

Very soon, marriage will be celebrated by ALL of these couples:

Man and Man.
Woman and Woman.
Man and Woman.
Woman and Man.

All equal love

A March 2011 public opinion poll by ABC News/Washington Post showed support for gay marriage at 53% among Americans, and a May 2011 Gallup opinion poll also showed 53% support for gay marriage among Americans. A May 2009 Gallup poll indicated 54% support for gays and lesbians being allowed to adopt children.

When I think about marriage equality, my lips curl into a big smile, a sturdy resolution sets in my gut and my heart beats strongly.

I know that there are men who want to stand up in front of their families and their God(s) to declare their intent to love and take care of their husband.  There are women who want to stand up in front of their wife and promise to stay with their beloved through thick and thin.

Marriage takes profound commitment.

Shame on those of us who do not walk alongside and confront others who try to obstruct two people acknowledging their love. When I think about marriage equality and other rights of same sex couples, I always think about this quote from World War II.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me–
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Their struggle is my struggle.  It is your struggle. It is our struggle.  I am a person of color who understands that the rights that I have right now have not always been mine. And those that I do enjoy should be enjoyed by all.

My responsibility

• I will speak out for marriage equality.
• I will stare hatred in the eye for the issue.
• I will cry tears of joy and loss for the issue.
• I will do all of this because it is the only thing that I can do.

So on this day (like most) , I am pro-love. I am pro-equality. I am pro-family. I am pro-sex.  I am pro-marriage. I am pro-heterosexual. I am pro-homosexual.   And I will not give up using my voice until we are ALL heard.

Let’s do this.

P.S. A social change diva can’t be a diva without talking about the issues that she cares about.  Gay Marriage is one of those issues that I am committed to with my gut, heart and mind.  Throughout the year, I will share thoughts on other issues that strike me this deeply.

Exactly, one year ago today, I gave the MLK speech at my alma mater high school. It was a big deal to me. I went to boarding school. A school on a hill. This school actually. It is a placed steeped in tradition, money and responsibility. And one of the responsibilities that the school reinforces is to serve. Over 20 years ago, this school has an annual service requirement for its students. And that commitment exists to that day.

For my speech, I decided to explore the question, "Why is the MLK holiday focused on service rather than social change?" I wanted to share these words to continue my reminder to find ways to serve.

Below is my answer.

Serving leans into Social Change

Thank You to St. Georges, Insights Club and Womens Club for this invitation to spend a few minutes reflecting on MLK day.

When I reflect on what MLK symbolizes for me, I always equate him and his work to social change, not to service.

I have often been perplexed with the focus on service for Martin Luther King Jrs birthday. For years, I have told myself  “Well, we can't focus on telling everyone to create social change, that would be too bold. It would be too many people running around focusing on social change. Some would think it was anarchy.”

Putting social change out of my mind, I wondered “ How did we get from social change to service?” So I googled it. And I found the quote that explained it all. It came from a speech called “ Drum Major Instinct”. In it, I read where Dr. King talked about the power of service as greatness.

"That's a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant."

I was struck by this idea, “A new definition of greatness…"

Now , I don't think that Dr. King was talking about greatness tied to Ego which would say “ Because I serve, I am great”. No. He was saying that you can achieve greatness of human compassion, spirit, and equality through service."

A new connection popped into my head:

• MLK is about service
• MLK is about social change

And then I wondered, “could we do service as a means to achieving social change?” Yes, we can!

I am issuing three challenges to St. Georges on how to do so.

This not esoteric, what I am going to say in the next few minutes is grounded in the “here and now” and things that you do already.

Number One: Move the needle on what service means.

What is the usual story we focus on when we talk about service. It goes something like this:

"What are the hours served, time spent, fishes saved, people given food"

The answer that I get back is data that I can check off.

What happens if you say that to me” what impact did our service have”?  My mind focuses on impact and asks the question "What impact did I just have?"

My suggestion is this:

The next time you do a service project I want you to think and talk about the impact that this project is having not in quantity, but quality. To do that, ask yourself these questions:

Who did we just serve
Why did that help them?
How did it help their family?
How might it have helped a community

Move the Needle.

Number Two: Serve Smarter

I can tell that service is ingrained in the fiber of the school. Always has been; but even more so now. There are so many activities that you do to be of service. But more can be done.

The next time that you have a service or charitable event, what can you do to serve not one but two causes. Lets take dress down Friday as an example.

On the day that you get to wear jeans, could you also support a charity and at the same time give away a skirt or a tie to a professional clothing drive so that someone has nice clothes to wear to a possible job interview ?

Ask yourself: “If you have one less day to wear a tie or a skirt, can you give one away.”

See two needs, one way.

Serve smarter.

Number Three: Learn and Connect Globally, Act Locally

This last strategy is a challenge is for the teachers.

You are teaching these students to become global citizens but they need to have compassion for what is happening 1, 5 or 20 miles away from them.  In their community.

Students: Because of your backgrounds, your networks and going to this school, you have the opportunity to learn and connect globally through your school work, a diverse student body and now, more than ever, through the online presence you can have.While you can be a global citizen every day of the year, you physically live on this hilltop 9 months out of the year, and you have the perfect opportunity to effect change locally.

Let me be clear “ Living on the hilltop, does not mean we have live on the top of hill.” Distant. Aloof.

While you are arranging trips to DC, China , Africa or Costa Rica, how often do we bring in the facts of what is happening in Rhode Island into the class room?

Some facts that I read to prepare for this speech:

In 2008, 14.7 % of people live below the poverty line in Newport. According the website I was looking at, it is at least 3 to 4 % higher than poverty in the state.

How would that fact alone play into conversations of how our local, state and federal government is run?

Something I also read in the local paper:

Did you know that right now there is a display of photos taken of the Haiti aftermath at the state capitol building?

I suspect when this even happened many conversations were had . It hits at least three different areas: Science, History, Cultural Studies, possibly even religion. What if you could see pictures of what happened.  How would that inform your  thinking.  I think you should plan to go see it.

Learn Globally, Act Locally.

Lean Into It

I just outlined some lofty ideas but I gave you some very clear realistic ideas. You see that what social change agents do. We lean into a problem and we move it towards social change.

So now  when we  think about service, let us all  think as Martin Luther King did:

Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.

I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.

And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.

I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.

I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

That my friend is service. That is social change.

Let us all go serve in greatness.

Thank you.

-Monday, January 17, 2011

Photo Credit: Dr. Kimberly Bullock, Director of Diversity, St. Georges School

In March 2011 (after the tea party, during the Arab spring and before occupy wall street), Walden University and Harris Interactive conducted a study, The Social Change Impact Report, that articulated perceptions of social change of American citizens.  Expanding their scope, in September,  they followed it up with an international survey that asked about perceptions of social change from citizens around the world.

A first

I was beyond excited to see this report and to look at this data.

The survey was designed to provide a barometer of people’s feelings about social change.  It asked about : who is engaged in social change, what is important to them and how they work together to advance social change issues of interest now and in the future.

This survey is unique for two reasons:

1.  It explores attitudes, behaviors and motivations of Americans as well as the international community and looks at social change from an individual lens.

2.  It operates outside of normal “social change structures”. This is not a report about nonprofits, foundations, philanthropy, service organizations or any other organized structure or system we have associated with social change.

Okay, enough geeking out.

All data tells a story

Story Line #1-Individuals  are the main character.  Organizations are not.

In short, people have the mindset that they can contribute and their contribution looks different than it ever has before.  But in some ways it is a classic example of what social change should be. In the words of Margaret Mead, ” a small group of concerned citizens”.

By the numbers:

• Three-quarters of Americans (77%) say it is important to them personally to be involved in positive social change, including 28% who say it is very important. Even more Americans (91%) say it is important to society as a whole that individuals are involved in positive social change, including 47% who say it is very important.
• American believe they can make the world a better place with their own actions (85%) and nearly all adults (92%) have taken action to engage in positive social change in the last year.
• Americans say that they are most likely to get involved in social change in the gestures as individuals acting on their own or in informal groups (52%)
• Around the world, four in five adults (81%, on average) agree with the statement “I would like to be more involved in positive social change in the future,” especially in China (93%), Brazil (91%) and Mexico (89%).

Story Line #2-The revolution may not be televised, but it will be digitized and amplified.

Technology streamlines our tools, eases our actions and informs our knowledge. As a result, social change is no longer in the hands of the few but in the ability of masses.

By the numbers:

• Overall, Americans believe that digital technology enhances social change by making it easier to do many things, particularly following news and events related to social change ( 79%) and increasing awareness about issues or needs( 77%)
• Most adults in countries around the world (89%, on average) agree that technology can turn a cause into a movement faster than anything else can, particularly those in Spain (93%), Canada (91%), Brazil (91%), Great Britain (91%) and China (91%).

Story Line #3- Think Global, Act Local is not a meme, it is a muscle.

There is more trust for the momentum built at the local level than orchestrated at the national level.  Established players would be wise to notice and engage accordingly.

By the numbers:

• Most adults (88%) agree that the best way to have an impact on the world it make a change at the local level .
• A majority of adults in countries around the world (73%, on average) agree that what happens to communities in other parts of the world affects their local community, most commonly in Spain (82%), Japan (81%), Germany (75%), Canada (74%) and France (74%).

Story Line #4- Education remains the rallying cry for people to organize around.

As customers and consumers of education, people are wondering if education is, in fact, the great equalizer for economic well being. More importantly, they are wondering why the quantity of educational choices are no longer focused on the quality of the education.

By the numbers:

• Adults find education to be the most important social change issue right now and in the future. ( 40%)
• Education is the most important social change issue in Brazil (63%), India (56%) and the U.S. (40%).

Story Line #5- Even with technology, people still want to witness the fruits of their labor

People are most profoundly changed when they experience something in person. Technology raises awareness and action, but long term commitment will come from the personal touch.

By the numbers:

• Young adults are still getting involved through traditional methods to get involved such as making donations, educating others, volunteering,signing a petition or fundraising for a cause more so than blogging or creating an online group.
• On average, 75% of adults have engaged in positive social change during the past six months through a range of activities, which vary in popularity by country.
• Donating money, goods or services is the most common form of action in seven out of 11 countries: Canada (66%), China (51%), India (50%), Great Britain (49%), the U.S. (45%), Germany (31%) and Japan (30%).

Moving forward, will you be a part of the story or a member of the audience?

Social change is a part of our human fiber because our ability create change is innate.  Our challenge continues to be our contribution. In 2012, the story continues.

What role will you play?

For more info on the report:

Click here for both the American and International Survey Finding

Click here to see their presentation on Slideshare

Photo credit: Flickr, Book Aid International

Thanksgiving was a few days ago. Like most of the U.S.,  I ate , watched parades, ate some more, laughed, watched movies and shared time with “family”.   I am looking around the interwebs and I see everyone saying thanks and being in the giving mood.

Its that time of the year when we celebrate, reflect, show love and renew. This mood starts at Thanksgiving and goes through the New Year. I like to think of it as the time of year for both “ THANKS” and “GIVING”.

Thankfulness

For the past month or so, I haven’t been  feeling very thankful. In fact, I was  feeling numb. The world had made me numb and angry. Too many failures, too many disgraces, too many atrocities. Too much ugliness. Too much apathy. Too.too.too.

But, the world doesn’t get to make me numb for too long.

Nope, I have lived and shaped my life for 41 years so I am not about to give into the world ills now. Two months ago, I wrote that it was time for the do gooders to fill the optimism gap. Well today, I am going to say that it is the job of humanity to be thankful.

Why? Because we can.  I’ll start. Okay?

I am giving thanks for the following:

• Having friends and family in my life who love all of me.
• Giving a damn and continuing to “feel” for this country
• A core belief that progressive social change WILL happen
• Practicing empathy in the face of cynicism
• Clients who have worked with me and trusted me to come through for them
• My IRL and virtual community of fellow women and men small business owners who propel not just my business but my dream forward
• The ability to read and write
• A caring partner
• Bravery (in others and in myself)
• Many well cooked meals
• Birthday wishes
• Legal marriage in six states for same sex couples
• My nieces and nephews
• The ability to stretch my limbs whether to dance, stretch or strengthen
• Laughter ( big gigantic belly full of laughter)
• Breath
• Thoughtful discussion
• Coffee

Bright Spots

For those of you in the trenches doing social change work day in and day out, what are you thankful for?  Imagine if we started to orient our work from taking in all of the good things that are happening.  What if we shifted from the numbness that we can feel to giving for what is working, what is a success, what goodness we do see?

What is the world like when we are thankful?

Tis the season,

This past weekend, I decided to close my account at a national bank and join a credit union. After 15 years of being a loyal customer, they are going charge me $12 a month to have access to my own money. It is my stand. Like most people, I don’t want to give them 144 bucks of my own hard earned money to have further access my own resources.

More importantly, I don't want them to use my resources to invest irresponsibly anymore.

This is only one part of the impact that Occupy Wall Street has had. Only 2 months old, this movement has taken over the American psyche. On a daily basis, we are asked to consider the following:

• Are you are part of the 99% ?
• Do you think income inequality is a real problem?
• Are you in favor of the movement?

• Do you wonder what “good it will do?”

Opinions and emotions are across the board, but the impact of this movement is real.

Without having a policy agenda or a clearly definable leader, the Occupy movement is inspiring change in thousands of lives and systems. It is changing our discourse and action for the future.  In my opinion, here are 4 ways it is doing so:

1. The “Occupy movement” is questioning the place of nonprofit's in social change.

This movement is a populist movement. For the people by the people. But it hits on many of the long time concerns that nonprofits have been fighting for: anti-poverty, educational debt, income equality. At first glance, you would think nonprofits see “ready made” allies for their work. But, most nonprofits have done nothing more than endorse the movement. There have been no major rallies nor coordinated actions with the protestors. Here are couple of reasons why :

• A fear of being lost in the crowd

You can understand that a nonprofit might not be willing to ally itself with a movement that is so broad about what it stands for. An established nonprofits may not see the ROI of joining a protest when they don't know how their organization's messages will be amplified. My question is: If this movement gains “political” legs, will nonprofits be welcome?

• Conflicts of Funding Interests

Another reason for nonprofit's reticence may be that nonprofits have a conflict of interest. Most nonprofits are funded by the institutions that are being targeted by protesters: the financial industry and government. Can they really afford to bite the hand that feeds them? Its a delicate balance for sure.

2. Individuals and “free agents” for social change are the new norm.

In a recent study, Social Change Impact Report, it was reported that:

“Americans say they are most likely to get involved in social change in the future as individuals acting on their own or in informal groups ( 52%). Forty three percent (43% )believed that individuals will play a larger role in social change in the future.”

In the book, The Networked Nonprofit, Beth Kanter and Alison Fine discuss the rise of the “free agent”. They say:

“ a free agent is a person (many times a GenY, but not always) who is a passionate about a social cause, but is working outside of a nonprofit organization to organize, mobilize, raise money, and engage with others. Free agents are also fluent in social media and take advantage of the social media tool set to do everything organizations have always done, but outside of institutional walls.”

Staunchly non hierarchical, non affiliated, springing up everywhere and media and tech savvy, the Occupy Wall Street movement is filled with free agents and they will be heard.

3. People are being radicalized.

The way to create social change is to have people have an experience that motivates them to change.  In his book,The Long Haul, Myles Horton, a central figure to 20^th century civil rights, says:

“People learn from the movement to go beyond the movement. It may only affect a minority of people but there are so many people involved that thousands of them get radicalized...through an experience of being a part of a social movement, they understand that they must change the system.”

~Myles Horton

The U.S. is built on radicalism. Radical religious beliefs, radical government beliefs, radical beliefs about equality and radical beliefs about human rights have all contributed to our country's ethos. Right now, we are have radical thoughts about income equality. Should that be scary or should we just accept that we are following the course of history?

4. Occupy Wall Street is a star fish, other social change efforts have become spiders.

In 2006, a book called the Starfish and Spider discussed the phenomena of leadersless organizations. The book's basic tenet is that current leadership models are very vulnerable. Most governments, organizations and action are organized as Spiders. The Spider has a centralized body with legs. It operates from its central place and the legs move in coordination. But if you cut off the head; it dies.

In contrast, there are some recent movements who have been Starfish. Starfish are decentralized networks. The Arab Spring and the Occupy Movements are starfish. With a starfish, major organs are replicated throughout each arm. Cut it in half and you get two starfish. Not only has the Occupy movement operated as a starfish in terms of spurring “pop up” occupy movements across the world; but the meme of “Occupy” has spurred on numerous iterations of itself. Advocates are using the meme to point out all sorts of unfair or out of date ideas that they think should be questioned.

Impact is GOOD

Whether or not the Occupy movement goes anywhere , it is clear that it is having an impact. And impact is good but it means change.  Change is scary.  Which might explain why it is a bit of head scratcher to some who want to be able to point to an origin or a birthplace in order to explain its rise or to discredit it. Stop trying to explain the phenomena and just...

OCCUPY ON

Yours in social change,
Ericka