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Rights + Justice

A Wake up Call to ‘Social Change’ Organizations

The stakes are huge, the timeline urgent. Who’s up to the task at hand?

Jason Mogus 28 Jul 2016TheTyee.ca

Jason Mogus heads NetChange Consulting, formerly Communicopia, a Vancouver-based firm that supports global institutions with organizational change. They recently produced the Networked Change Report, a study of 47 of today’s most successful social change campaigns.

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The time is passed for incrementalism. But are social change orgs equipped to mobilize massive change? Image: Shutterstock.

Memo to: Leadership at society’s most important social change organizations.

From: The world.

Re: Urgent transformation needed re: cultural and political crisis.

It’s become well beyond cliche to say we live in interesting times. I’m sure most of us by now, if we could, would happily go for less interesting ones. But here we are.

The role of social change institutions in leading us through the multiple, deepening crises in our culture, our communities, our planet, and our own spirits couldn’t be more clear. The time has passed for incrementalism.

Let’s connect some recent dots:

• Brexit: A massive, nativist reaction against the status quo, which completely caught all elites off guard.

• Trumpism / The rise of authoritarianism: As the right gets crazier by the cycle, it’s precisely the social change we seek that is leading the U.S. towards a demagogue who promises to pound the culture, and our movements, back in time.

• Injustice and inequality: Sparking U.S. and global flashpoints around race, gender and economic justice.

• Global conflicts and resource scarcity: Driving the refugee crisis with rising fear and intolerance in wealthy countries.

• The climate crisis: A wicked problem that clearly highlights the world’s economic and political leadership crisis.

• How about a few more: The fact that youth aren’t joining NGO’s, or that many of today’s top activists (and not just young ones) think NGO is almost a dirty word, that we are actually part of the problem holding this corrupt system together and blocking needed transformation.

If you’re leading (or want to lead) an institution that’s working on progressive social change today, the stakes for your success – stopping the worsening bad and pushing harder for the good we know is possible but isn't happening fast enough – couldn’t be higher.

If you’re not connected to the biggest and most urgent social movements of our times, if you’re not using the campaigning tactics of the 21st century, if you’re still working within a worldview and organizational model that’s largely unchanged from the ‘80’s, it’s time to get better, fast, or get out of the way to clear the space for people who are.

Let me be more clear.

If you’re soaking up precious philanthropic resources but not chalking up serious wins.

If you’re not learning to be more democratic by truly involving your supporters in meaningful ways.

If you’re not working effectively with others in your movement, and crossing comfortable boundaries (often around race and class) to support allies who struggle.

If you’re not transparent, sharing ideas that aren’t perfect, and telling the truth of what’s working and what’s not.

If you’re not running data-driven campaigns, shaped by your supporter's values and co-created with their leadership.

If you’re not able to focus on a few transformative innovations and execute them in a world-class way.

If you’re not hiring and retaining amazing, ambidextrous staff who can do multiple things well.

If you’re not able to pivot on a dime, taking advantage of rapid cultural or political moments that arise.

If you’re not seeing those controlling the system clearly, still trying to be “bi-partisan,” not calling out the enemies of progress as the super-villains they are.

If you’re still bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Then you will quickly find yourself on the losing side of this moment in history, and we’re all going to suffer for it.

Institutions alone aren’t going to bring about the transformative change the world needs now, but we’re not going to get it, or keep it, without them.

Leaders today face a stark choice – to boldly modernize and renew our models for a radically changed world, or get out of the way so others who get it can take the lead.

Which side will you be on?  [Tyee]

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