How do we develop leadership?

Leadership is accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve purpose under conditions of uncertainty.
–Marshall Ganz

Leadership is not about being charismatic or being in control. It is a practice, as seen in the five leadership practices of organizing, that anyone can develop and continue learning about. We probably do not have all the skills and experiences we need from the beginning, and even if we did, most often things do not go as expected. In such situations, we coach each other by asking questions and mirroring the coachee’s answers, helping the coachee understand their situation and find their own next steps. Coaching is not telling the answer, giving advice, or solving the problem for the coachee; it requires a belief that the coachee can develop their capacity to overcome the challenge by themselves. (Watch a coaching model here.)

How do we build power?

No one can organize alone. The foundation of an organizing campaign is supported by strong commitments based on shared values–our shared understanding of not just what and how we want to change (head), but why we want to change (heart).

First, we tell a vivid story of the origins of why I care. When we share those origin moments with one another, we can then articulate why we care, or who we are as a community. Finally, we paint the picture of why now, which includes both the urgent challenge–the probable nightmare if we don’t act now–and the hope–the possible dream if we act now, calling us to a strategic action. Public narrative, in this way, is a leadership practice that enables people to act on shared values and join together in collective action. (Watch a public narrative model here and learn more through these videos.)

Once we can communicate our values, we can share our values with others to build relationships and get real commitments. A value-based relationship is not transactional–such that one person does this for the other, in exchange for the other person doing this for the first person–but rather, transformational–the shared commitment to one another enables them to act together on shared values and grow their moral resources, such as hope, courage, motivation, trust, and solidarity. (Watch a relationship building model here.)

Now that we are building and sustaining relationships, we need a team structure. Have you ever been in a situation where everyone is coming to you for decisions? Or where everyone is doing whatever they want to do, without a shared direction? How about a situation in which your core team is present and strong, but is not connected structurally with the rest of the people you are organizing? We distribute responsibilities in a snowflake leadership model with multiple tiers of interdependent teams, enabling each other to stay accountable to achieving our shared purpose. (Watch a norm accountability model here.)

How do we win the change?

While there are many ways of problem-solving in the world, from technological advancement to charity to social entrepreneurship, problems of power—in which there is a power imbalance between us and the person who can make decisions about the problem—can only be solved by shifting power. Power can be shifted by combining our committed resources and leveraging them to tackle the interests of the decision maker. On the other hand, if the change is something that is achievable without the decision making of an external stakeholder, often what we need is our people’s behavioral change. By combining our resources in ways we hadn’t imagined or dared before, we build power within ourselves to create the change.

Having a solid theory of change (i.e. a hypothesis about how we could win) and planning creative tactics rooted in that theory toward a specific goal are imperative in engaging others to join the campaign and actualizing the win. At the same time, a theory is just a theory; testing it in practice, reflecting, and adapting the strategy are critical in leading an effective campaign.

One campaign cannot solve everything. We win change by developing our leadership and building our capacity in the long run. Therefore, a campaign must result in a societal outcome that brings us closer to that shared purpose, while also developing individual and organizational capacity; people who join the campaign must feel the growth of their skills and capabilities, and the teams must grow into an organization that can sustain the movement toward justice and liberation. In practice, we do this by getting clear commitments for measurable actions, and intentionally designing tasks in a way that develops people’s leadership and motivates them to deepen their commitment.

How has the People, Power, Change framework been used?

The People, Power, Change framework has been developed by Marshall Ganz, upon his organizing journey in the 1960s civil rights movement and later the United Farm Workers alongside César Chávez. Since then, organizers, trainers, and organizations around the world have adapted, translated, and built onto the framework, in order to enable their people to learn and practice it in their local contexts.