Changemaker: more than simply making a change
What does it mean to be a changemaker in 2020?
Our past experience has always been the starting point for taking the action to thrive. Mind, heart, and will are the three pillars that guide us to act as individuals while at the same time feeling that we belong to a community. They engage the person as a whole and the system that we belong to.
It’s been like that since ages ago. And today, amid a disruptive process, with fast and significant transformations at a global pace, it’s not that different. Thriving in transformative times requires an important transformation in our everyday experiences that can change the story of our lives. It emerges from a movement, not only an idea, that guides us to make decisions about which way to go to transform the world into a better place for all of us (whatever your idea is of a good place).
The world wants to change and knows it needs it, but in what direction?
Building the future, co-sensing, and co-shaping it, has been a way to go through and it’s the way we believe at Cocoon Experience. Experiencing the system from the perspective of other players. Shifting the mindset of being aware of the system, rather than simply acting in our own interest or diminished by our own place in it. It’s also about acknowledging that it’s a crucial starting point to stand up for something that needs to change for the benefit of all. Being a changemaker.
The goal must be to co-sense, co-inspire, and co-create an emerging future for their system that values the well-being of all rather than just a few. (Otto Scharmer)
A global changemakers network called Ashoka defined changemaker as anyone who is taking creative action to solve a social problem. More than simply doing good, but being tenacious about the greater good.
It’s like being a leader, among other things. Otto Scharmer, a Senior Lecturer at MIT and author of Theory U, suggests the use of term changemaker due to a wrong perception around leadership. People used to associate it with hierarchy and the players at the top of the hierarchical structure. That’s no longer the case. Today, leadership must evolve towards the capacity to co-sense and co-shape the future as it emerges by the quality of awareness of the participants in a system. Who are these participants? They include leaders and changemakers in business, government, and civil society, as well as consumers, investors, and communities. They include you and me. Anyone can make a difference from anywhere in the world.
Being a changemaker is not possible without also being creative and brave. It takes courage to see and do things differently, and also admit that it’s important to be personally connected to the issues we want to solve.
Motivated to act by a genuine desire to make the world a better place. Every obstacle can become an opportunity. To have the willingness to keep trying over and over. (Ashoka)
In recommending guidelines for taking action, the University of Northampton defined the Unifying Principles for changemakers:
- Believe we have a responsibility to make positive changes in society;
- Believe we have the power and resources (tangible and intangible) to make a difference;
- Take initiative to bring about innovative change, local and systemic;
- Partner with others to maximize impact, working in groups and networks;
- Know your values and live authentically by them;
- Practice empathy by engaging in another person’s world without judgment.
Types of changemakers
Identifying your type can open your mind and heart to be the positive change you want to see around you. Ashoka mapped more than 200 leading social entrepreneurs, partners, and historic figures, and found six common types of changemakers, many of which can be compared to these roles: Social Architecture, Influencer, Investor, Skill Catalyser, Inventor, and Connector. You can check the description of each type and spot yours here.
Not everyone fits in just one of the categories. We play different roles during different stages of our lives. This emphasizes how lasting change is not created by lone heroes. It requires teams of people, strong institutions, and support from every part of society.
So, what does it mean to be a changemaker in 2020?
After all is said (and not done, yet!), I return to the question in the subtitle of this article. Recently, we were devastated by pandemics, racism, economic crisis, terrorism, fundamentalism, gender inequality, global warming, mass migration, are just a few issues that demand solutions. Not to mention those in your local community, your neighborhood, or in the square near to your house. In 2020, it’s almost impossible to be stuck, heedless of what’s going on around us.
Putting a light on the most recent movement #blacklivesmatter, one notable difference about the protests is a significant presence of multiple skin color demonstrators. Why is this happening now? There are some contextual reasons, but I dare say that in this era, the understanding that we are systemically connected is emerging, not only as groups and organizations but also as a global community. Otto Scharmer in Theory U describes it as “a shift from an ego-system awareness that cares about the well-being of oneself to an eco-system awareness that cares about the well-being of all, including oneself”.
Also, hashtags and black squares all over social media feed are cool and important. They have the power to amplify and give a platform to otherwise unheard voices. But the awareness for change cannot be limited to empty gestures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed as clearly as possible how much our neighbor’s problem is also our problem. The learning needs to be followed for other issues we want to change. If the problem is systemic, so must be the solution. More than ever, changemaking requires inspiration from any corner of the world in every shape and size.
As changemakers, we have a lot of work to do.
*All illustrations by Pablo Stanley.
References:
Reem Rahman, Kris Herbst, and Patrice Mobley. More than Simpy “Doing Good”: A Definition of Changemaker. Ashoka Learning Lab, 2016 https://issuu.com/ashokachangemakers/docs/more_than_simply_doing_good_definin
Long Term Economy. Interview with Otto Scharmer (Theory U and Leadership of change), 2019 http://www.lteconomy.it/en/topic-interviews-en/interviste/otto-scharmer-theory-u-and-leadership-of-change
Changemaker in the Curriculum. The University of Northampton, 2014 https://www.northampton.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Changemaker-in-the-Curriculum-Case-Studies_2013_2014.pdf
Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer. Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies. San Francisco, 2013.
