Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

by Adrienne Maree Brown

Emergent strategy is how we intentionally change in ways that grow our capacity to embody the just and liberated worlds we long for.

We would understand that the strength of our movement is in the strength of our relationships, which could only be measured by their depth. Scaling up would mean going deeper, being more vulnerable and more empathetic.

I would call our work to change the world “science fictional behavior”—being concerned with the way our actions and beliefs now, today, will shape the future, tomorrow, the next generations.

Science fiction is simply a way to practice the future together. I suspect that is what many of you are up to, practicing futures together, practicing justice together, living into new stories. It is our right and responsibility to create a new world.

Less prep, more presence.

Are you actively practicing generosity and vulnerability in order to make the connections between you and others clear, open, available, durable? Generosity here means giving of what you have without strings or expectations attached. Vulnerability means showing your needs.

I have a commitment I repeat to myself in key leadership moments throughout the day. “I trust myself in the face of the unknown.” While I say it, I focus on my breath, ground through my heels, feel my back, and remember that all of my skills and experience are available and have prepared me for just this moment. I have my woes, who know what I am aiming for, are tracking my situation, and will support and challenge me. Having peers who share the work of becoming the ones we have been waiting for is essential.

Are you a perfect living realization of your values and beliefs?

Often the biggest support we need is to speak the truth out loud to those who will hold it with us from a vantage point of unconditional love.

W.A.I.T.—Why Am I Talking?

I love to say the words “consensus decision making” to people who use the words “efficient” and “ASAP” to describe everything good.

DARCI is a grid that allows you to organize the decisions in your group, organization, network or alliance, clarifying the Decider/Delegator, and who is Accountable, Responsible, Consulted, and Informed about decisions. DARCI is the ultimate “play your position” tool.

The more mysterious the work is, the less resilient the group is.

Name your personal practices to each other within your group. This may include practices around decolonizing your life; studying Black feminist thinkers; living a zero-waste existence; practices around mindfulness and spirit, body health, and exercise; focusing; organizing life, or practices around being present with friends, family. Make it so that the relationships and formations you are in are places to practice liberation.