Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

by Adrienne Maree Brown

An elegant step is one that acknowledges what is known and unknown, and what the capacity of this group actually is.

Having clear principles or intentions means, that as conditions change, there is a common understanding of what matters, a way to return to shared practice and behavior.

Gosh I feel seen

Wherever there is a problem, there are already people acting on the problem in some fashion. Understanding those actions is the starting point for developing effective strategies to resolve the problem, so we focus on the solutions, not the problems.

The strongest solutions happen through the process, not in a moment at the end of the process.

The most effective strategies for us are the ones that work in situations of scarce resources and intersecting systems of oppression because those solutions tend to be the most holistic and sustainable.

We encourage people to engage with their whole selves, not just with one part of their identity.

We begin by listening.

So communications, strategies and resource sharing is critical, to help us see our connections and build on these.

We need to treat each other with justice and respect, both on an individual and an organizational level, in this country and across borders.

As we change societies, we must change from operating on the mode of individualism to community-centeredness.

The Ruckus Society’s Action Framework.

Solidarity is a Verb

PROTOCOLS: How we believe in doing this work

Strive for a strategic diversity of tactics so all who want can play a role

Engage Tension, Don’t Indulge Drama;

W.A.I.T.—Why Am I Talking?

Make Space, Take Space—a post-ableist adaptation of step up, step back to help balance th...

Building, not selling—when you speak, converse, don’t pitch;

Yes/and, both/and;

Assume best intent, attend to impact;

Identify the area where a decision is needed and have an exploratory conversation to find out where the group’s preferences and concerns are.

Based on that conversation and any additional research, one person or sub-group can develop a proposal that represents the discussion.

Review proposal together and make decision.

I see strategic plans as maps through territory—maps that can be out of date the moment they are written down as the political, economic, or social landscapes shift like tectonic plates.

I reject the idea that there is ever only one way forward at an individual or collective level.

That said, an organization is a specific and strange thing, like a Flintstones vehicle—it moves based on the aligned energy of those powering it from within.

Once you identify the vision, you want to choose the vehicle.

I advocate for an agenda that is spacious.

(It doesn’t need to be a circle, but that does seem to help people see the space of the meeting as a finite time within a larger arc of change.

for each group, each convergence of people, there is a conversation or a set of work that only that group can have or do, and the work of the facilitator and group is honing in on that specific work and doing it,

Flow and Toolbox When I am facilitating small groups (less than ten people, who are fairly familiar with each other), I often use a method I think of as flow and toolbox: List the topics that need discussion. For each section I have participants write/reflect/draw their thoughts on blank paper. Have participants briefly share their reflections, then discuss it all as a group, pulling out patterns, themes, principles together. As it makes sense, I draw things out of my toolbox to offer up and support the group. For instance, we might pause to review consensus, or I might show them how Basecamp or OpenOffice works (online work management tools). At the end of the discussion of each topic, we generate take-aways and identify someone to turn our conversation into a clear proposal for next steps. At the end of the day, review and balance next steps, making sure the load is shared amongst the group.

having community to learn with is actually really crucial for human development.

Loretta Ross teaches us that, “When people think the same idea and move in the same direction, that’s a cult. When people think many different ideas and move in one direction, that’s a movement.”

Learning in community helps us see how our own ideas are shifting over time.

It seems a sign of immaturity to hold fast to one position regardless of new information.

clarifying the Decider/Delegator, and who is Accountable, Responsible, Consulted, and Informed about decisions. DARCI is the ultimate “play your position” tool. I have seen many, many versions of the DARCI tool, which was originally developed by organizational/leadership teacher Robert Gass. And dear lord it helps make things so much clearer in any group!

Very Helpful tool

Emergent Strategy Based Gathering Agenda120

Use for collective day

But if you are working in a group and want to have impact, eventually it will be important to create well-used systems of shared work.

It’s about the group being able to have enough information and contact to experience interdependence and adaptation.

Know what your number is, and plan the work you can do within that number.

Brag and Swag Wall.

To get really fancy, have a wall that runs the length of the space you are in and have a past, present, and future section. Let the Brag and Swag portion be in the past. Let the meeting notes accumulate as the present. Then put the next steps and agreements and decision of the meeting be the future.

I have also done events where I added a Wall of Opportunity in the future section, also populated with post-it notes, but on these post-it notes people put projects and campaigns that they want to invite people in the room to learn about and participate in. These post-its can be formatted like this: Name Location/Organization Opportunity Contact information to get involved

Without intention, we are usually practicing what the dominant society wants us to practice—competing with each other to be cogs in a system that benefits the owning class, vaguely religious, vaguely patriotic.

The vision should be a north star for an organization or group, not as a destination, but as a way of being in the world.

it helps to release attachment to the way things currently are, or to a singular outcome. People share differently when they are attached to an outcome

Mediation is when two or more parties receive support from a third party to resolve a conflict. Often the third person is there to give permission for everyone to speak the truth.

“How people are in the relationship is how they will be in the break-up.” My woe Jodie Tonita taught me this, and I have found it to be very useful in mediations. Not all mediations are “break-ups,” but they are usually a transformation of the relationship in some way.

People may decide to stay on their side of the wall, but it helps to understand that the wall is not a forever wall, it can be crossed, circumvented, or even brought down. I will also encourage people to stop “building the wall” by looking for additional places of discontent.

I think the truth is that, as we age, we realize the world is more complex, and we allow ourselves to get woven into that complexity. I am more radical now than I was ten years ago, although it may not look like it. I am more radical in my body, I am more radical in my clarity about the apocalyptic future and my belief that connection to each other is the most important thing to cultivate in the face of hopelessness—we don’t want to cling to outdated paradigms; we want to cling to each other and shift the paradigms.