Founder’s Message
In support of collective change, I have personally worked on dozens of efforts at the regional, national, and global levels, researching and connecting with more than 100 collective change efforts around the world. There is much to be proud of in the work that is taking place.
Yet even the best collective change efforts today rarely alter systems in transformative ways. Solutions often stay at the programmatic level, failing to adequately take on systemic causes such as racism, or to deal with cultural barriers and harmful ways of thinking that impede equitable progress. Virtually all of today’s collective change efforts struggle with transforming power, remaining stuck in dynamics that limit the possibility of going beyond incremental systems change.
In my own collective change work, I’ve begun to innovate alongside courageous partners with ways to go deeper in relational connection, systemic analysis, healing, and developing power-shifting solutions. These are areas that require intentional focus if we are to achieve transformational outcomes.
I’ve arrived at these approaches in part through field trial and error, and through learning from the work of wise social change practitioners such as john a. powell, Peter Senge, Angela Glover Blackwell, Brenda Zimmerman, and Marshall Ganz. But even more of what guides me in this moment is experience from my spiritual life where I’ve engaged and studied activities that support individual and group transformation—practices such as circles, meditation, ritual, ways of embodiment, and other approaches that enhance listening from the heart.
These approaches help return us to our innate ability to think and act in the interests of the whole, instead of focusing attention mostly on the parts. They are universal, occurring with variations in many spiritual and cultural traditions around the world. Many are contained within some present day change approaches such as restorative justice, truth and reconciliation, and peace and conflict resolution. And yet, particularly in dominant cultures, these transformational practices remain peripheral to social and environmental problem solving. There is so much potential if we can integrate them. If we don’t, we will forever limit our ability to make progress towards equity and justice.
These reasons inspired me to launch the Collective Change Lab, to amplify the voices of those currently pursuing transformational collective change around the globe, and to more fully demonstrate how the approaches being used can help us realize our collective potential.
If you are interested in exploring ways to partner we welcome the opportunity to connect.
John Kania
Founder, Executive Director, Board Chair