Are you working for social justice or want to find out how? Do you know what your role is and where you fit in? Deepa Iyer of SolidarityIs and Building Movement Project has a great resource called Mapping Our Roles in a Social Change Ecosystem. It’s a valuable tool in assessing how you fit in with your own communities, what roles you’ve taken on, where you could grow, and what roles you’re naturally gifted for. Over the next 9 blog posts, we will take a deeper look at this system, help you figure out your roles for social change, provide you with real life and fictional examples, and help you set goals and stay motivated in your work for social change.
If you’d like to watch the video version of this post, click here to watch it on YouTube.
When we’re faced with a crisis or some sort of systemic injustice, it can be overwhelming to know what to do when there’s SO much work to be done. We may burn ourselves out trying to do everything and anything, or we may be too paralyzed to even start.
I believe this can happen when we forget that we are not meant to do this work alone.
Big movements for social change take a community of people, with each person having a specific role (or a few roles) to play. Deepa Iyer defines 10 different roles for social change.
Some things to keep in mind when reviewing the roles:
- You can have more than 1 role, but ideally you should be focused on 1-3 to avoid spreading yourself too thin.
- There may be others not listed here, so don’t feel like you have to limit yourself if you feel your role doesn’t quite match with any of these.
- The roles we have aren’t necessarily static. They may change based on the needs of the cause or our community, our capacity during that season, or other factors.
- There doesn’t have to be only 1 person for each role within your ecosystem. There may be a few for each. Don’t exclude others from serving alongside you for the cause. There’s room at the table for everyone, so pull up a chair.
- 1 role may look different for 2 different people. For example, 1 visionary may look quite different from another visionary. Their personality types, unique situations, experiences, and visions all factor into it.
The 10 roles for social change
Weavers
“I see the through-lines of connectivity between people, places, organizations, ideas, and movements.”
These are the people who are really good at seeing how things interconnect. It may be the person who’s constantly networking and introducing people to each other. It may be the person who sees how one crisis or social justice issue relates to another. Or perhaps helping organizations join forces to collaborate. They see the world like a giant puzzle or web of connections that all fit or tie in together. We need weavers because without them we may be working too much in isolation, missing certain cause and effects, or wasting time reworking what’s already been done. They also help us to unite in solidarity—which is crucial for any movement.
Experimenters
“I innovate, pioneer, and invent. I take risks and course-correct as needed.”
These are the people who are willing to step up and try things out even if it has never been done before. They see a gap and seek to fill it. We need experimenters or else we’d be stuck doing the same things, living with the same old systems that caused or contributed to the problems in the first place. It reminds me of the quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” If something is missing or isn’t working, an experimenter will take the risk to try out possible solutions and make changes as they learn what works best.
Frontline Responders
“I address community crisis by marshaling and organizing resources, networks, and messages.”
These are the people who aren’t afraid of being on the “battlefield”—the ones boldly taking action at the frontlines. They are often also the ones FIRST to respond in a crisis while everyone else takes more time to process the situation. While the Visionaries come up with the vision and the Builders may create the plan, it’s often the Frontline Responders who put the plans into action or help move it forward so others can hear the message of it.
Visionaries
“I imagine and generate our boldest possibilities, hopes, and dreams, and remind us of our direction.”
These are the people who see the bigger picture of what we are and what we could be. They are like our north star for social change. Visionaries help us to see what is possible and don’t settle for anything less, though they know and remind us that it’s a journey and each step of it is important progress. They also help us to hold onto hope when things get tough or the battle seems neverending. We need visionaries to inspire us and keep us focused on what we’re all working toward and WHY we’re doing it.
Builders
“I develop, organize, and implement ideas, practices, people, and resources in service of a collective vision.”
These are the people who create practical plans to help bring the vision into reality. They’re the ones who make stuff happen or help come up with the actionable steps or key details for those executing the plan. A builder may be the one working out a timeline or schedule for themselves and their team, with deadlines and milestones. Or they may be the ones carefully organizing, producing, and presenting educational content to help move the vision forward.
Caregivers
“I nurture and nourish the people around me by creating and sustaining a community of care, joy, and connection.”
These are the people who take care of others. They seek to meet needs, spread positivity, and provide for others however they can. They are dependable, generous, and thoughtful. We need caregivers because they are the ones who help us to keep going, avoid burnout, and make sure we’re well taken care of. They sustain us, replenish us, and help us to be well and whole.
Disruptors
“I take uncomfortable and risky actions to shake up the status quo, to raise awareness, and to build power.”
These are the people who aren’t afraid to speak up when they see injustice, ignorance, complacency, or inaccurate information. They’re bold in sharing their views and seek to educate, bringing attention to the (potentially controversial) topics others are too scared or complacent to bring up. They risk facing conflict, ridicule, or, in some extreme cases, imprisonment, job loss, or death in order to bring awareness and push a movement forward. They passionately fight for what they believe in. We need disruptors to say and do the hard things, push against the norm, and spread awareness.
Healers
“I recognize and tend to the generational and current traumas caused by oppressive systems, institutions, policies, and practices.”
These are the people who hold a safe space for others, sit with the hurting, and tend to traumas and pain. They are empathetic, good listeners, discerning, trustworthy, gentle, compassionate, and loving. Healers willingly take on the burdens of others and seek to lighten their load. They aren’t afraid of feeling secondary pain and trauma through actively listening to others. They don’t claim to have all the answers but rather open up their hearts and offer their full, attentive presence so others can feel seen, heard, loved, and validated. A Healer may ask questions so they can better know someone, understand their pain more deeply, and see what places may need extra love and attention.
Storytellers
“I craft and share our community stories, cultures, experiences, histories, and possibilities through art, music, media, and movement.”
These are the people who create pieces through different mediums to communicate, share, record, document, dream, reflect, inspire, move hearts, bring awareness, and encourage action. We need storytellers to preserve our histories and cultures, share our stories, connect our experiences, open our eyes, challenge our thoughts, and deepen our emotions.
I’m reminded of one of my all time favorite quotes that comes from the movie, Saving Mr. Banks. “That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.”
Guides
“I teach, counsel, and advise, using my gifts of well-earned discernment and wisdom.”
These are our teachers, counselors, coaches, and mentors. They take the wisdom they’ve gained through experience and/or private studying and contemplation and use it to help guide others along in their journey. They’re able to look back and learn, as well as use well-honed intuition looking forward. Guides are observant learners and are happy to pass on what they know or give advice to anyone who seeks their counsel.
Deepa Iyer has a reflection guide to help you align with your values and map out your roles. Check it out here.
Over the next month or two I will talk about the strengths each Myers-Briggs and Enneagram type have for social change, share examples of the social change roles in fiction, share real life examples, how to set goals for social change work, how to stay motivated, and how to find/build a well balanced ecosystem/community for social change.
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