Handbook For Organizing

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 1
Acknowledgements
Originally adapted from the work of Dr. Marshall Ganz
of Harvard University and resources from the Leading
Change Network and the New Organizing Institute.
Revised by the collective work of individuals working

collaboratively from the following organizations:
Dogwood Initiative, Leadnow, One Cowichan, the David
Suzuki Foundation, Stonehouse Institute, and genius.
Design and photography by Shelby Tay.
Restrictions of Use
We welcome your suggestions for improving this
guide. We also welcome you to use it and adapt it for
your own training subject to the following terms and
conditions:
You may reproduce and distribute the work to

others for free, but you may not sell the work to
others.
You may modify the guide, but may not remove
the attributions and citations.
You include a copy of these restrictions with all
copies of the work that you distribute.
A copy of any significant modifications are
to be sent to Dr. Marshall Ganz
([email protected]).
You grant an irrevocable, royalty-free license
to Dr. Marshall Ganz, the Leading Change
Network, and the New Organizing Institute to
reproduce, distribute, and modify the work as
modified by you.
Page 2 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Contents
4 Foreword
5 Introduction to Organizing
9 Telling Stories
15 Building Relationships
21 Coaching: Enabling Others
25 Structuring Teams
30 Strategizing
36 Acting: Tactics & Timelines
41 Tying It All Together
42 Appendix

Foreword
Hello and welcome! from past movements and codified an approach to
grassroots organizing and training that many credit with
The following guide aims to support you in developing winning the 2008 election. Many organizations, including
your capacity for effective community organizing. Our Leading Change Network and New Organizing Institute,
goal is to provide you with an introduction to organizing spawned or grew out of these successful campaigns, and
and encourage you to explore answers to the following most of this guide is adapted from their resources.
questions:
Many people and organizations paid close attention to
Why am I called to leadership in my commu- what these American organizers were doing, and some
nity? How will I move others to join me? How were inspired to shift their approach and adapt this
will we develop strategy and structure our framework. Over the last several years, several organi-
zations in Canada (and British Columbia / Coast Salish
work together? And how will we achieve our
Territories, in particular) have begun to shift their strate-
goals?
gies to focus on community organizing (that is, putting
people and relationships at the centre of the work),
To start, heres how we define leadership: modelled after Ganz and American campaigns. Thats not
to say that local movements or efforts or organizations
Leadership is accepting responsibility for en- havent been working in this relationship-based way for
abling others to achieve purpose in the face a long time; they just might not take inspiration from the
of uncertainty. work of Marshall Ganz or credit themselves as organiz-
ers in the same way.
Heres how we define organizing:
Some call this framework the snowflake model, others
Organizing is leadership that enables people distributed leadership, and still others the Ganz
to turn the resources they have into the pow- model. Whatever we choose to call it, we hope to
er they need to make the change they want. emphasize here that this approach is based in years and
years of community organizing were truly standing
And we break down this definition further by describing on the shoulders of giants employing this organizing
the five key practices of organizing: telling stories, framework, today.
building relationships, structuring teams, strategizing,
and acting. Taken together, these five practices form the In reading this guide, we ask that you keep two things in
basis of the organizing framework laid out in this guide. mind:
Well refer to the above definitions throughout the guide, 1. Remember that organizing is above all a
and unpack what they mean in depth as we work through practice. We learn to organize by organizing, not
the organizing framework. But where does this frame- (just) by reading about it. This guide is meant to
work come from? get you started and serve as a resource, but the
best way to learn this framework is to get out and
Much of this framework was codified by a fellow called do it!
Marshall Ganz. Ganz developed the Public Narrative 2. This organizing framework is just that, a frame-
framework (see the Telling Stories section) based on work, not a formula. Our goal here is to present
years of organizing in and research on social movements. some concepts and tools that many organizers
He cut his teeth as a young organizer in the Civil Rights have found to be effective and, at times, have
movement, worked with the United Farm Workers in the been instrumental in winning campaigns.
1960s and 70s, advised many unions, non-profits, and
political organizations for decades, and was a key trainer We hope you find it useful.
and organizing strategist behind the U.S. presidential
campaigns of 2008 and 2012. Sincerely,
It was during these campaigns that Ganz and fellow Shea Sinnott and Peter Gibbs,
organizers (note: millions of other organizers) built on Vancouver & Victoria, BC / Coast Salish Territories
community organizing best practices and techniques October 2014

Introduction to Organizing
Key Concepts
Organizing is leadership that enables people to turn the resources they have into
the power they need to make the change they want.
Organizing is a practice, and there are five key leadership practices within this
practice: telling stories, building relationships, structuring teams, strategizing, and
acting.
The first question an organizer asks is who are my people? not what is my
issue?
Strong relationships are the foundation of successful organizing efforts.
The snowflake model is an organizational structure that embodies leadership as
that which enables others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty.
What is Organizing? A leader is best

Organizing is leadership that enables people to turn the resources they have into the power
they need to make the change they want. As well learn throughout this guide, community
when people
organizing is all about people, power, and change it starts with people and relationships, barely know he
is focused on shifting power, and aims to create lasting change. Organizing people to build
the power to make change is based on the mastery of five key leadership practices: telling exists, when his
stories, building relationships, structuring teams, strategizing, and acting. That is, to develop
our capacity for effective community organizing, we must learn: work is done,
The Five Leadership Practices
his aim fulfilled,
1. How to articulate a story of why we are called to lead, a story of the community we they will say: we
hope to mobilize and why were united, and a story of why we must act.
2. How to build intentional relationships as the foundation of purposeful collective
did it ourselves.
actions. Lao Tzu
3. How to create structure that distributes power and responsibility and prioritizes
leadership development.
4. How to strategize turning your resources into the power to achieve clear goals.
5. How to translate strategy into measurable, motivational, and effective action.
Though organizing is not a linear process, organizers use the first three practices (stories,
relationships, structure) to build power within a community, while the last two practices
(strategy, action) are about wielding that power in order to create change.

People
The first question an organizer asks is Who are my people? not What is my issue?
Effective organizers put people, not issues, at the heart of their efforts. Organizing is not
about solving a communitys problems or advocating on its behalf. It is about enabling the
people with the problem to mobilize their own resources to solve it (and keep it solved).
Identifying a community of people is just the first step. The job of a community organizer
is transform a community a group of people who share common values or interests into
a constituency a community of people who are standing together to realize a common
purpose. The difference between community and constituency lies in the commitment to
take action to further common goals.
For example, a community could be residents of a town that are against a new dam project,
while a constituency would be residents of the town against the dam who have signed a
petition to take action to stop the dam from being built.
Power
Organizing focuses on power: who has it, who doesnt, and how to build enough of it to
shift the power relationship and bring about change. Reverend Martin Luther King de-
scribed power as the ability to achieve purpose and the strength required to bring about
social, political and economic change. 1
In organizing, power is not a thing or trait. Organizers understand power as the influence
thats created by the relationship between interests and resources. Here, interests are
what people need or want (e.g. to protect a river, to stay in public office, to make money),
while resources are assets (e.g. people, energy, knowledge, relationships, and money) that
can be readily used to, in the case of organizing, achieve the change you need or want.
Understanding the nature of power that it stems from the interplay between interests and
resources and that we must shift power relationships in order to bring about change, is
essential for the success of our organizing efforts.
From the example above, the constituency against the dam may ask questions aimed at
tracking down the power that is, inquiring into the relationship between actors, and
particularly the interests and resources of these actors in their struggle. For instance,
they might ask questions like: what are our interests, or, what do we want? Who holds the
resources needed to address these interests? What are their interests, or, what do they want?
In doing so, the town residents may realize that their local town council is a key actor, that
local councillors want to stay in office and need votes to do so, and in turn, the constituency
holds the resources of people, relationships, and votes that could shift this power relation-
ship and bring about change.
1 King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1967). Where Do We Go From Here? Annual Report Delivered
at the 11th Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Atlanta, GA.
Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gmarkus/MLK_WhereDoWeGo.pdf

Change
In organizing, change must be specific, concrete, and significant. Organizing is not about
raising awareness or speech-making (though these may contribute to an organizing effort).
It is about specifying a clear goal and mobilizing your resources to achieve it.
Indeed, if organizing is about enabling others to bring about change, and specifically,
securing commitment from a group of people with shared interests to take action to further
common goals, then its critical to define exactly what those goals are.
In the case of the proposed dam project from above, the constituency against the dam
must create clear, measurable goals. Note the difference between our goal is to stop the
dam versus our goal is to put pressure on town council in the next 3.5 months through
door-knocking, events, and local newspaper op-eds aimed at getting 1/3 of town residents
to sign our petition to pass a motion to stop the dam project.
Youll learn how to come up with goals in the Strategizing section and how to achieve them
in the Acting section.
The Snowflake Model:

A distributed approach to leadership
We define leadership as accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve purpose in
the face of uncertainty, and the organizational model that best embodies this understand-
ing of leadership is what we call the snowflake model.
First, in the snowflake model, leadership is distributed. No one person or group of people
holds all the power; responsibility is shared in a sustainable way, and structure aims to
create mutual accountability. The snowflake is made up of interconnected teams working
together to further common goals.
The practise of coaching
Second, the snowflake model is based above all on enabling others. A movements strength
is the key means by which
stems from its capacity and commitment to develop leadership and in the snowflake
organizers in the snowflake
model, everyone is responsible for identifying, recruiting, and developing leaders. Leaders
develop leadership. See
develop other leaders who, in turn, develop other leaders, and so on.
the Coaching section
for more details on what
coaching in organizing is
and how to practise your
coaching skills.

Youll learn about the snowflake model in greater detail in the Structuring Teams section,
but for now, reflect on the organizational structures that youve been a part of in your work,
school, or other areas of your life. How might you draw out those structures? Where did you
fit into those structures, and how did you feel in your role?
Now, take a look at diagram 1. Note the faces, the clusters of faces, and the links between
them. How might the snowflake model compare to the structures youve been a part of in
the past? As youll see in the Structuring Teams section, the snowflake model is unique from
typical organizing or leadership structures in that responsibility is distributed and it prioritiz-
es leadership development above all.
In closing, keep the snowflake model structure and the core tenets of people, power, and
change in mind as we dive deeper into the the five practices of organizing: telling stories,
building relationships, structuring teams, strategizing, and acting.
Further Reading
Ganz, M. (2010). Leading Change: Leadership, Organization, Social Movements. In N.
Nohria & R. Khurana (Eds.), the Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (pp. 509-550).
Danvers: Harvard Business School Press.
For a full list of writings by Marshall Ganz, visit http://marshallganz.com/publications
For readings and training resources from the New Organizing Institute, visit
http://neworganizing.com/toolbox

Telling Stories
Key Concepts
We tell stories in organizing to communicate our values and to motivate people
to take action.
A story structure is made up of three elements: plot, character, and moral, but
a story comes alive when the character faces a challenge, makes a choice, and
experiences the outcome.
The Public Narrative framework is comprised of a Story of Self, a Story of Us, and
a Story of Now, and learning to craft and re-craft your Public Narrative is a leader-
ship practice.
Storytelling in Organizing If I am not for

We turn to storytelling in organizing to answer the question of why? why we care, why myself, who
the work that we do matters, why we value one goal over another. Most of us dont do this
work because of a list of facts, and rattling off statistics isnt usually an effective means of will be for me?
recruiting ordinary people to stand up against injustice. Instead, were here because of
our values; the desire to make change stems from beliefs like fairness, equality, democra-
If I am only for
cy, or environmental sustainability. myself, what am
Storytelling allows us to communicate our values, and in organizing, we use stories to I? And if not now,
articulate our shared values. Stories can be a source of inspiration, a means to engage
and connect with one another, and most importantly, a way to motivate others to join when?
us. That is, in order to motivate others to join us in making change, we need to identify
and articulate our shared values in a way that spurs us to take action, together. The most
Hillel (Pirkei Avot
effective way to do that is by telling stories. Chapter 1:14)
Remember that storytelling is not synonymous with speech-making. It is a practise we use

in many different contexts, not just from a stage at a rally. For example, stories are also told
when recruiting a new team member, or when debriefing with a volunteer who had a hard
shift. Specifically, an organizer may ask a new team member why did you choose to get
involved in this campaign? or can you tell me more about why youre here today? in order
to hear a little of the volunteers story. In turn, the organizer might share a bit of their story,
for the purpose of building connection, and, hopefully, motivating the volunteer to take
further action on the campaign.
Each of us can learn to tell a story that can move others to action. We all have stories of
challenge and of hope, or we wouldnt think the world needed changing or think that
we could change it. The trick is to articulate a story that communicates the values that
have called us to leadership, the values that unite us, and the challenges that we must
overcome together; in this section, well explore a framework for storytelling called Public
Narrative that revolves around those three elements a Story of Self, Us, and Now.

Emotions
The key to motivation is understanding that values inspire action through emotion.
Stories enable us to communicate our feelings about what matters, so compelling stories
are not overly abstract or intellectual, theyre about real-life experiences that have the
power to move others.
ACTION ACTION Again, storytelling in organizing is all about inspiring action, and leaders
INHIBITORS MOTIVATORS must learn to mobilize the emotions that make agency possible. As
diagram 2 illustrates, some emotions inhibit action, while other emotions
inertia O urgency
facilitate action. Action is inhibited by feelings of inertia, apathy, fear,
V isolation, and self-doubt, while action is facilitated by feelings of urgency,

anger, hope, solidarity, and the feeling that you can make a difference
apathy E anger (or, Y.C.M.A.D.).
R For instance, fear can paralyze us and drive us to rationalize inaction.

fear C hope Amplify this fear by feelings of self-doubt and isolation and people
become victims of despair. On the other hand, hope can overcome fear,
O and in concert with self-esteem (Y.C.M.A.D.) and love (solidarity), these
isolation M solidarity emotions can move us to act.
E Effective storytellers learn how to adapt their stories to different audi-

self-doubt S Y.C.M.A.D. ences by tapping into the emotions their listeners are feeling at the time,
and then evoking mobilizing emotions they deem timely or relevant to
motivate them to act.
Structure: Challenge, Choice, Outcome

If you reflect on stories youve heard or remember most vividly, youll probably notice that
stories have similar structural elements. That is, a story is usually crafted of just three things:
plot, character, and moral.
Narrative Structure
But what makes a story a story, rather than the recounting of an event?
Challenge, choice, and outcome. A story begins with a challenge that
CHARACTER PLOT confronts a character and demands that they make a choice, and this
choice yields an outcome. Stories capture our interest when the char-
CHALLENGE acter meets an unexpected challenge; listeners lean in when presented
with tension, uncertainty, or the unknown. Challenges, choices, and
outcomes are the structural elements that make stories come alive.
OUTCOME
Remember, stories are about people. The storyteller engages an
audience when they make them identify with the character in the story.
As a storyteller, the goal is to create empathy between listener and
character so that, hopefully, listeners are encouraged to think about their
own challenges and choices. Even further, the goal is to get listeners to
CHOICE experience or feel the outcome of the characters choices (a lesson of
the heart) and not just understand it (a lesson of the head).
moral

Public Narrative
Marshall Ganz created the Public Narrative framework based on the stories told by social
movement leaders and his understanding of the need for social movements to tell new
public stories.2 As Ganz has written:
Through public narrative, social movement leaders and participants can

move to action by mobilizing sources of motivation, constructing new shared
individual and collective identities, and finding the courage to act.3
The Public Narrative framework is made up of three components: a Story of Self, a Story
of Us, and a Story of Now. A Story of Self communicates the values that have called you
to leadership; a Story of Us communicates the values shared by those in action; a Story of
Now communicates an urgent challenge to those values that demand action now. Note the
quotation from Hillel in the opening to this section: If I am not for myself, who will be for
me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? (Pirkei Avot Chapter 1:14).
Simply put, Public Narrative says, Heres who I am, this is what we have in common, and
heres what were going to do about it. By mastering the practise of crafting a narrative that
bridges the self, us, and now, organizers enhance their own efficacy and create trust and
solidarity with their constituency.
story of story of
self PURPOSE now

call to leadership strategy & action
C
O
Y
C
M
EN
M
U
G
N
R
IT
U
Y
story of
us
shared values &
shared experience
2 Ganz, M. (2010). Leading Change: Leadership, Organization, Social Movements (pp.

526).
3 Ibid, pp. 527.

Story of Self
Telling your Story of Self is a way to communicate who you are, the choices that have shaped
your identity, and the values you hold that influenced those choices. Learning to tell a
compelling, emotive Story of Self demands the courage of introspection, and even more
courage in sharing what you discover.
We construct our stories of self around choice points moments when we faced a chal-
lenge, made a choice, experienced an outcome, and learned a lesson. Ask yourself: when
did I first care about being heard? When did I first experience injustice? When did I feel I had
to act and what did I do?
Once you identify a specific, relevant choice point, dig deeper and ask yourself: what was
the outcome of this choice and how did it feel? What did it teach me?
Some of us may think that our personal stories dont matter or that others wont care to hear
them. Yet if we do community or social change work then we have a responsibility to give a
public account of ourselves where we come from, why we do what we do, and where we
think were going. Whats more, if we dont author our own stories, others might do it for us
(and in ways we may not like).
In developing your Story of Self, reflect on these questions

1. Why am I called to leadership?
2. Why did I decide to tackle this specific injustice or problem and work on this
organizing effort?
3. What values move me to act? Have these values always been important to me?
If not, when did that change? How might these values inspire others to similar
action?
4. What stories can I tell from my own life about specific people or events that
would show, rather than tell, how I learned or acted on those values?
For more help with developing your Story of Self and full Public Narrative see page 42.

Story of Us
A Story of Us expresses the values and shared experience of the us you want to evoke at
the time. This means our us can and will change depending on who were speaking to.
The goal is to create a sense of unity, togetherness, and focus on the shared values of your
listeners.
Similar to a Story of Self, a Story of Us focuses on choice points, but this time, the character
in your Story of Us is the community you are motivating to act, and the choices are
those the community has faced. That said, a compelling Story of Us doesnt just highlight
challenges, it also lifts up stories of success to give people hope. As Ganz writes, Hope is
one of the most precious gifts we can give each other and the people we work with to make
change.4
In developing your Story of Us, reflect on these questions

1. What values do you share with this community? (note: community here is the
us in your story)
2. What experiences have had the greatest impact on this community? What
challenges has it faced?
3. What change does this community hope for and why?
For more help with developing your Story of Us and full Public Narrative see page 42.
Story of Now
A Story of Now articulates the urgent challenge your us faces and the threat to your
shared values that demands immediate action. In your Story of Now, paint the picture of
what the future looks like if we fail to act now (the nightmare) and what the future could be
if we act together (the dream).
Lastly, a Story of Now makes the bridge from story, why we should act, to strategy, how
we can act. Specifically, your Story of Now should end with a hard ask (see the Building
Relationships section for what this is). Its up to you to both motivate your listeners to take
action and give them a specific, concrete way to take action.
4 Ganz, M. (2009). Why Stories Matter: The Art and Craft of Social Change. Sojourners.
Retrieved from http://www.sojo.net/magazine/2009/03/why-stories-matter

In developing your Story of Now, reflect on these questions
1. What is the urgent challenge your us faces?
2. What change does this community hope for and why? What would the future
look like if this change is made? What would the future look like if the change
isnt made? (note: here, youre trying to paint a picture of the dream of the
future if the change is made, and the nightmare of the future if it isnt.)
3. What choice are you asking people to make and why now?
4. What action are you asking them to take and what impact will this have on the
bigger picture? Whats the risk, or again, what would the future look like if we
fail to act?
For more help with developing your Story of Now and full Public Narrative see page 42.
When woven together, your Public Narrative should present a plan for how to overcome
the challenge at hand and give your listeners an opportunity to join you in taking action. In
closing, remember that storytelling in organizing is a leadership practice above all and is
a means of connecting, inspiring, and motivating one another to work together to create
change.
As you listen to others Public Narratives, reflect on the following questions

1. What values did the speakers story convey?
2. What details reflected those values?
3. What was the challenge, choice, and outcome in each part of their story?
4. What did the character in the story learn from those outcomes?
5. What was the speaker moving people to do?
For a more comprehensive guide to listening to and coaching others in telling stories,
see the worksheet on page 46.
Further Reading
Ganz, M. (2009). Why Stories Matter: The Art and Craft of Social Change. Sojourners.
Retrieved from http://www.sojo.net/magazine/2009/03/why-stories-matter
Ganz, M. (2011). Public Narrative, Collective Action, and Power. In S. Odugbemi and T. Lee
(Eds.), Accountability Through Public Opinion: From Inertia to Public Action (pp. 273-289).
Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Sachs, J. (2012). Winning the story wars: why those who telland livethe best stories will rule
the future. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

Building Relationships
Key Concepts
The 1:1 meeting is a key tool for establishing and maintaining relationships; there
are three types of 1:1s recruitment, maintenance, and escalation.
A hard ask is an effective way to ask for a commitment to establish a relationship.
Recruitment and retention best practices can significantly increase the rate at
which new people join and stay on your team.
Why Build Relationships? Organizing is a

Again, we define organizing as leadership that enables people to turn the resources they fancy word for
have into the power they need to make the change they want. Power comes from our com-
mitment to work together to achieve common purpose, and commitment is developed relationship-
through relationships. building.
Building Intentional Relationships Mary Beth Rogers
Relationships are rooted in shared values. We can identify values that we share by
learning each others stories, especially choice points in our life journeys. The key is asking
each other why?
Relationships are long term. Organizing relationships are not simply transactional. Were
not simply looking for someone to meet our ask at the end of a 1:1 meeting (read on for
what this means) or house meeting. Were looking for people to join with us in sustained,
long-term growth and action.
Relationships are created by mutual commitment. An exchange becomes a relationship

only when each party commits a portion of their most valuable resource to it: time. Because
we can all grow and change, the purposes that led us to form the relationship may change
as well, offering possibilities for deeper relationships or more enriched exchange. The
relationship itself becomes a valued resource.
Relationships involve consistent attention and work. When nurtured over time, rela-
tionships sustain motivation and inspiration and become an important source of continual
learning and development for the individuals and communities that make up your organiz-
ing campaigns.

The 1:1 Meeting
The 1:1 meeting is a tool to establish, maintain, and grow relationships in organizing. Each 1:1 meeting has four key
pieces:

Purpose Be up front in establishing why you are meeting in order to make sure you are both on the same page.
If you plan to ask the person youre meeting with to make a commitment at the end of your 1:1, it is appropriate
to let them know when you set up the meeting and remind them at the beginning of your meeting, so that they
arent caught off guard.

Exploration Most of the 1:1 is devoted to exploration by asking probing questions. If you are meeting a person
for the first time, ask questions that help you understand their story, values, and resources that may be relevant
to your shared purpose (e.g. knowledge or skills they may have). If you already have a relationship, ask questions
that help you understand whats going on in their life, or the challenges or success they are experiencing in their
organizing.

Exchange We exchange resources in the meeting such as information, support, and insight; you may connect
your stories or provide coaching on a challenge. This creates the foundation for future exchanges.

Commitment A successful 1:1 meeting ends with a commitment to start working together or continue working
together.
Three Types of 1:1 Meetings

There are three types of 1:1s that you will use or engage in in your organizing relationships.
1. Recruitment 1:1 3. Escalation 1:1

These meetings happen at the start of a relationship These meetings are for organizers who are ready to
to connect you and a new organizer and establish a take the next step on the ladder of engagement in
connection based on shared goals and values. The assuming more responsibility and taking on ownership
goals of the recruitment 1:1 are to make a personal of goals (see the Structuring Teams section for more
connection, use your personal story to identify and information on the ladder of engagement). First,
gauge potential and interests, probe for a shared recognize the accomplishments the organizer has
experience and connect on values, and lastly, pivot already made, then propose the idea of taking on this
to engagement that is, move the volunteer to action new leadership role. If all goes as planned and the
based on what youve discussed. Think about the organizer accepts, take the time to clearly lay out the
volunteers aptitude, skills, and connections when responsibilities and expectations for this new role.
considering how to best engage them.
See page 18 later in this section for a sample recruit-

ment 1:1 meeting agenda. Because every organizer has a limited amount
of time, and maintenance 1:1s need to happen
2. Maintenance 1:1 regularly, each organizer has a limit to how
many relationships they can maintain. See the
These meetings should occur regularly between you Structuring Teams section for information on
and each of your organizers (assuming that you are in sustainable relationship ratios.
a leadership role in your team or snowflake). This is an
opportunity to catch up on a personal level, debrief
recent actions taken by the organizer and their team, Maintenance 1:1s are the primary opportunity
and offer coaching. Maintenance 1:1s should be to coach an organizer. See the Coaching section
scheduled regularly and proactively: do not wait for a for more information on how to approach
problem to occur to schedule one. A good guideline coaching.
is to schedule a maintenance 1:1 every two weeks.

Hard Asks
When you ask someone to make a commitment for instance, attend an event or take on a
new role its important to make an effective ask, or what we call a hard ask. A hard ask is
an ask that results in a commitment to a specific action. Here are some best practices for a
hard ask:
Ask in concise, plain, and specific language.

Example of an effective hard ask:
Can you come to our team meeting next Wednesday at 6pm at Alishas
house?
Example of an ineffective ask:
Would you be interested in coming to a meeting at some point to meet the

team and talk about how you might want to get involved?
Never apologize for asking: organizing is an opportunity, not a favour. Sometimes
we feel badly for asking someone to take action because we feel it is an inconve-
nience, when really, were providing the person were asking with an opportunity
to take action.
Dont ask them to commit to something general; instead, have a specific event or
role in mind. If its an event (e.g. a canvassing event or house meeting), include the
date, time, and location in your ask.
Convey urgency: Describe an urgent problem and how the person you are asking
is the solution to the problem.
Three Types of No
When securing commitment, its inevitable that our hard asks will sometimes be met with
no. In organizing, there are three types of nos that you will encounter not now, not
that, and not ever and being attuned to the difference will dictate how you proceed
with the person youre asking.
If someone says no they might mean not that time, so try offering another time or date.
For example:
Can you come to our next team meeting on Monday at 5PM?

No, I have to work then.
No problem, we have another meeting next Sunday at 1PM, can you come to that?
If someone says No, I dont want to do that, it probably means not that. Try asking them
to commit to something else. For example:
Can you come door-to-door canvassing with us on Tuesday at 5PM?

I dont know if I feel comfortable going door-to-door, Ive tried it before and found it
really intimidating.
Thats okay! We are also planning an event to recruit new volunteers for the end of
the month. Will you come to the planning meeting for that on Sunday at 1PM?

If someone says definitively No, Im not interested in doing more or No, I dont want to
join the team, then dont worry about it! Thank them and move on. For example:
Can you come door-to-door canvassing with us on Tuesday at 5pm?

No, I am too busy right now to take on anything else, Im sorry!
Thats okay, thanks for taking some time to talk with me. Have a great day!
Sample Recruitment 1:1 Agenda

The following is a sample recruitment 1:1 meeting agenda. Reminder here that this is a
framework you can follow, not an exact formula for what you must do in a 1:1.
Purpose (2 minutes) Be up front about your purpose for the meeting (e.g. Our team
needs a new canvass lead.), but that first, youd like to take a few moments to get
acquainted.
Exploration, Connection, and Exchange (20 minutes) Most of the 1:1 is devoted to
exploration by asking probing questions to learn about the other persons values and
interests, as well as resources they might hold. In response, its up to you to share enough
about your own values, interests, and resources so that it can be a reciprocal exchange.
Start by asking questions like:
Why is this issue important enough for you to act?

Can you remember the first time you stood up for something you believed in?
Did you always feel strongly about this issue? Why / why not and what changed
that?
Once you have an understanding of their story and motivations, share yours. Wherever you
In this portion of the 1:1, find similarities between their story and yours, make a connection.
you are trying to get them
to share their Story of Commitment: A Hard Ask (10 minutes) A successful 1:1 meeting ends with a commit-
Self with you, and then to ment to work together. This commitment is best secured through a hard ask:
share your story to build a Stress the urgency of the commitment you are asking for:
Story of Us. See the Telling We need another canvass lead to enable our team to meet our target.
Stories section for what this Emphasize the values you have in common:
means. To achieve the change we want we need to meet our targets.
Frame it so that it seems the person youre asking is the solution to the problem:
Will you take on the role of canvass lead?
Be specific, make sure they understand what it is you are asking them. Provide time
and space for them to ask questions until theyre clear.
End the meeting with an understanding of next steps that is, they should leave
knowing the next time you will meet or how and when they will hear from you.

Best Practices for a 1:1
Do Dont
Schedule a time to have this conversa- Be unclear about purpose and length
tion (usually 30-60 minutes) of conversation
Plan to listen and ask questions Try to persuade rather than listen and
ask questions
Have a plan for your meeting give Chit chat about your interests
context or purpose, connect with one
another, and secure commitment
Share experiences and motivations Skip stories to get to the point
Illustrate a vision that articulates a Miss the opportunity to share ideas

shared set of interests for change about how things can change
Be clear about your next steps together End the conversation without a clear
plan for next steps
Split the bill if you meet in a coffee Pay for the whole bill (note: it can make
shop or restaurant the relationship feel transactional and
can get expensive in the long run!)
Meet in public unless you know them

well (e.g. a coffee shop or public park)

Recruitment & Retention Best Practices
Employing best practices can significantly increase the rate at which new people join and
stay on your team. Here are some key best practices to keep in mind when building and
maintaining relationships:
Dont be apologetic: organizing is an opportunity, not a favour. When asking for

commitment, be enthusiastic.
Always Follow-Up: When someone offers to get more involved, ask for their contact
information and give them yours. Follow up with them as soon as possible, ideally
within 48 hours.
Always schedule for the next time: dont let anyone leave without asking when
theyll be coming back.
Confirm commitment: use a hard ask and make sure your people understand that
you are counting on them.
Plan for no-shows: assume that half of your people will turn up. For example, if you
need four people for a successful event, plan on scheduling eight.
Design actions that are empowering to participate in.
Designing actions so In organizing, its up to us to create welcoming, organized spaces and engage volunteers
that they are inherently so that they keep coming back. The following is a list of top reasons why volunteers dont
motivational is a key way return:
to keep people engaged.
See the Acting: Targets & They dont feel it is worth their time
Timelines section for infor- Atmosphere is disorganized and they dont feel theyre receiving attention or
mation on motivational direction
engagement.
No one explained why the work they are doing is important
They are uncomfortable doing what they have been asked to do
They feel overwhelmed by tasks and goals
The volunteer environment is unwelcoming
No one recognizes their contribution
No one asked them
To summarize, building strong, resilient relationships is critical for effective community orga-
nizing. Our power stems from our commitment to one another and to taking action togeth-
er, and the hard ask, the 1:1 meeting, and best practices for recruitment and retention are
key ways we can secure commitment in our work.

Coaching: Enabling Others
Key Concepts
Coaching is key for leadership development; the goal of coaching is to help
people find their own solutions to meet challenges, and the role of the coach is to
ask questions to get people to uncover the answers in themselves.
Coaching can be thought of as a five-step process inquire & observe, diagnose,
intervene, action, and check-in and these five steps provide a simple framework
for effective coaching in organizing.
Developing a culture of coaching is key for building effective teams.
What is coaching?
If organizing is leadership that enables people to turn their resources into the power they
need to make the change they want, then coaching is about enabling others. In trying
to create change, organizers will undoubtedly run into challenges, as failure, conflict, and Maintenance 1:1s are the
obstacles are often inevitable in our campaigns. Coaching is a means of helping individuals primary opportunity to
and teams work through these challenges. coach an organizer. See
the Building Relationships
The role of the coach is to help people find their own solutions; rather than offering section for more informa-
advice, coaches ask questions to get people to uncover the answers in themselves and use tion on what these are,
their own resources to meet challenges. The purpose of coaching is to enable others to how frequently they are
build their own capacity to act, so they can coach others, and so on. In this way, coaching is practiced, and why.
synonymous with leadership development and so is key for building scalable, sustainable
teams.
In organizing, coaching usually takes the form of an intervention (note that the process
usually starts with a conversation) in an individual or teams work to support the coachee(s)
in improving their effectiveness. Read on for more details on effective coaching and the
coaching process.

Effective Coaching
Coaching is... Coaching is not...
Being present and listening. Providing solutions before hearing /

observing the obstacles.
Providing a space for your coachee to Being an expert or having all the answers.
speak and be heard.
Asking questions that both support and Telling the coachee what to do.
challenge the person you are coaching.
Helping the coachee explore their False praising the coachee because
challenges and successes. you dont want to hurt their feelings or
solely criticizing the coachee for their
weaknesses.
Empowering the coachee to identify Identifying the challenge and coming up

resources and find solutions to the with the solution yourself.
challenges themselves.

Coaching: A Five-Step Process
There are five steps in the coaching process. While contexts vary, these five steps provide
a simple framework for effective coaching in organizing.
Step 1:
Inquire &
Observe
Step 5: Step 2:
Check-In Diagnose
Step 4: Step 3:
Action Intervene
1. Inquire & Observe

When you are observing a coachees actions or someone comes to you for help, your first
inclination may be to draw conclusions from the initial observations you make. Instead, be
present with the coachee and start by listening, asking questions, and closely observing
what they say and do so that you can both dig deeper into the challenge(s) at hand. Ask
yourself: what do I see and hear?
For example, is the coachee failing to plan or evaluate tactics that meet shared goals?
Is the coachee articulating feelings of frustration or fatigue regarding canvassing? Is the
coachee struggling to complete routine tasks correctly or on time?
Remember, challenges arent always obvious, and, sometimes, the bulk of the coachs
work is simply supporting the coachee in discovering the nature of the obstacle theyre
facing. One skill to help both coach and coachee uncover the challenge(s) is called
backtracking. Here are some sample backtracking statements and questions:
Let me be clear about this...

Let me see if Ive got this right...
What Im hearing you say is ____. Is that right?
2. Diagnose
Challenges in organizing usually fall into one or more of the following three categories:
strategic, motivational, and skills challenges or head, heart, hands and how you
coach depends on the nature of the challenge. Ask yourself: what is the nature of the
challenge and how will I intervene?

From the examples above, if the coachee is failing to plan or evaluate tactics that meet
Coaching is not only about shared goals, you might focus on the coachees understanding of strategy (head) and
addressing challenges invite them to a planning meeting. On the other hand, if the coachee is articulating feelings
and problem-solving. of frustration or fatigue in going canvassing, you might focus on the coachees motivation
Inquisitive coaching that (heart) and offer encouragement. Lastly, if the coachee is struggling to complete routine
is, asking questions with tasks correctly or on time, you might focus on the coachees skills (hands) and offer learn-
the aim of supporting ing or practise to make sure they have mastery over their responsibilities.
people in uncovering
their own answers is
an invaluable practice in
3. Intervene
developing our stories
Now its time to gently push the coachee to create a plan for moving forward. This plan
and devising strategy.
should take the form of specific, timely steps the coachee will take to address the chal-
Specifically, see the
lenge(s) articulated in Step 2. Here are some sample questions you could ask the coachee
Coaching Stories work-
in order to come up with next steps:
sheet on page 46 for infor-
mation on how coaching
can help in developing our If you knew you wouldnt fail, what would you do?
stories. On the other hand,
asking coaching questions
How will you put this new information into practice?
about strategic goals can What is the very next step in moving forward?
be an effective way of sup-
porting people in devising What resources and support do you need to accomplish this task?
effective strategy.
When will you do this by?
4. Action
Next, step back and observe the coachee in action. Give them time and space to take
steps to address their challenge(s). Avoid the urge to do it for them.
5. Check-in
Now its time to hold the coachee accountable and support them in debriefing what
happened. Ask yourself: how do I help the coachee in reflecting on their experience?
Assess whether the diagnosis of the challenge and intervention (i.e. the coachees plan)
were successful. You may realize that you need to repeat Steps 1-4 and support the
coachee in coming up with a different plan for addressing the same challenge, or, its time
to celebrate success!
And next, start again! Nurturing a culture of coaching whereby organizers are consis-
tently and constantly enabling others to find solutions to meet challenges is fundamental
to leadership development in organizing.
Further reading
Hackman, R and Wageman, R. (2005). A Theory of Team Coaching. Academy of
Management Review, 30:2, 269-287. http://amr.aom.org/content/30/2/269.abstract
Gawande, A. (2011). Personal Best. The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/
magazine/2011/10/03/personal-best

Structuring Teams
Key Concepts
Teams are critical to organizing, in part because they deepen relationships that
help us commit to action.
Effective teams require shared purpose, interdependent roles, and explicit
norms.
The snowflake model is defined by mutual accountability and commitment, a
sustainable number of relationships, clearly defined roles, and capacity for expo-
nential growth.
The ladder of engagement can help us effectively and gradually guide a
supporter into becoming a leader.
Why Organize in Teams?

Once again, organizing is leadership that enables people to turn the resources they have
into the power they need to make the change they want. The snowflake model is the
structure that best suits this approach to building power, and working in teams is critical
to effective organizing in the snowflake model.
But first, why organize in teams? First and foremost, working in teams is more fun than
working alone! Teammates also offer support and mentorship to one another, which play a
key role in leadership development. People who feel supported and who enjoy what theyre
doing are more likely to keep doing it. Next, by working in teams, we can meet higher
goals by tapping into the diverse range of resources (including skills and knowledge) mul-
tiple people bring. And most importantly, by working in teams, we develop relationships
with fellow teammates that facilitate and deepen our commitment to taking action.
What do effective teams have in common?

Effective teams usually have three elements in common: shared purpose, interdependent
roles, and explicit norms.
Shared Purpose
We cant start building an organization without a clear mission. A team must be clear on Your Story of Now (or
what it has been created to do (purpose) and who it will be doing it with (constituency). Its that of the team or group
purpose should be clear and easy-to-understand, while it must also be challenging and youre working with) is one
significant to those on your team. Team members should be able to articulate their shared way to think about shared
purpose. purpose. See the Telling
Stories section for informa-
A compelling organizing purpose is a response to injustice. The first step in articulating tion on crafting your Public
shared purpose is to identify the people you are organizing your specific constituency, or, Narrative.
the community of people who are standing together to realize a common purpose.
Shared purpose should also be measurable: your team needs clear goals in order to
measure progress.

Interdependent Roles
Each team member must have responsibility, or, their own piece of work that contributes to
bigger goals. In an effective team, no one works in a silo. A functioning team will have a
diversity of identities, experiences, and opinions to ensure that the most possible is being
brought to the table.
Explicit Norms
Your team should set clear expectations for how to govern itself. How will you manage
meetings, regular communication, decisions, and commitments? And, most importantly,
how will you correct ground-rule violations so that they remain active and legitimate ground
rules?
Teams with explicit operating rules are more likely to achieve their goals. Some team norms
are operational, such as How often will we meet? How will we share and store documents?
How will we communicate with others outside the team? while others address expectations
for member interaction. Setting norms early on in team formation will guide your team in
its early stages as members learn how to work together. Making norms explicit allows your
team to have open discussions about how things are going. The team can update and refine
norms as they work together to improve working relationships.
The Snowflake Model: Interconnected teams

The snowflake model is defined by its distribution of leadership and by its commitment to
leadership development. Relationships are the glue that hold the snowflake together, and
these relationships support the interconnected teams that make up the snowflake. Read on
for more information on the key elements of the snowflake.
Each person in this snowake

could be part of a local
leadership team.
Core leadership team Just a couple are illustrated here for simplicity.
Local leadership teams

Distributed leadership: core and local leadership teams
In the snowflake model, decision-making responsibility is decentralized whenever possi-
ble. The core leadership team ensures the whole organization is coherent and effectively
moving in the same direction towards long-term goals. Local leadership teams ensure
the organization is flexible, effectively delivering on short-term objectives. Everyone is
responsible for strategizing, ongoing learning, and identifying and growing new leaders
and resources. The core leadership team devises strategy, while local leadership teams test
that strategy on the ground. They adapt it locally and provide feedback to improve organi-
zation-wide strategy.
A sustainable number of relationships

In the snowflake model, each person has a sustainable number of relationships. While you The 1:1 meeting is an
are likely to interact with many people in your organizing work, its important to focus on important tool for building
maintaining relationships with those on your team (one way to do this is through regular the relationships that hold
team meetings or maintenance 1:1 meetings). As a general rule, if you are organizing full your team together. See
time (i.e. committing 40 hours/week), then you can maintain up to ten relationships. If are the Building Relationships
organizing part time, as is the case for the vast majority of grassroots organizers, you can section for information on
maintain up to five relationships. Notice that in diagram 6, no one is connected to more 1:1 meetings.
than five people.
Mutual accountability
Notice how in the diagram the arrows point both ways. The snowflake model doesnt
operate as a hierarchy, with managers delegating tasks in a top-down way and expecting
results. Rather, team members are accountable to each other, mutually agree on tasks, and
expect results from and provide support to each other. Someone within the core leadership
team may assign a local leadership team with a task, but someone within a local leadership
team is just as likely to assign the core leadership team with a task.
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

Each individual in a team has a specific role with clearly defined responsibilities. While the
team works together towards common goals, every task should be assigned to a specific
team member(s) and each team member should clearly understand their responsibilities.
Roles can vary based on the strategy and tactics (e.g. in an electoral campaign, roles may
include a canvass captain, phone captain, data captain, and a community organizer in a
team leadership role).
Capacity for exponential growth

Because leadership in the snowflake is distributed into many small teams, and because
the model is based on leadership development, the snowflake model has the capacity
for exponential growth. Teams add more people, and those people break off and form
their own teams, and those teams form new teams, and so on. Therefore, it may take three
months to grow from five to 25 people, but in the the next three months you could grow to
125 people, and three months later 625 people, and so on.
The size of a team and its growth rate will vary from campaign to campaign. For instance,
teams working in the snowflake model structure have ranged in size from two or three
people running a local campaign to teams of approximately 10,000 people in one state in
a nationwide electoral campaign (Florida state during the 2012 presidential election). That
said, if implemented properly, the snowflake model has the capacity to get big, and get big
fast.

The Ladder of Engagement:
Recruiting organizers

The path from interested supporter to organizer does not happen overnight. Rather, it
involves a supporter being recruited, tested, and escalated into roles that require pro-
gressively more commitment and skills. In order to grow and take on more leadership, our
people must demonstrate that they have the ability to perform the roles of each position.
As an organizer, its your job to identify and develop leadership in others. We call this
process whereby individuals take on more and more leadership the ladder of engage-
ment. Heres an example of an organizing ladder of engagement (note that your ladder
might look different depending on your campaign):
1. Supporter: Individual supports campaign (e.g. signs a petition) but does

not express interest in getting involved.

2. Volunteer Prospect: Supporter signs up on a website or says yes to a
volunteers ask. Organizer invites them to come out to a volunteer event, and
ideally, this invitation happens within 48 hours, because prospects are more
likely to say yes the quicker the follow up timeframe.

3. Team member: Supporter comes out to a team event (e.g. a meeting or a
canvassing event), and is now a team member. Organizer schedules the team
member to come to another event or schedules a recruitment 1:1 meeting.

4. Leadership Prospect: Team member begins taking on leadership. Orga-
nizer then schedules an escalation 1:1 meeting to ask team member to take
on a leadership role.

5. Organizer: Leadership prospect is able to organize. They have passed
tests (read on for what this means), so organizer asks them to be a leader.
Passing tests means exhibiting ability and commitment. For example, we might ask
someone to run a phone bank event the test and see if they follow through. If a team
member shows that they can follow through on commitments (i.e. the more tests they pass),
the more confidence you can have in their leadership and so give them more responsibility
(e.g. ask them to step up in running regular phone banks for the team as a phone bank
captain).

Note: Steps 4 and 5 can be repeated over and over to escalate the organizer into new roles
as they take on more responsibility and become more committed.

Team Stages
Teams arent created as perfect, fully-functioning snowflakes. Rather, they go
through different phases of growth and learning, and inevitably experience
growing pains along the way.
Phase 1: Potential - At this stage, the team is in its infancy. A few excited
volunteers are eager to do more, but people at this stage have limited or no
involvement beyond this interest. An organizers role is to develop this team
to Phase 2 as soon as possible. To do so, the organizer will network and recruit
within the community by scheduling 1:1 meetings. The organizer will organize
events to meet and schedule potential new team members.

Phase 2: Team Formation - At this stage, the team has a local team leader
(e.g. a community organizer) but no other organizers. During this phase, the
team leader has to work to start recruiting team members and begin moving
them up the ladder of engagement until they become organizers. Note that this
phase usually takes the longest.

Phase 3: Team - At this stage, the team has one team leader and at least one
other organizer. Now, the team is official and it needs to grow to increase its
potential. As more people attend events and join the team, the team grows as
the leaders test, escalate, and make hard asks. The challenge for organizers
in this phase is to grow sustainably that is, without growing too quickly and
neglecting members of the existing team. In this phase, you must continue to
invest time and resources into testing and escalating individuals that deliver. In
other words, dont get hung up on people who dont show up; focus on those
that do.

Phase 4: Developed Team - At this stage, the team is efficient and well-es-
tablished. It has at least four core organizers, including the team leader. If the
team follows the ladder of engagement approach, it will grow into a bigger and
more efficient snowflake over time.
Phase 5: Team Transformation - At this stage, the team has grown to its fullest
potential and can multiply into more teams. Organizers may start training exist-
ing team members to start new teams in other neighbourhoods or regions (also
known as turfs). Teams may split in two, with one half moving into new turf to
start a team there. Organizers must be intentional and thoughtful in supporting
the transformation process, as this can be a complicated time for teams and
strong emotions amongst team members could come up.
Above all, remember that effective teams are bolstered by strong relationships,
and that in the snowflake model, leadership is distributed, and organizers are
committed to developing the leadership capacity of others.

Strategizing
Key Concepts
We devise strategy by asking first, who are our people and what is their
problem? before deciding on our goals.
Strategy is made up of nested goals: smaller, measurable goals that we
achieve incrementally in order to meet our larger, ultimate goal.
A theory of change statement summarizes our strategy, and provides us with
a strategic blueprint for how we plan on making change.
What is strategy and how does it work?

Simply put, strategy is turning what you have into what you need to get what you
want.
What you have is your constituencys resources: people, time, skills, mon-
ey, experiences, relationships, credibility, your allies, supporters, your leader-
ship.
What you need to achieve the change you want is power. Power is gained
through tactics that can creatively turn your resources into the capacity you
need to achieve your goal.
What you want is your goal. Your goal is a clear and measurable outcome
that allows you to measure progress along the way.
To illustrate strategy, we will use a classic organizing example: the 1956 boycott of the bus
system in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1956, as part of regional racial segregation policies,
African-American or black passengers had to sit at the back of the bus, and white passen-
gers at the front. If the bus was full, black passengers were forced to give up their seats for
white passengers. Demanding a change to these rules, black passengers boycotted the bus
system, depriving the system of substantial revenue. 381 days after the boycott started, the
bus system was desegregated.5
Strategy is motivated by an urgent challenge

We strategize in response to an urgent challenge or a unique opportunity to turn our vision
into specific goals. We commit to the goal first, then develop how we will get there. Think of
the Montgomery Bus Boycott what challenge did the leadership of the boycott respond to?
What was their motivating vision?
5 For more information on the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott, see Branch, T. (1989).
Chapter 4: First Trombone. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63. New
York, NY: Simon & Schuster Inc.

Strategy is creative
Challenging the status quo requires making up for our lack of resources by using the
resources we do have intentionally and creatively. During the bus boycott, the leadership
turned the resources of their constituency (a bus fare) into power by mobilizing that
resource collectively.
Strategy is a verb, and is an ongoing process

Strategy is something we do, not something we have. Strategizing is not about creating
a static strategic plan at the beginning of a campaign and implementing it. Rather, we
continually strategize as we implement our strategic choices and change our strategy in
response to what happens. In this way, we act our way into new thinking rather than think
our way into new acting.
Strategy is collaborative
Strategy is most dynamic and effective when the group responsible for strategizing brings
diverse experience, background, and resources to the table.
Strategy is intentional
Strategy is a theory of how we can turn what we have (resources) into what we need (power)
to get what we want (achieving goals). We call this a theory of change, and will discuss it
later in this section.
How to strategize
When strategizing, we ask ourselves three questions:
1. Who are our PEOPLE?
2. What is the PROBLEM?
3. What is our GOAL?
Step 1: Who are my people?

When strategizing, there are different distinct groups we need to consider: our constituen-
cy, and within it our leadership, our supporters, our competitors, and our opposition. See
page 47 in the Appendix for the Tracking down the power exercise to help you map out
and prioritize your people.
Constituency
Constituents are people who have a need to organize, who can contribute leadership, can
commit resources, and can become a new source of power. An organizers job is to turn
a community people who share common values or interests into a constituency
people who have committed to act on behalf of those values or interests.
Leadership
Although your constituency is the focus of your work, your goal as an organizer is to draw
upon leadership from within that constituency.The work of these leaders, like your own, is
to accept responsibility for enabling others to make change. They are accountable to their
constituency, represent the constituency to others, and support members of the constituen-
cy in achieving shared goals, together.

Supporters
People whose interests are not directly or obviously affected may have an interest in
backing an organization or efforts work. Although they may not be part of the constituency,
and are not directly involved in making change, they may have similar values and resources
to contribute. For example, non-indigenous Canadians that are not directly affected by
infringements on aboriginal rights may have similar values and be able to contribute
resources (e.g. logistical support, money) to campaigns run by Indigenous Peoples.
Competitors
These are individuals or organizations with whom we may share some interests, but not
others. They may target the same constituency, the same sources of support, or face the
same opposition. For instance, two unions trying to organize the same workforce may
compete or collaborate, or two community groups trying to serve the same constituency
may compete or collaborate in their fundraising. When strategizing, identify competitors
and, where possible, take steps to turn them into supporters.
Opposition
In pursuing their interests, constituents may find themselves in conflict with the interests of
other individuals or organizations. An employers interest in maximizing profit, for example,
may conflict with an employees interest in earning an adequate or living wage. The in-
terests of a Liberal candidate conflict with those of the NDP candidate in the same riding.
At times, however, opposition may not be immediately obvious, and might emerge only
during the course of a campaign. When strategizing, identify your opposition, consider how
they will respond to your organizing, and how you can respond in turn to neutralize their
oppositional actions.
Step 2: What is the problem?

Now we need to analyze the problem by asking three questions: What exactly is the
problem were trying to solve? Why hasnt it been solved? And what would it take to solve
the problem?
What is the problem?

What is the problem facing our people? To be most effective as an organizer, you
should seek to enable your constituency to change an intolerable circumstance. In the
Montgomery Bus Boycott example, the people were black residents of Montgomery, and
their intolerable circumstance was a system of racist segregation policies.
Why hasnt the problem been solved?

Who has the resources to solve the problem? Why havent they used them to solve the
problem? Do we know how to solve it, but just lack the necessary resources? Or do we need
to first figure out how to solve the problem?
Its important to look at the history of this problem to understand what has been tried (if
anything), what failed, and why.

What would it take to solve the problem?
To determine how we will solve the problem, we develop a theory of change. A theory
of change sums up how what we do will result in the change that we want. In community
organizing, the theory of change is based on power relationships, and in this context, power
is not something that you have by virtue of the position you hold in an organization. Instead,
organizers understand power as the influence created by the relationship between interests
and resources.
We assume that the world is the way it is because some people benefit. We also assume
that these people currently have more power than us and are therefore able to maintain the
status quo. Community organizing, then, focuses on power: who has it, who does not, and
how to build enough of it to shift the power relationship. That shift is what makes change.
In organizing, we conceptualize two kinds of power: power with and power over.
Understanding which type of power is involved in the problem we are facing helps us
decide how to approach the problem.
Power with: Sometimes we can create the change we need just by organizing our resourc-
es with others, creating power with them. All organizing involves power with. For instance,
creating a community credit union or a community run day care are examples of power
with community organizing.
Power over: Sometimes others hold power over decisions or resources that we need in
order to create change in our lives. In cases like these, we have to organize our power
with others first in order to make a claim on the resources or decisions that will fulfill our
interests.
When we have to engage those who have power over us in order to create change, we ask
ourselves five questions:
1. What change do we want?

2. Who has the resources to make that change?
3. What do they want?
4. What resources do we have that they want or need?
5. How could we organize those resources to give us enough leverage to get what we
want?
Once we have answered these questions, were one step closer to deciding on our strategic
goal.

Step 3: Whats the goal?
A strategic goal should be clear and measurable. Choosing your strategic goal is the most
important choice we make in designing a campaign.
No one strategic goal can solve everything. In order to put our resources to work solving
our problems, we have to decide where to focus. We must ask ourselves: what goal can we
work toward that may not solve the whole problem, but will get us well on the way to solving
the problem? Unless we choose a goal to focus on, well risk wasting our precious resources
in ways that just wont add up.
Remember, strategy is nested; a campaigns ultimate goal, or the mountain top goal, is
likely not achievable in one attempt (see diagram 12). Instead of chasing after the moun-
tain top goal all the time, we can set smaller, nested goals that help measure incremental
progress throughout the campaign. Nested goals may take place over time (e.g. a local
campaign for a municipal living wage policy may start with electing supportive council
candidates before moving on to pushing for an actual bylaw), or over a geographic area
(e.g. a provincial election in British Columbia may have up to 85 nested goals, one for each
provincial riding a party or group wishes to influence).
mountain topgoal
mountaintop goal
nested goal
resources resources
An effective strategic goal:
1. Is measurable, ideally as a number with units

(e.g. people, votes, dollars, hours, etc.).
2. Focuses resources on a single strategic outcome.
3. Builds the capacity of our constituency.
4. Uses a point of leverage: our constituencys strength
or our oppositions weakness.
5. Focuses on a motivational issue that is visible and
significant to our constituency.
6. Can be replicated or emulated.

Theory of Change
Once you have an understanding of the type of power you need to build and have a mea-
surable strategic goal in mind, you can develop your theory of change, which summarizes
your strategy.
A theory of change statement is a tool to understand your strategy and how (or if) it will
work. Being able to articulate a clear theory of change statement is a prerequisite to an
effective campaign. To put it bluntly, if you cant write your strategy out in a sentence that
makes sense, then it probably wont work.
A theory of change statement uses this format:
If we do (TACTICS)
then (STRATEGIC GOAL or CHANGE)
Because (REASON)
In the Montgomery Bus Boycott example from earlier in this section, the theory of change
could be written like this:
If African Americans in Montgomery boycott the bus system

then the bus company will desegregate the buses
because the decrease in ridership will significantly impact their profits.
In a Canadian federal election, a partisan theory of change might read like this:
If we turn out 6.2 million votes nationwide (~40%)

then we will win a majority government
because that will provide us with a plurality of votes in over 170 ridings need-
ed to win.
Theory of change statements should be clear for both the big and small picture (e.g. large
scale on a national level, or small scale at the local level in electoral organizing). A single
campaign may have many local theories of change nested within a broader campaign. For
example, in a Canadian federal election, a local theory of change may look like this:
If we turn out more than 25,515 votes in Richmond Centre

then our candidate will win the riding
because that will provide us with over 50% of votes in the election in the
riding.
In closing, strategy is simply turning what you have into what you need to get what you
want. Thinking through who are our people? what is our problem? and what is our goal?
and formulating a theory of change your strategic blueprint for how you plan on making
change is critical to effective community organizing.

Acting: Tactics & Timelines
Key Concepts
For a tactic to be effective, it should be strategic, strengthen your organization,
and develop individuals.
To effectively engage our people in action, we need their commitment and to use
motivational engagement.
An organizing sentence summarizes your campaign and provides clarity on your
people, strategy, tactics, and timeline.
Strategy without Tactics: Strategy in Action

tactics is just a We act to put our strategy into practice, and we do this by implementing tactics. Just as
bunch of nice its important to devise effective strategic goals, its important to choose the most effective
tactics to meet those goals. Your organizing effort will quickly run into challenges if you use
ideas. Tactics tactics that fail to move you towards your strategic goal. Similarly, if you spend all your time
strategizing without putting it into practice via tactics and thereby learning how to imple-
without strategy ment tactics skillfully and effectively you will have wasted your time.
are a waste of
resources. The Sweet Spot
A tactic is most effective when it meets these three criteria:
1. Strategic: it results in concrete, measurable progress toward your campaign goals.

2. Strengthens your organization: it attracts and engages new people; it increases
your communitys capacity to work together to make change.
3. Develops individuals: it builds the leadership, skills, and capacity of your
constituency.
Strategic
When choosing tactics to implement
your strategy, youre aiming for the
sweet spot (see diagram) where all
three of the above criteria overlap.
Sweet
spot
Develops
Strengthens your organization individuals

Commitment and Motivational Engagement
There are two central components to engaging people in effective action: commitment
and motivational engagement.
First, action requires that leaders engage others in making explicit commitments to achieve
specific, measurable outcomes. We know that we cannot achieve our goals on our own, so
we need others to join us.
Second, to successfully engage others in a way that expands rather than depletes our
resources, we need to design action mindfully through motivational engagement. Once We build commitment
we have secured commitment from others to join us in action, it is important that they have through relationships, and
a meaningful experience when they join us. If people dont feel like what they are doing is the best way to secure a
important, or they do not grow and learn as they act, then they are unlikely to say yes the commitment to a specific
next time we ask for a commitment. action is by making a hard
ask. See the Building
There are three characteristics of a motivational action: Relationships section,
in particular the section
1. Meaningful: the person can see that the action is significant and makes a on Hard Asks, for more
difference towards achieving a meaningful goal. information.
2. Autonomy: people are given levels of responsibility according to their skills and
abilities to achieve a particular outcome.
3. Feedback and Learning: People can see the progress of their work, measure
success, and receive coaching and support from more experienced leaders so they
can learn and grow.
These three characteristics lead to greater motivation, higher quality work, and greater
commitment. In designing and delegating action steps, then, the key is to commit people to
engage in ways that facilitate such experiences.
In addition, there are five assessment criteria that serve as guidelines for designing motiva-
tional action:
Task Identity Do participants get to do the whole thing from start to finish?
Task Significance Do participants understand and see the direct impact of the
work?
Skill Variety Do participants engage a variety of skills, including head, heart, and
hands (or strategic, motivational, and skills tasks)?
Autonomy Do participants have the space to make competent choices about
how to work?
Feedback Are results visible to the person performing the task, even as they
perform it?
The more we ask people to commit to actions that meet these five criteria, the more likely
people are to commit and continue taking action. Nearly any action can be redesigned to
provide a more meaningful experience that supports individual creativity and growth while
achieving the campaigns goals.

The Campaign Timeline
The rhythm of organizing is the campaign: coordinated bursts of activity focused on achieving
specific goals. Campaigns unfold over time with a rhythm that slowly builds a foundation,
gathers gradual momentum with preliminary peaks, culminates in a climax when a campaign is
won or lost, and then achieves resolution.

In organizing, we assume that we begin a campaign with far fewer resources than we will need
to tip the balance of power and achieve our goal. Growing our capacity (people, money, skills,
etc.) is critical for success. This capacity-building is what builds momentum. Like a snowball,
each success contributes resources, which makes the next success more achievable. As we
map our campaign, we identify milestones for when we will have created enough new capacity
and developed enough power to undertake activities that we couldnt before. Read on for
more details of what happens during each step of a typical campaign timeline.
Capacity Evaluation
(people, skills, etc.) Mountaintop Goal & Next Steps
Peak
Peak
Kick-off
Foundation
Foundation
During the foundation period, the goal is to create the capacity (or, the power with, see the
Strategizing section for more information) needed to launch a campaign. A foundation period
may last a few days, weeks, months or years, depending on the scope of the undertaking and
the extent to which you start from scratch. Organizers prioritize relationship-building during
the foundational period. This typically includes 1:1 meetings, house meetings, and meetings
of small groups of supporters. You want to build as broad a base as possible while not letting
things heat up too quickly. This is a crucial period for leadership development.

Kick-Off
The kick-off is the moment at which the campaign officially begins. Setting a date for a
kick-off creates urgency and focuses the concentration and commitment it takes to get
things going. The kick-off becomes a deadline for initial recruiting, planning, and prepara-
tion of materials. Typically, a kick-off takes the form of a big meeting or rally around which
everyone is mobilized. Leadership can be recognized there, the campaign story told, the
plan ratified, and the program adopted. In terms of action, sign-ups can be gathered, and
commitments can be made to hold a meeting, make phone calls or pass out leaflets, and so
forth.
Note that for organizers, the primary purpose of a kick-off isnt to create a media event,
but to bring in new people and establish commitment to the campaign. A kick-off is also a
deadline for the formal delegation of leadership roles to those who will be responsible for
carrying out the campaign.

Peaks
The campaign proceeds toward a series of peaks, each one building on what has come
before. By crossing the threshold of each peak, we break through to the higher level of
capacity needed to reach our next target. Each peak should have a measurable goal (e.g.
number of people at a rally, number of signatures on a petition, number of organizations
pledging support, etc.) that launch you forward towards your next peak. This way, you can
measure success and make adjustments accordingly based on observable data.
The mountain top peak

The campaign mountain top peak comes at the moment of maximum mobilization.
Beware of peaking too early often, campaigns accidentally peak at the kick-off. Your
goal as an organizer is to have your campaign capacity reach its peak at the time when it
is needed most. In some cases, the timing of this peak is predictable (e.g. in an election
campaign). In other cases, those who lead the campaign can designate the peak. In still
other cases, the mountain top emerges from the actions and reactions of all those playing
roles in the campaign.
Evaluation and next steps

Campaigns are either won or lost. Only by risking failure do we make the kind of com
mitments that make success possible.
Resolving a campaign, however, means learning how to be successful at winning and

losing. To succeed at winning, you must realize when you have won and learn to celebrate
success. On the other hand, never claim a victory thats not yours or pretend a loss is a win.
It robs the effort of its value. We need to acknowledge a loss as a loss, but contextualize the
loss, interpret what happened, accept responsibility, recognize those who contributed, and
prepare for what comes next.
Win or lose, a campaign should always conclude with evaluation, celebration, and prepara-
tion for next steps. When we win, we are sometimes so interested in celebrating, we forget
to learn why we won, what we did right or wrong, and recognize those who contributed.
When we lose, even when we do evaluate, we may not celebrate the hard work, commit-
ment, courage, and achievements of those involved in the campaign. The important thing
about campaigns is there is indeed a next time and it is important to prepare for it. Or, as
many a Canucks fan has remarked, Just wait til next season!

Organizing Sentence
The organizing sentence is a tool used to clarify the important components of your strategy
and organizing plan. Every team in a campaign including the core leadership team and each
local leadership team should compose an organizing sentence unique to their team.
An organizing sentence looks like this:
We are organizing (WHO) to (WHAT OUTCOME) through (HOW) by (WHEN).
Or, put another way:
We are organizing (our people) to (strategic goal) through (tactics) by (timeline).
For example, in a provincial election, a core leadership teams organizing sentence may look
like this:
We are organizing BC Liberal Party members and other supporters of a free

enterprise coalition to identify 805,126 voters who will pledge to vote Liberal
through door-to-door and phone canvassing by May 13, 2014.
Similarly, a local leadership teams organizing sentence in a provincial election may look like
this:
We are organizing BC Liberal Party members and other supporters of a free

enterprise coalition in the Nechako Lakes riding to identify 4,920 voters who will
pledge to vote Liberal through door-to-door and phone canvassing by May 13,
2014.
To summarize, we implement tactics to act and put our strategy into practice. In order to
be effective, we must employ sweet tactics that are strategic, strengthen our organization,
and develop individuals. In turn, formulating an organizing sentence that employs sweet
tactics and is mindful of the campaign timeline is a useful tool for guiding and focusing our
organizing.
Further Reading
Issenberg, S. (2012). The Victory Lab: The secret science of winning campaigns. New York, NY:
Broadway Books, Crown Publishing.
Sharp, Gene (1973). 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action. A Force More Powerful. See http://
www.aforcemorepowerful.org/resources/nonviolent/methods.php

Tying It All Together
This guide has provided an introduction to organizing as leadership that enables people to
turn the resources they have into the power they need to make the change they want.
Weve also outlined the five key leadership practices telling stories, building relationships,
structuring teams, strategizing, and acting that together, make up a framework for effec-
tive community organizing.
We practise telling stories, building relationships, and structuring teams to build power in
our organizing. Telling stories communicates our shared values and motivates others to take
action. Telling stories also connects us to one another and is key in building strong relation-
ships. In building relationships, we secure commitment from our communities and grow and
sustain a constituency. In turn, relationships are the glue that bind effective teams together,
and we structure teams so that we can work together in a sustainable and empowering way.
We strategize and act to wield power in organizing. We devise strategy in response to an

intolerable circumstance our community faces, and our strategy becomes our blueprint for
making change. We implement strategy through acting via tactics and subsequently, deepen
our relationships, strengthen our teams, and develop shared stories in the process.
By tying all these practices together in our organizing, we embody leadership as accepting
responsibility for enabling others to achieve purpose. In so doing, hopefully, we achieve
the change we want and develop leaders capable of creating positive change thereon.

Appendix
Worksheet: Developing your Public Narrative
Story of Self
To start in developing your Story of Self, reflect on the following questions:
1. Why am I called to leadership?
2. Why did I decide to tackle this specific injustice or problem and work on this organizing effort?
3. What values move me to act? Have these values always been important to me? If not, when did that
change? How might these values inspire others to similar action?
4. What stories can I tell from my own life about specific people or events that would show, rather than
tell, how I learned or acted on those values?
Next, use the table below to dig deeper on who you are and why youre here. Write down thoughts or draw
pictures to illustrate your responses.
Where you come from Who you are How you got involved
-- Where were you born and -- What are you passionate about -- Are there people or significant
where did you grow up? (interests, talents, hobbies)? experiences that stick out for you
-- Are there people that made an -- Are there significant experi- (social movement leaders, role
impact on you while growing ences that have had an impact models, books or knowledge)
up (family members, commu- on your choices (school, travel, that spurred you into taking
nity members, role models, work, family, or partners)? action for the first time?
friends)? -- What was your first experience
-- Are there significant childhood of getting involved in organizing
experiences that stick out for (volunteering in your community,
you (early memories, coming- supporting an organization, vot-
of-age experiences)? ing, attending a rally or protest)?
Next, based on your reflection, use the table below to write out the details of one choice point a specific
experience when you faced a challenge, made a choice, experienced an outcome, and learned a lesson.
Challenge Choice Outcome
-- Why did you feel it was a chal- -- Why did you make the choice -- How did the outcome feel and
lenge? What was so challeng- you made? How did it feel? why? What did it teach you?
ing about it?
Now, youre ready to draft a Story of Self. In crafting your story around the choice point youve chosen above,
try to be as detailed as possible. Create setting for your listeners paint a vivid image of what you experi-
enced (what you felt, how it sounded or looked like). Feel free to draw pictures, too.

Story of Us
To start in developing your Story of Us, reflect on the following questions:
1. What values do you share with this community? (note: community here is the us in your story)
2. What experiences have had the greatest impact on this community? What challenges has it
faced?
3. What change does this community hope for and why?
Next, based on your responses to the above, use the table below to reflect on another choice point but
this time, for your community. (Note: community here can mean your group or organization, people
involved in your campaign, or even the specific individual or group of people with whom youre sharing
your story).
-- What was the challenge we -- What specific choice did we -- What happened as a result of our
faced? Whats the root of that make? What action did we take? choice? What hope can it give
challenge? us?

Your goal here is to tell a shared story that evokes shared values, illustrates the challenge(s) your com-
munity has faced or faces, and gives them hope that it can act together to make change.

Story of Now
In developing your Story of Now, reflect on these questions
1. What is the urgent challenge your community faces?
2. What change does this community hope for and why? What would the future look like if
this change is made? What would the future look like if the change isnt made? (note: here,
youre trying to paint a picture of the dream of the future if the change is made, and the
nightmare of the future if it isnt.)
3. What choice are you asking people to make and why now?
4. What action are you asking them to take and what impact will this have on the bigger
picture? Whats the risk, or, what would the future look like if we fail to act?
Next, based on your responses to the above, use the table below to reflect on one last choice point
but this time, one that your community faces now.

-- What is the problem your com- -- What will the future look like if we -- What choice are you asking
munity faces? Why is it urgent fail to act? What could the future people to make? It it clear what
to organize now? What stories look like if we do act? form their action will take and
or images can you convey to how it fits within the bigger
make the challenge real for picture (the dream of the future
your listeners? youve described)?

In drafting your Story of Now, remember that youre trying to paint a clear and vivid picture of the
urgent challenge your community faces, what the future could look like if they join you, and what
specific action your listeners can take now to make it happen. Quick tip: your Story of Now should
end with a hard ask.

Weaving it together
Now its time to weave Self, Us, and Now together. Use the table below to guide you. Then,
its time to try it out by practicing your full Public Narrative with others.
Self Us Now
-- Which choices in your life have -- What is this community all about -- What challenges make you feel
led you to be here today? Pick and which stories reveal that? enough (or angry enough) to
one or two that relate to this What specifically moves you act? What gives you hope? What
community and this moment. about this community? specific choice are you asking
people to make?

Worksheet: Coaching Stories
The following are three steps to help you coach others in their storytelling. Review this worksheet before you start.
Remember, your goal here is to listen and to support the coachee in improving their stories. Steer clear of sugar feed-
back That was really great! and instead, try asking questions and observing how the coachee responds.
Step 1: Ask questions. B. Values.

-- Could you identify the storytellers values and where
Start by asking: they come from?
-- Did you hear the storyteller voice or describe certain
How did that go for you? How did you feel telling
emotions? How did the story make you feel?
your story?
If you were to tell it again, would you change Its clear from your story that you value ____.
anything in the telling? If yes, what would you do Your description of that value / emotion resonated
differently? with me because
Then, note some of your first impressions and give them C. Details & Setting.
space to speak to what you noticed.
-- What were the sections of the story that had especially
I noticed you did ____ or made this decision in vivid details? What did these descriptions do or how did
telling your story, why did you do that? they make you feel?
You said ____ in telling your story, what did you Your description of detail / image / feeling helped
mean by that? me identify with your experiences because...
Step 2: Pay attention. Step 3: Tell them what youll

As youre listening, reflect on the following elements of
remember.
the story and ask yourself the attendant questions. Repeat
Tell the storyteller what stood out for you or resonated with
some of your reflections back to the storyteller using the
you, and what you will remember.
sample statements.
Your description of detail / image / feeling stood
A. Challenge, choice, outcome. out for me, because
-- What were the specific challenges the storyteller faced? The story hooked me at ____ point, because
-- Did the storyteller paint a clear picture of those
challenges?
-- Was there a clear choice made in response to the
challenge(s)?
-- What was the outcome that resulted from the choice(s)?
When you described _____, I got a clear picture

of the challenge.
I understood the challenge to be _____ and the
choice to be _____. Is that what you intended?
How would you describe the outcome of your
choice? I heard ____ or learned ____, is that what
you intended?

Worksheet: Tracking down the power
Here is an exercise to help you identify important people or groups when
strategizing, and when designing and implementing tactics.
This exercise needs:

-- Markers
-- Post-it notes
-- Two sheets of flipchart paper or a large whiteboard or blackboard
-- Your leadership team
Step 1: Map the actors

Draw the diagram from the following page (Map the Actors) on a large piece of flipchart paper
or whiteboard. Gather your leadership team. On post-it notes, write out the names of individuals
and groups who have influence on your campaign (or have the potential to influence your cam-
paign). Stick the names in the appropriate ovals in the Map the Actors diagram youve drawn
out. Refer to the Step 1: Who are my people? portion of the Strategizing section to guide you.
Step 2: Field of Play

Now, draw the Field of Play diagram on a large piece of flipchart paper or whiteboard. Take
the actors you mapped out and put them on the field. The field of play is a spectrum ranging
from those with the greatest interest in change to those with the greatest interest in the status
quo. Place each post-it note from your map of actors onto the field of play along the spectrum.
As you go, ask if each actor is currently taking action on the issue (whether in support of or in
opposition to your goals), or if they are on the sidelines.
Step 3: Debrief and reflect

When finished, step back and observe your field of play. Ask yourself the following questions:
Are there key supporters on the sidelines?

What would it take to get those key supporters off the sidelines?
Are there influential competitors taking action in conflict with your goals?
What steps could be taken to convert them to supporters or to your constituency?
Are there effective opposition groups taking action?
What steps could be taken to neutralize or overcome their efforts?
Remember: dont get stuck addressing every actor; instead, try to focus on a few that are the
most influential.

Map the Actors
constituency
leadership
support competition

opposition

Field of Play
GREATEST INTEREST IN
STATUS QUO
SIDELINES
SIDELINES
ACTIONS
CHANGE
GREATEST INTEREST IN


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Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 1

Revised by the collective work of individuals working

Design and photography by Shelby Tay.

You may reproduce and distribute the work to

Page 2 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 3

Page 4 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

What is Organizing? A leader is best

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 5

Page 6 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

The Snowflake Model:

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 7

For a full list of writings by Marshall Ganz, visit http://marshallganz.com/publications

Page 8 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Storytelling in Organizing If I am not for

Remember that storytelling is not synonymous with speech-making. It is a practise we use

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 9

V isolation, and self-doubt, while action is facilitated by feelings of urgency,

R For instance, fear can paralyze us and drive us to rationalize inaction.

E Effective storytellers learn how to adapt their stories to different audi-

Structure: Challenge, Choice, Outcome

Page 10 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Through public narrative, social movement leaders and participants can

self PURPOSE now

2 Ganz, M. (2010). Leading Change: Leadership, Organization, Social Movements (pp.

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 11

In developing your Story of Self, reflect on these questions

Page 12 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

In developing your Story of Us, reflect on these questions

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 13

As you listen to others Public Narratives, reflect on the following questions

Page 14 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Why Build Relationships? Organizing is a

Relationships are created by mutual commitment. An exchange becomes a relationship

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 15

Three Types of 1:1 Meetings

1. Recruitment 1:1 3. Escalation 1:1

See page 18 later in this section for a sample recruit-

Page 16 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Ask in concise, plain, and specific language.

Would you be interested in coming to a meeting at some point to meet the

Can you come to our next team meeting on Monday at 5PM?

Can you come door-to-door canvassing with us on Tuesday at 5PM?

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 17

Can you come door-to-door canvassing with us on Tuesday at 5pm?

Sample Recruitment 1:1 Agenda

Why is this issue important enough for you to act?

Page 18 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Share experiences and motivations Skip stories to get to the point

Illustrate a vision that articulates a Miss the opportunity to share ideas

Meet in public unless you know them

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 19

Dont be apologetic: organizing is an opportunity, not a favour. When asking for

Page 20 | Organizing: People, Power, Change

Organizing: People, Power, Change | Page 21

Coaching is... Coaching is not...

Being present and listening. Providing solutions before hearing /

Empowering the coachee to identify Identifying the challenge and coming up