UT students working on community garden/commons project at the Nancy Nail Library in Mart
Reading Capra was a bit of a challenge until page 11. The scientific metaphors are a bit of a reach for me as I balance my time between the academy, and work in Mart that includes teaching/bringing UT students to work on projects as well as the ongoing development of the Mart Community Project. That being said, pages 11-15 were very relevant to the work unfolding in Mart, thus useful consideration in bringing students into this community.
I was very interested in the discussion on resistance to change and how it allows you to work people's creativity rather than ignore it - and furthermore transform it into a positive force by involving them in the process of change from the start increases the chances that they will choose to be disturbed because the process is meaningful to them is critical in community development. Although this article refers to mandated organizational change,once a movement gains traction and "disturbs" the status quo, there is no turning back the clock. I have found this to be true in Mart, where the first instigation was an art installation construction that led to a quest to document the much overlooked black history of the town. The involvement of Baylor, the local press, and a small group of residents determined to rectify the past disregard, called attention to the demarcation of the color line in Mart. However, the olive branch was extended to white residents to participate and include their memories as well. Involving all residents and institutions brought them on board in support of the project and created a springboard for the subsequent expansion into a community wide development effort.
The other area of Capra's article that had utility was the discussion on leadership and finding the appropriate balance between design and emergence. According to Capra, this requires a blending of two different styles of leadership. The first style, a more traditional concept of leader is one who can hold a vision and articulate it with passion and charisma - and whose actions reflect values that serve as a standard for others to strive for. The other type of leadership involves facilitating the "emergence of novelty", creating conditions rather than directing and using authority to empower others. The common thread according to Capra is creativity - creating a vision and going outside the box to new territory. This facilitation and emergence helps the community as a whole create something new - as Capra states, "Facilitating emergence means facilitating creativity."(p.14)
Capra briefly touches on the strategy of hiring an outside consultant as a catalyst. BY Capra's definition the consultant is not affected by the process they help to initiate, therefore can analyze the situation more clearly. In management of organizations, I think this is very true and serves a purpose at the initial stage of change; however, in a community setting over the long term the catalyst must find a way to transfer this spark into viable homegrown leadership. I have functioned in all three of the above mentioned types of leader, criss-crossing from one to the other with a unique vantage point of being a member of a Mart family, and to further confound the situation, I am white and my family is black. My multiple roles gives me advantage though it also comes at a price - see previous blog post.
The discussion on resistance, disturbance, leadership, emergence, and creativity is a focus of my work in Mart as well as my student's projects in partnership with Mart residents. The discussion on pages 11-15 will be very useful in framing and describing the issues confronted in community engagement and in particular public scholarship endeavors such as our UT class of students and the Baylor Oral History Institute. Visit www.martcommunityproject.org to get a sense of what is unfolding in Mart and a context to my posts.
Capra's discussion about involving people from the start so they will "allow themselves to be disturbed" and letting their creativity dominate the process of change also resonated with me. It seems so intuitive that one would want to take full advantage of the talents and skills of a community in a project - which makes it all the more sad that most projects and leaders choose the power and domination route.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you linked the reading back to your work in Mart. Your practice of community development is something that I currently do not get to be a part of. Reading about your experiences helps our class readings make a little more sense; it's that click with reality that the readings need.
Capra's focus on leadership is a good one. And not one that I picked up on at first, so thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a framework presented by Raphael Sonenshein on his work in community organizing. Sonenshein presents three essential elements to establish a politically viable community, or a coalition that is capable of working for positive change.
1. Common Goals - The coalition must agree on what their ends are before the means can be discussed. If there is no overlap in goals a coalition will fail.
2. Common Ideology - The coalition must agree on how to achieve those goals. If they cannot, the coalition will fracture.
3. Strong Leadership - The coalition must have some form of leadership, hierarchical or slightly decentralized. Lack of a leader will cause a group to flounder.
In your blog post and class comments you have highlighted these elements that I took away from Sonenshein. You have a community looking to redevelop itself and establish a stronger identity. Your community has rallied around the idea of an art program and agreed on one facet of the means for your goal. Furthermore, you even expanded your community to a coalition that shares at least some common ideals to engage in the art program.
Capra's take on leadership expands on the Sonenshein's by providing the components that would result in the most successful leadership: a combination of nurturing and directing. This is an important lesson because of the dynamics that so-called "activist-scholars" would be a part of in engaging a community. If an outsider academic were to come into a community with a top down style, heavy on directing rather than nurturing, the changes that result will not last. The outsider will have done nothing to let the community change itself. A lesson should be taken from Capra that a balance is necessary and I would take from it that leadership has more to do with "walking with" rather than "leading".