Social change model of leadership 7 c's

Jacqueline DeMers

UNST: Leading Social Change

Final Essay

March 15, 2020

How can I apply the social change model as a guide for initiating and sustaining positive social change?

To begin applying the social change model to our daily lives and experiences we must first understand how these values connect with ourselves. There are 7 C’s in the Social Change Model as discussed in our Leadership for a Better World: Understanding the Social Change Model of Leadership Development text by Susan Komives, Wendy Wagner and their associates.

In the Leading Social Change text they define change as, “improving the status quo, creating a better world, and demonstrating a comfort with a transition and ambiguity in the process of change” (Komives and Wagner, 2009). This is the ultimate goal of all the C’s in the social change model. I truly believe that to impact change or lead, your passion must drive your daily life, goals and experiences. If you don’t have that authentic passion, how will you ever have the motivation to change anything? I also believe that when people share their passions with others they are able to make a larger impact than if you’re only one person going after a goal.

Citizenship is the first C. To me, citizenship means understanding that we all are somehow connected. In any setting you are going to interact with others and the way that you do that determines your experience in the world. I think this is a very important aspect of the social change model because not one person can get anything done alone - especially change, big or small.

Common purpose is the second C on the social change model. Our Leading Social Change text defines common purpose as, “All individuals must engage in the visioning process and agree upon a collective set of aims and group values. Common purpose is strongest when a group explicitly examines its implicit, or unspoken, values.” (Komives and Wagner, 2009). This is especially vital to change. If there isn’t a shared purpose, vision, passion, or need, then the system cannot be built on a solid foundation. Identifying a common purpose means examining and understanding your individual purpose. If people's wants, needs, goals, or passions do not align with the common purpose, there will not be much value or attribution from that individual. And collectively that can be detrimental to the success of change.

The third C in the Social Change Model is collaboration. As with every C in the social change model collaboration is based in a strong effort to use individuals to succeed as a collective whole. In doing so individual strengths, perspectives and attributes can become necessary to promote change. This goes along with the previous C discussed, common purpose. As one person with a large perspective on life, we usually can narrow down our values and passions into one or two things. And if your passion aligns with others collectively, your impact can cause a ripple in the waters of change eventually reaching new shores.

Controversy with civility is the fourth C. Our text defines this as “Multiple perspectives are needed to be understood, integrated, and bring value to a group.” (Komives and Wagner, 2009) This is something I think many of us need to learn, or maybe unlearn. Too many people do not understand that there are many walks of life and every input has value. In caution as to not sound like I’m above or have never witnessed a negative circumstance or action based on someones differences this was one of the hardest values for me to navigate on a personal level. I dug deep and tried my best to make sense of what this value really means. I’ve come to the conclusion that living life everyday with the mindset that I could learn something new from every person I meet, that is one step closer to connection and civility.

Consciousness of self was another tough value for me to fully understand. It is the fifth C in creating social change. I can appreciate this value as something to aspire to. I’m constantly changing as a human and I believe there is always room for improvement. As a young adult I have begun to create a life that suits me. Something to one day be proud of. My beliefs, values, attitudes and emotions are all areas I spend lots of time practicing. This value reminds me of a quote by Brene Brown, “Strong back, soft front, wild heart”. This quote has always spoken to me because it means to me that you should have strong values and beliefs, not to let anything push you away from your true self and what you believe in. But to have a soft front means to always be welcoming and open to new experiences and happenings. To allow the good and bad to flow gracefully, but still never wavering from your true self. To have a wild heart means to take risks and go for what you really want, no matter the obstacles. Having consciousness of self is the most important aspect to the social change model in my opinion. These are the basis to who we truly are, and we can't promote change without that knowledge of the why.

Congruence is closely related to consciousness of self, making it the sixth C. To have congruence with your beliefs and values means to understand them fully, and act appropriately. This value was visible to me on the days I volunteered with Friends of Trees. I have a deep passion for our natural world and an even deeper passion for my home state of Oregon. On just one day of volunteering I planted around 30 native tree species. My group, the Beaver group, planted around 200 trees, and collectively we planted 2,000 trees that day. My contribution had a ripple effect that led to a total of 4,000 trees planted on the days that I volunteered. My congruence was aligned that day and I couldn’t have felt prouder.

Our last and seventh C is Commitment. The text defines this as, “requiring an intrinsic passion, energy, and purposeful investment toward action”. Investments take time, and most success is not achieved in a day. As quoted in the text this requires a lot of energy. And most energy isn’t given freely to things that don't fuel our passions. To conjure my energy means for me to give my passions a name and remind myself of consistently. Or else I lose all purposeness. My dream has always been to leave a positive impact on the natural world and my commitment to finish my Environmental Science degree is just the first step towards that goal.

I’m hopeful that what drives people is their true passion. Looking back on this course I think that is the biggest thing I learned while reading Leadership for a Better World and The Truth About Leadership, volunteering, and reading what motivates my peers. We all come from different realities and can use our strengths for the overall good. Adding value to our lives can enrich the lives of others. I feel enriched to have experienced people coming together to achieve a goal not any of us could have accomplished alone.

Works Cited

Komives, Susan R., and Wendy Wagner. Leadership for a Better World: Understanding the Social Change Model of Leadership Development. Jossey-Bass, 2016.