Introduction to Organizing and the Democracy Teams Initiative
Start your journey here, with an introduction to the organizing theory underpinning the Marshall Ganz / Leading Change Network curriculum and an orientation to our training program. This workshop is a prerequisite for all other courses. (Registration closes 1 hr before start time.)
Description
This foundational theory workshop introduces the Marshall Ganz way of organizing as a form of leadership that enables a constituency to turn its resources into the power to make change through the recruitment, training, and development of others as leaders. You'll learn that organizing begins not with "What is my issue?" but with "Who are my people?"—understanding that real change comes when people with a problem combine and activate their own resources to solve it, building power in the process. The workshop explores power as Rev. Martin Luther King defined it: "the ability to achieve purpose"—a capacity created by combining resources and using them creatively for common goals. You’ll be oriented to the Marshall Ganz / Leading Change Network framework of six organizing leadership practices: Creating Shared Story, Relationship Development, Creating Structure, Strategizing, Tactics/Action, and Coaching. You'll understand leadership as a practice learned like riding a bike—through getting on, falling, and getting back on with support—which is why our workshops are structured around skill-practice in small groups with professional coaches (4-8 participants per coach). You’ll also see the roadmap for the Democracy Teams program of adding ongoing coaching relationships as you build your team, a community of practice for peer support and solidarity, and explicit scaffolding guidance through proven organizing startup sequences. Come for training and stay for lifelong growth and leadership development as we co-create a sustainable pathway for building the local democracy teams and organizing infrastructure at the scale that our national emergency requires.
See the Democracy Teams Participant Manual, pages 11-18, 30-39
Prerequisites
None.