This article was originally published by Kristin Leutz on LinkedIn Pulse
I have been reeling from last week’s horrific events. How many of us toggled between Zoom calls and a live feed of an angry mob roaming our Capitol? It was surreal and still is hard to process. Like many, I took some time to integrate my thoughts and to grieve over what was happening to our democracy, watching the great chasm appear to open even wider between our fellow Americans.
Now, I am taking stock and moving forward. As a white woman, I am horrified, but not surprised, at the number of other white women in the crowd last week. It makes me acutely conscious of the comfort I get to maintain within my own practice of anti-racism. I have the privilege of knowing that my body will likely remain safe as I witness white supremacists and other "revolution curious" people foment hate. It is my mind, not yet my body, that is in the fight as the sharp rise in rhetoric and potential for violence surrounds us like a haze.
In this battle of thoughts, we hear voices growing louder each day, telling us it is time to take sides or to name and shame. Throngs of brands, businesses, and nonprofits are issuing statements of condemnation. Social media companies and publishers are turning their backs on saber rattlers and enablers. But, in the end, will all this performance and declaration bring justice or peace? Or will we just increase the fractures in our communities by forcing people to hide their fears and actions, potentially creating even more extreme positions?
As a psychologist, I know that shame is complicated. There is mixed evidence as to whether or not shame motivates changes in behavior, or if in the end, it backfires. While social acceptance is a powerful human need, shame can also lead to increased feelings of anger and isolation that can push people towards greater extremes in their beliefs, and even violence.
Ecosystem building is the antidote to polarization and extremism. It requires cooperation, a belief in everyone’s inherent worth and dignity, openness to new ideas, and a demonstrated sense of interdependence. Shame has no part in this. Civic participation and accountability, however, do. We should hold those responsible for crimes and acts of violence accountable. And if there are people who have not yet crossed into this abyss, we have a chance to invite them into the dialogue.
We cannot sit on the sidelines while we are experiencing a civic crisis the likes of which we have not seen in a long time. Ecosystem builders are already well-positioned to have an outsized impact on civic engagement. We have an opportunity not just to build the philanthropic or entrepreneurial links in our community but to expand our vision of success to include strong civic commitment. By centering participation, inclusion, inquiry, and grassroots engagement, we create conditions where peace and prosperity can bloom. We have what it takes to unite our community in times of crisis and division. No matter what job we sit in, we thread people and projects together in our towns, cities, and nation. We invest in the community not to make money or gain power, but because it is the core of what we do and who we are.
And, we have well-established frameworks and goals to guide us. Take, for example, the 16th UN Sustainable Development Goal - to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. This language will feel very familiar to most ecosystem builders. We can also look to civics educational frameworks to adapt to our community-building work. The following civics framework was created for schools in my home state of Massachusetts, and as I’ve adapted it, we can blend it into our daily practice of ecosystem building.
Stage 1: Examine Self and Civic Identity
Consider how you can gather people in your ecosystem to explore issues and topics that matter to them, their families, and communities. They can begin this process by examining challenges they are currently experiencing that they feel go unaddressed or are under-addressed. If possible, encourage people to build upon good work that is already done in the community to solve problems.
Stage 2: Identify an Issue
After a wide sample of people in your ecosystem has spent time exploring and identifying issues that matter to them, the next step is to identify something that they can begin to do together, a project or action that will get the ball rolling to solve a tough problem.
Stage 3: Research and Investigate History
Examine the context, policies, perspectives, and history of the issue, and to learn about possible root causes. Particularly with respect to addressing racism and other barriers to economic success or entrepreneurship, it is important to talk about why things are the way they are and take lessons from history that not everyone may be aware of.
Stage 4: Make an Action Plan
Enlist all members of the community as contributors to the economy. By connecting those who have resources with those who can identify the needs and the root causes of barriers that exist today, it is time to build an action plan aimed at achieving systemic impact.
Stage 5: Take Action
Successful ecosystem builders construct bridges between those who might never connect. We are skilled at nurturing relationships across culture, class, race, age, and geography. If we are able to help people exercise their voice and see a role for themselves, regardless of personal beliefs, then you can begin to work together in new ways. Not everyone will end up choosing a spot at the table. Even if some people become hopelessly lost in hate, anger, or destructive forces, the majority of citizens will continue on the path that they planned for success.
Stage 6: Reflect and Showcase
Find ways to celebrate and tell the story of your community. This supports a civic sense of commitment, pride, and ownership. Credit belongs to everyone who participates in the greater good. Our aim is not to focus on adding to the egos or visibility of the few who already hold positions of power and influence. Instead, we work to harness and showcase the collective wisdom of the people who already live and work in our neighborhoods.
As we invite people to the table, it is important not to make assumptions about what it will take to build trust and confidence among all on our Main Street. People are still suffering. According to data from CNBC and Survey Monkey, for example, Main Street’s outlook is now below where it was during the second quarter of this year when lockdowns across the nation were increasing amid the first wave of Covid-19, dipping below the all-time low recorded in the survey just a quarter before. As the pandemic surges across the nation and progress on stimulus talks stalls in Washington, D.C. the issues faced by small business owners only grow. The small business owner demographic may tend to have a conservative skew, according to the study. We are all experiencing this crisis together, but we do not all experience it from the same viewpoint.
I will be taking the next few weeks in my community to reach out keeping this framework in mind. I hope my ecosystem building colleagues will join me. We already have some of the most important skills to tackle the challenge. Our social networks and work networks often intertwine because we go deep with relationship building and invest a lot of ourselves. This takes time and it takes heart. With both of those assets, we can begin the work with humility and grace. Let’s stop posting and start talking.