A Deeper Dive into the Fall Institute for Changemakers
A week-by-week guide - kicking off on Wed, October 18
Hey Changemakers!
The 2023 Fall Institute for Changemakers is coming is less than two weeks on Wednesday, October 18th! I’m really excited for what we have planned this time around.
It’ll be the fifth time we’ve led one of these kinds of Institutes, and we’ve made a few more changes based on what we’ve learned from the two most recent times we have run this institute.
At its core, the Institute for Changemakers is designed to connect you with an amazing and diverse group of professionals, strengthen your own change changemaking practice, and build skills to effectively advocate for positive change you want to make happen in your organization and in your own work practice.
I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone who has been a part of these Institutes during the past 2 years, and I know many of those involved have stayed connected to each other after the sessions ended (one of the best outcomes of these gatherings!).
Here is the link to register for the newest version (and as a reminder, you can also find more details in this post).
Now let’s take a closer look at what each of the weekly virtual sessions will look and feel like during the Fall Institute.
WEEK 1: Exploring Our Relationship with Change
As a foundation for any kind of work we do around change, it’s important that we begin by exploring our relationship with the concept of change - and not just the kind of change we wish to see. Change can occur in all kinds of ways in our lives and our professions, and its important we take the time and space to reflect on how we respond to these uncertainties.
For example:
How would you describe your relationship with change – right now, in this moment?
What change might be challenging or difficult for you?
What changes bring you joy?
Understanding our own response to these questions can be a foundational step as we bring others into our change community.
In fact, you can download our “Relationship with Change” worksheet below from this session and give it a try.
During this first session, we will also begin the process of developing our own Personal Change Plan.
Our Change Plans will start with a Change Statement about the change we want to make happen in our organization or work.
We will continue to develop and refine these Change Statements throughout the Fall Institute.
WEEK 2: Radical Optimism & Empathy
This week may be one of my favorite sessions because we really start unpacking some of the assumptions that can become barriers to change.
And we think about the future! Yes, THE FUTURE!
During this session, we introduce strategies that help us become aware of the self-sabotaging stories we are telling ourselves about change.
We’ve learned these self-defeating stories over time about why we can’t make change happen, so it’s important to acknowledge them and replace them with more positive, powerful stories of why we can make change happen.
Then we shift our attention to some fun (and freeing!) exercises where we make space to think about the future.
This session also discusses the idea of radical optimism (gosh, we need more of that in our lives, right?).
Finally, we introduce the practice of radical empathy and how we can be more human-centered in our work as changemakers.
I’ve been leading some of the exercises from this session for more than 10 years, and I keep coming back to them because they are simple yet powerful.
WEEK 3: Addressing Burnout
We are going to be dedicating an entire session during this Institute to burnout and how each of us can address it.
It’s one of the single greatest barriers to making change happen — so we need to confront it head on if we want to be an effective agent of change.
We will spend time unpacking our experiences with overwork and simply talking about what it might feel like to slow down (see my post “Slow the F*ck Down”). We ask ourselves: What is the worst thing that will happen if I slow down?
Then we discuss a set of practical strategies for interrupting a culture of burnout, including the powerful practices of prioritizing and making choices. I will also be introducing an exercise that helps you examine your daily habits and assess how they might also be contributing to overwork and burnout.
I can promise that you’ll leave this session feeling more balanced, and empowered to tackle the issue of burnout in your work and in your life.
WEEK 4: Centering Relationships & Building Our Community of Change
“Relationships are everything,” writes adrienne maree brown, author of Emergent Strategy.
These words really form the core of our fourth and final session in the Institute.
When we take the time to engage in meaningful and intentional processes of building and sustaining relationships, we can play a stronger role as an agent of change in our work. We are doing our best work when we’re developing and nurturing our relationships—it’s as simple as that.
During this session, we introduce one of my favorite strategies for building support for change: Mapping Relationships.
“Relational mapping,” as it is often called, is a form of rethinking our working structures. It’s an exercise that pushes us to notice the connections, relationships, and communities we have formed with other people, regardless of the rigid reporting structures and silos within our organizations. (See my post “Relationships Are Everything” if you’re interested in learning more about this.)
We build off of this core exercise by thinking about how we can build communities of change in our work, and how to identify those who we might want to be advocating for change alongside us. We can’t do this work alone, so it’s vital to develop strategies for bringing others on board as we make change happen.
We conclude the Institute experience by bringing it all together into the Personal Change Plan that we’ve been working on throughout all four sessions.
This Plan will bring it all together - with key action steps - that you’ll be able to use right away.
Each participant will leave ready to make change happen!
Creating a Community
My favorite thing about the Institutes is the community. Every freaking time.
We structure the sessions in a way that helps to strengthen the community so that we can learn from each other and grow.
We use pair conversations and small breakouts so that participants get to know each other, including some fun fast paced “get to know each other” breakouts.
We’ll also do some deeper dives in pair conversations through reflection prompts.
And we also use asynchronous community building strategies through a private Substack with reflection questions - to expand on our discussions and for anyone who might have to miss a session.
After each Institute, participants always rate this space for community as the most meaningful part of their experience — having this space to find your people, connect with others who are passionate about change, and know that there are others facing the same challenges that you are.
Think you’re too busy for this right now?
First, I would say that there is never a bad time to hit the pause button and make time for a reset in your work practice. And if you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed right now, this experience may be the exact thing you need.
However, we also totally understand that everyone’s schedule is really busy.
That’s exactly why each Institute includes an asynchronous community (hosted on Substack) with reflection prompts and discussion threads connected to the week’s topics.
Throughout, I’ll also have support material available for those who might have scheduling conflicts.
The private asynchronous community is also where we will work on developing our “changemaker statements” and action plans over the course of the Institute.
Having this online community and resources helps participants stay connected to the work and to each other … even when things get busy.
Advocating for change is never easy – but we can do this together!
Transformation is hard, and it takes time. Whether we’re focusing on the internal work of transforming ourselves and the way we show up in this world, or whether we’re doing the external work of deeply transforming our institutions and organizations, it is never easy.
There is no magic button to make change happen overnight, nor a magic wand that will erase the complexities, challenges, and obstacles we face when advocating for change.
We have to break from old habits of thinking and dominant patterns of behavior, question the status quo, challenge the “business as usual” approach, make change happen one step at a time, and develop a new mindset for how we want to work and be in this world. None of this is easy, and we cannot do this alone.
We’ve got to be intentional about coming together, holding space for change, and recognizing our collective work together.
Join with others in this year’s Fall Institute for Changemakers, and be part of this experience.
Registration is open now, and the first session begins on October 18th. Sessions will be on Wednesdays from 1-3pm Eastern time.
And as always, if have any questions at all, please email me directly at murawski27@gmail.com.