Unleashing Social Change

Latest Episodes:

Episode 21: Helen Smith, Forensic Psychiatrist (NHS) – "Creative Solutions that Arise When You Take the Fear Out of the System" Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

As co-founder of the Billions Institute, Joe McCannon says, when you invoke the John Cusack rule of taking the fear off the set, that's when amazing things happen. In this episode, Helen Smith, a forensic psychiatrist, tells stories of some of the creative solutions that have arisen in her sector through freeing the front lines to improve the system and the joy that comes from experiencing these changes and sharing them with others. She also unpacks some of the language of "looking after" and walking alongside people vs. "treating" patients.

We'll also discuss how returning to curiosity is the key in openness to discovery and how to nurture the liberating structures that can change the relationship between staff and patients to bring healing. When hierarchies are flattened and the environment of humility and humanity are elevated, there can be beautifully simple solutions that aren't learned in textbooks. Listen in on this beautiful discussion out of which uncovering purpose and joy can produce remarkable results.

Show Highlights:

Background into what forensic psychiatry is and those Helen and her team serve
Accessing compassion and humanity when working with those who are deeply distressed
The importance of identifying each individual's genius and redefining success
The mental model of walking alongside someone and helping them manage their own mental health vs. doing it for them which does not help them when released
Helen's experience of being released to her own genius and what brings her deep joy
The SCARF Model and how they activate personas
Helping others improve the things they want to improve and see how much joy they get from experiencing it and sharing with each other
Weaning people off of you and give them one another is how to create large scale change
Advice for leaders to not sit at the back on computers, but be in the mix and flatten the hierarchy and participate as your authentic self
Allowing mistakes as learning experiences and the importance of having fun with one another and test out new structures
Modeling and communicating to others as a leader that mistakes are learning experiences and expected
The specific goal of their practice of reducing restrictive interventions – restraints, seclusions and reducing rapid tranquilization
Remarkable results they are getting through the Breakthrough Collaborative model
Changing the relationship between staff and patients
Two successful interventions that arose from deeply understanding what irritates patients

LINKS:

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SCARF MODEL

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/SCARF.htm

Liberating Structures App:

https://www.liberatingstructures.app/en/

Episode 20: Gerry Balcazar and Hugo Ramirez, Vision y Compromiso, "The Movement is Built from the Community of Friends and Neighbors" Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

In California, only about 30% of children are being taken care of by formal licensed daycare centers while their parents go to work. This means as many as 70% are being taken care of by informal options such as family, friends and neighbors. These FFNs as they are called are going above and beyond to be the "village" for the love of children and desire to build up this next generation. However, they often lack the support and respect that helps them to leverage the important role they have in society. How is Vision y Compromiso validating their critical place in our communities and increasing the training for this large group of caregivers to grow in their role?

In this episode, we talk with Gerry and Hugo and their vision for the leaders in their communities, the Promotores, who have the ability to gather people and to increase the trust in these uncertain times, so that these tremendously important community members can thrive. Often these caretakers are raising kids during long and unpredictable hours and providing so much more than physical care, they are the emotional supports and cultural influencers. This is organization at the grassroots level and you'll want to listen in!

What are Promotores and what do they do
Engaging family, friends and neighbors, especially when they may be wary of government
The importance of self-care and self-validation when not always appreciated or recognized in the wider society
Why network of informal caregivers are so pivotal in our society
Involvement of the families and feedback they give and how they need to be supported
Importance of valuing the culture and feeding into cultural traditions
Training on multiple intelligences so that caregivers feel validated in all the ways they are building into the children
Training providing empowerment and authority to speak about their education related to child development
Overlay with the immigrant community and the fear of providing information in current times of changing immigration laws
The role of Promotores in building trust
Rural vs. Urban areas and the difference in working with the different communities
Learning from the insight gathered from within

Links:

Visionycompromiso.org

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Episode 19: Sasha Rabkin, Equal Opportunity Schools, "Working the Muscle to Change: Bringing Equity to AP/IB Classes" Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Episode 19: Sasha Rabkin, Equal Opportunity Schools, "Working the Muscle to Change: Bringing Equity to AP/IB Classes"

All across the country, there has been a long history of students being overlooked due to race or economic factors for the classes that will get them into college, the AP and IB courses. Equal Opportunity Schools is working with schools to personally identify students and de-segregate access to these academic pathways. The way they do this is partnering with districts to look at new ways of identifying "readiness" because if this is the rung in the ladder to get to college, shouldn't we be increasing the opportunities to access this rung?

In this episode, Sasha breaks down how Equal Opportunity Schools and their partner school districts are leveraging new data analytics and creating social change in schools to increase the number of kids of color being accepted into these classes. Among these, key ideas are that social change is a relational play and not based in the assumption that change happens merely by being invited. The second is that person specific by name data about the students and teachers in real time creates both accountability and new insights.

Change is hard and we need not only the will to change, but to exercise the muscle to change these deeply ingrained systems and mental models to not revert back to old ways. You won't want to miss this important conversation.

Show highlights:

A history of segregation in school opportunities in this country and the "tragedy of 20ft"
How organizations find space to be creative and experiment
The role of student insight cards and using person specific by name data to see the whole picture
Finding new ways to identify student strengths and readiness for advanced courses
Through trust and strong relationships, also being a provocative voice
Identifying the headwinds and gatekeeping structures that have been in place
The importance of seeing the leverage point as the schools, not seeing them as "poor" students
The sins of commission and omission that started in the 1950s under the guise of competing against the Russians
The power of holding up a mirror to the system
Changing the behavior and habits of the system first to bring about the consciousness and systems change
Exercising these muscles of change so they become strong and the system doesn't revert back to the old ways
The funding model of EOS that allows for sustainability along with flexibility and experimentation
Tableau as a means of changing the way we think about data
Social change as a relational play
The need for the appropriate technology to bring new levels of scale
Technology shifting from answering the why vs. the how questions
How to not merely tinker with change but tear down systems and re-build
Tolerance for risk and failure is what will make the biggest difference in social change

LINKS:

https://eoschools.org/

Stand and Deliver trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG-Cxs8eYkI

America to Me trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbfx9OpcUoc

Data analytics

www.tableau.com

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Episode 18: Tema Okun, Duke University, "Facing Into Your Own Racism with Courage and Love" Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

For over 30 years, Tema Okun has devoted her life to dismantling racism and oppression of all forms. In this episode, Tema discusses her own evolution as an anti-racist white person and some of the hard-earned lessons she's learned along the way. As she mentions in the episode, racism is not something that can go away through a half day workshop, it is a long and winding road of facing into oneself and the systems and structures in the air that we breathe. Doing this work will inevitably activate guilt and shame, feelings we are all socialized to avoid. But the cost of not facing into these feelings is too great. She says, "The cost of racism to all of humanity is our ability to be fully in community with one another." The most radical thing we can do is understand when we feel it; to DEEP DIVE into it and recognize below that there is love.

White dominant culture has such deep levels of denial and is behind disconnection from ourselves and other people. White dominant culture hinders authentic connection between people by placing a premium on being right, on pretending we are ok, on niceness, and reinforcing the good/bad binary. Doing the work of anti-racism requires a lot of practice in being in a state of not knowing and that can be uncomfortable for many of us. White dominant culture teaches that you if you make a mistake, you are a mistake but we don't have to buy into that. We are ALL harmed by injustice, white people, too. Let's create something new by focusing on what we want and not just fighting against something we don't want. Join us for this important conversation!

Show highlights:

How does my racial indoctrination get in the way of how I am in relationship to myself and others?
Why "allies" is no longer the right term.
Having the best of intentions but still hurting people.
The danger of self-righteousness, of believing "I'm not like that…"
How shame is keeping racism going
The gift of people telling you an uncomfortable truth vs. writing you off
The gift to ourselves of confronting our own racism
Who is benefiting from racism?
The difference between those who should know better and those who have no reason to know better
We are all in it together.
The problem with the good/bad binary
The role of the sense of belonging
How do we work through fear and instead show up in a way that is deeply loving
The problem with needing to be right
The inevitability of hurting one another but being in relationship means we also show up in constructive relationship and heal one another, too.
Revisions Tema is currently working on to her White Supremacy Culture article
Tema's take on the most common white dominant culture norms that show up at the Skid Row School
Trying to fix it quickly only adds to the problem. Let us slow down to go faster.

Links:

https://humanrights.fhi.duke.edu/teaching-for-equity-fellows-program/

http://www.dismantlingracism.org/

https://conference.ncnonprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DEI_AddressWhiteDominantCulture.pdf

https://resourcegeneration.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2016-dRworks-workbook.pdf

Episode 17: Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar, StriveTogether – "From Proof Points to Systems Transformation" Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Episode 17: Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar, StriveTogether – "From Proof Points to Systems Transformation"

The myth is that systems are broken but every system is in fact perfectly designed to get the results it gets. So in order to get different results, and true equity, you've got to change the design. StriveTogether came to Skid Row School many years ago and met and even exceeded their goals, but then their second goal was not about growth but about changing more deeply and actually achieve systems transformation. Sometimes the numbers keep growing and they may look impressive, but are they reflective of the deeper, longer term changes you seek? In this episode, Parv discusses changing from proof points as an end goal to a milestone along the way. Every child should be put on the path to their fullest potential. In involving everyone in the system, sometimes there are the unusual suspects who also need to be engaged in bringing about change. In the end it is the collective movement of all of these parties to create lasting transformation.

Learn about the Cradle to Career movement
Changing the paradigm to the entire community working together
Identifying the gaps and racial disparities we are trying to close
Being impatient, results based leaders
Values changing from being implicit to operationalizing them in theories of action
The importance of collecting the correct data
Ensuring that values are both internal and external facing
Having a constellation of bright spots
From proof points to the goal posts moving to systems transformation
In most places your vantage point of who needs to be involved opens up if you truly explore what is needed for children to succeed
Challenges are way bigger than any one sector can address so aligning toward a common agenda is what brings about the results
The collaborative improvement approach
Involving those close to the problems in designing solutions
How StriveTogether uses Dan Heath's rider, elephant, path
Leveraging different levels of policy change through the community infrastructure
Coaching, convening, codifier of learning and investor roles within StriveTogether to build capacity
The role of positive peer pressure, creating cohorts and learning from each other
Not jumping to solution-itis but truly using some time to identify what are behaviors, mental models or systems problems
How to stay comfortable in the uncomfortable
Activating and motivating others to create ripple effect of change

Links:

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https://www.strivetogether.org/

http://www.unleashingsocialchange.com/2019/09/10/09-dan-heath-a-primer-on-behavior-change/

Video: https://www.strivetogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Theory-of-Action-Poster_052019_Final.pdf

Articles: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/globalization-4-means-harnessing-the-power-of-the-group/

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/its_about_results_at_scale_not_collective_impact

Episode 16: Dr. Arfon Williams, General Practitioner in Rural Wales, "When Crisis is the Mother of Invention" Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Episode 16: Arfon Williams, General Practitioner in Rural Wales – "When Crisis is the Mother of Invention"

Around the world there has been a crisis shortage of rural doctors. How did Arfon completely transform his practice when he became the "last man standing" in his community of 4500 patients? At the time, the GP surgery was topping the charts for all the wrong reasons, such as being named as "most likely to fail in North Wales" by a senior Health Board member. Dr. Williams had a choice to either call it a day, risking bankruptcy and the jobs of his staff, or finding a new way to provide a safe, comprehensive service to patients. He chose the latter. In this episode, hear the story of Dr. Williams and his staff about how they are not just surviving but thriving, managing a practice that is now more efficient than it was prior to the crisis.

The "turkey sandwich" in the practice, the "one phone call rule"
Adapting and pivoting until you get to the right idea and components that are required to make it work
The importance of getting all staff and patients also on board to continue moving forward
Upskilling the staff for sustainability but also for growth, retention and increase in morale
The importance of a true open door policy
The advantage for both patients and staff in building capacity
Finding the genius in each of the staff and leveraging their gifts
Necessity of freedom to try new things and having no stigma in recognizing what you are good at or stigma in needing to ask questions or not knowing
Being humble, not being tribal and being brave to ask for help and living with risk
The path to create a succession plan

Links:

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/out-here-its-just-me/2019/09/28/fa1df9b6-deef-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-follow-up-appointment/2019/08/17/1be5ded6-b936-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html

EPISODE 15: Peter O'Driscoll, Equitable Food Initiative – "Getting a Win-Win-Win-Win-Win by Aligning Your Interests" Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Peter O'Driscoll discusses the transformational change that can happen when the whole system is in the room. When you change one part of a system, it has a ripple effect on the whole, but if you if want it to be sustainable, you need everyone in the room. For centuries, getting food on the table meant slavery, share cropping and "disposable" labor where workers have not been compensated fairly for their skills and hard work. Cesar Chavez began the work with collective bargaining to protect these workers, but to make the changes long term, the Equitable Food Initiative sought a values proposition that would appeal also to suppliers and retailers and consumers too.

What would be the common denominator? Food safety.

Find out how the Equitable Food Initiative has created a model for improving worker conditions and increased wages, while making food safer for the consumer and reducing costly recalls in stores like Costco and Whole Foods. And find out how you can spread the positive changes to your other favorite retailers as well!

A look into the food produce supply chain
Historically how has produce arrived on our tables
Cesar Chavez and collective bargaining moving now towards the ripple effect of all stakeholders
48% of food borne illness is from fresh produce
Making it safer for workers and incentivizing them and passing on the saved costs from legal issues and food recalls benefits everyone
Other issues are being solved on the side as well including recruitment and retention and efficiency, workers feeling valued and sharing in business ideas
Driving scale with both quantity and quality at the same time
Getting curious about where your food comes from and valuing the skill it takes to get those fresh foods to your table
How you can help spread the word to other retailers

Get $100 off Impact with Integrity

https://equitablefood.org/cultivating-voices-a-video-series/

https://equitablefood.org/wp-content/uploads/EFI-2018-Annual-Report_e-version.pdf

https://equitablefood.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-Impact-Evaluation-Report-e-version.pdf

https://equitablefoodinitiative.app.box.com/s/qyezv1jxpjcu8t9ovwy3h5dq7y2sts03

Episode 14: Bruce Nilles, Rocky Mountain Institute – "Climate Change as a Profound Equity Issue" Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

Bruce Nilles, Rocky Mountain Institute – "Climate Change as a Profound Equity Issue"

Shortly after meeting Bruce through the Climate Breakthrough Project, the Margiottas were convinced and began making changes to their home to go all electric. In this episode, Bruce and Becky talk about the climate crisis, and that it is not just about what is happening outside, but what is happening inside our homes. And that in fact, one of the most dangerous places is the most sacred place for many of us, our kitchens. So we can avert climate catastrophe not just by waiting on the government but by making changes to our homes. It may be shocking to know that the levels of pollution inside our homes would actually be illegal outside!

This being true, the ability to change the infrastructures of our homes relies also on having the financial means to do so which illuminates that even climate change is a profound equity issue. Tune in to hear more about how you can make changes over time in your own home and advocate for those unable to afford to do so in this week's episode.

The hope that Bruce has in the movement arising from youth around the globe
The history of some of the work of the Rocky Mountain Institute
Rather than feel paralyzed about the slow response of the government to avert climate crisis, what we can do also in our homes as we continue to advocate
How asthma and other respiratory issues continue to rise due to the level of pollution inside our homes
Navigating the incremental changes we can make to avert climate catastrophe
Advocating for the changes also among those without the financial means to do so

Links:

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Rmi.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9TUTdMvJsw

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/opinion/climate-change-gas-electricity.html

https://rmi.org/insight/the-economics-of-electrifying-buildings/

Episode 13: Chris Chatmon from Kingmakers of Oakland - "When it is Time to Throw the Textbook Out the Window" Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Christopher Chatmon, Founder and CEO of Kingmakers of Oakland shares his personal experiences growing up in the education system, having his desk relegated to the coat closet, to finally being acknowledged and apologized to by a coach and teacher in 11th grade. Inspired to become a teacher to change the experience for young Black men in America, Christopher became a teacher and in this time recognized that history and world history curriculum and textbooks only acknowledged the stories and contributions of white men. So he had his students throw their textbooks out the window.

Now, it is Christopher's hope and work that in all subjects, not just during Black history month, the stories and contributions of Africans, Indigenous groups, and all people are taught as part of the collective contributions to math, history, arts and sciences. In this podcast Chris will discuss one of the Many Ways to Many that Becky speaks about in the Skid Row School, the wedge and spread need to include cross sections of all stakeholders, from the superintendent to the principal, to the office staff, teachers, parents and students. He also discussed how centuries of a system cannot be undone in the typical 3 to 5 year time bound aims of most philanthropic work. So the measurement must change and the process needs to also be the product. Listen to how Kingmakers of Oakland aims to spread the work and how you can be involved in this episode!

Bringing those furthest away from opportunity into the center
Recognizing it is not about changing Black boys but changing the structure and conditions of the system
Recognizing the systemic oppression lens and racial equity lens so you can discern the conditions that perpetuate the advantage of some and disadvantage of others
The power of curriculum that is indigenous or less Euro-Centric and the power of stories
Healing the fish while treating the toxic ecosystem
When you understand the history of public education, it was not created at that time for everyone, only certain people had access and the system reflects that still
Getting all of these stories accredited and meeting the learning objectives of math, English and all subjects and having the will to lift up these narratives
Knowing who you are and whose you are and the values and integrity to align yourself with
The idea of an actualized human being also about giving back
How Kingmakers of Oakland have achieved accreditation of courses in each state and co-constructs content and trains teachers
Drivers: Class and curriculum is necessary but not enough, need to look at funding formula and other factors and recruiting, training and retaining teachers of color
Getting out of the practice of deficit to practice of promise
The sweet spot is coming together as a learning network, not calling people out but calling people in
Wedge and spread – everyone is a leader, not just the superintendent and principal but every level to the office staff, parents, teachers, student, engaging all stakeholders
Innovations are accelerated through the power of relationships
If the culture is not healing, it will undermine and sabotage the policy, and everything else you have been working on. The cure is in the culture
Process is product. The systems work is legacy work and takes time
Centuries of harm cannot be done in the immediacy of a lot of philanthropic time constraints
Three to five year strategic plan is insufficient because it is legacy work and the long game
Preparing for progress and setbacks to keep up the fluidity and not feel defeated when the system self-corrects
When internal and external strategy aligns it is the wind beneath your wings

Links:

www.KingmakersofOakland.org

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/kingmakersofoakland

Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/kingmakers

Kingmakers of Oakland Spring Symposium:

http://kingmakersofoakland.org/devsite/what-we-do/spring-symposium/

Episode 12: Jake Maguire from Community Solutions - "From 100K Homes to Built for Zero" Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

12: Jake Maguire, Community Solutions – "From 100K Homes to Built for Zero"

What happened after the 100K Homes Campaign? Becky reunites with Jake who was on the Community Solutions team to talk about what came after. Instead of counting up, it was time for some cities to count down. Now the Co-Director of "Built for Zero," Community Solutions has partnered with 11 cities who have reached functional zero on chronic and veteran homelessness. This episode is full of wisdom about getting to the next aim, identifying leverage points, re-evaluating teams, and the importance of data and the right infrastructure, and the idea of compound protagonists.

Becky and Jake reminisce about Jake's path to joining the Community Solutions team while still in school and catch up on what has happened since
What it takes to get people to join the movement on the shared aim, even when you don't know how you're going to get there
Going smaller and more committed vs. going bigger to meet the next goal
As the work evolves, recognizing that the innovation changes and defining what that innovation is to get to the next goal
Defining the leverage point: Do we have a homelessness problem or an outflow or inflow problem?
How to shift how you will solve the problem by making sure you have adequately identified the problem in real time
Learning over time and creating goals in the right order
Effective data and infrastructure and improvement science to make sense of the problem you are trying to solve
The critical need to zoom all the way in and all the way out
Sutton and Rao's "Scaling Up Excellence" principle of not having a team bigger than two pizzas could feed
Re-imaging during the evolution and innovation of what an effective team looks like
The balance of being consistent and flexible, "not always being graceful, but gracious"
The importance of distributing credit and recognition
The idea of not having one hero but "Compound Protagonists"
Belonging as a powerful leverage point

Links:

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https://www.joinbuiltforzero.org/ Are you a Zero Hero video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHkrLOyJ48k

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