I’ve been on the road lately, as I do every summer. I’ve been invited to speak at staff events and meetings and I love doing so, talking about change. This year I have a new perspective – I’m running a Green Changemaker programme at colleges in the West Midlands and Warwickshire, which has really helped me to see change work in a different light.
Three elements that will bring about change
- The big issues of our time (the long-term changes we are working through)
- The Four Seasons of Change (Our Theory of Change)
- A thinking environment (a set of processes that allow us to think well together).
In the past, I have embraced 1 + 2, which is a common transformation approach. Both elements are necessary, even symbiotic. The mindset allows you to understand how to navigate the four seasons of change: getting unstuck, unlocking potential, gaining clarity, and co-creating an unimagined future.
Responses to changemaking
At every event, there are always a few people who think my work is fantastical – after all, I am talking about bowerbirds, golden unicorns and joy! potential (Joyful Change Energy) is based on the work of a philosopher long dead. But most of the time, it goes smoothly and you find that you manage to charm some people, while others walk away with a bit of dissatisfaction. Most people enjoy it, are intrigued, and then do nothing, but they remember how it made them feel. And that’s okay, because we build critical mass over and over. Change doesn’t happen by big things, it happens by many people making many small changes.
Climate change is a big challenge
But when big issues are involved, the stakes are high. People have feelings, often strong feelings. They have opinions, and may believe, sometimes with good reason, that their opinions will not be heard. Our society encourages people to be more open to what Don’t teach, make them think how Think about it. The rise of populist movements (across the political spectrum) and the rejection of what many people perceive as “woke” is a result of this. We live in a society where people are scared and afraid of being “canceled.”
The Complexity of the Climate Emergency
Nowhere is this more true than when we think about the climate crisis. Not only do many of us feel intense fear, Eco-anxiety So we don’t want to think about it or dismiss it because we’re not well informed about the complex science at the heart of it, and to make matters worse, there’s a lot of misinformation out there and bold claims based on unclear evidence.
The role of FE in green skills
And I tell FE staff that FE is at the forefront of green skills work. It’s our responsibility. For some, those are the last words they want to hear.
Thinking Environment: Challenges and Opportunities
A thought environment is the best approach I have found so far to get people to speak up and be heard, even if they disagree with what others are saying. After all, “dissent communication” – having the courage to speak up and think differently – is one of the 15 green skills in AimHi Earth’s “Key Issues” framework for the Green Changemakers program. But in a short space of time, in a room full of strangers, with no time to build trust, the thought environment process can be disrupted, if not reversed. And even without disruption, people will remain silent and exercise their right to pass. Their voices will never be heard. And when that happens, everyone feels bad.
Support and Reflection
Luckily, I have lots of support to think through these challenges. I already have a community of 40 green changemakers in the West Midlands and Warwickshire in the “Adventure Ready Squad” (one of the 15 green skills) that I can think with. I was grateful for this recently when I realised the difference between the work of a typical changemaker and the work of a riskier green changemaker. It’s harder work, for sure. But that’s no reason not to do it.
Ask for Guidance
I need guidance. Megan Wakefield, a green changemaker, pointed me to the book Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe. The book is:A quick conversation can have surprising results” I find this to be true in all of my work, so I’m excited to dive into this space and share more. In a complex world, there are no easy answers. But I want to pose some questions to myself and green changemakers about how we can better leverage the “teaching moments” that present themselves to us in our messy and hopeful work.
By Dr. Lou Mycroft Co-Director of FE Constellations, Wandering Educator, Writer, and Green Changemaker.