May 2023 Newsletter: Going Farther Together
As the saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Our work over the last 35 years has proven this to be true. We have seen that the organizations and groups that form, grow and sustain strong teams of committed individuals have made steady, ongoing progress compared to those who work alone. When we find the right allies to run with, and ground our work in a common purpose borne of the community’s aspirations, change will take root and spread like a positive contagion over time.
LEARN HOW TO USE OUR KEY MANTRAS TO ACCELERATE YOUR WORK AND BUILD ALLIES
On Wednesday, May 24 at 12 pm Eastern, we will host the first in our webinar series, “The New Basics with Rich Harwood” focusing on the key mantras.
The key mantras boil our work down to its most essential components. People who have used our work say the mantras help them move faster and stronger. That they help you get started on a new path forward, stay focused on how you can make a difference, and remind you that change is possible.
During the webinar, Rich will take a detailed look at each of the mantras, lead an interactive discussion on how to incorporate the mantras into your own work and life, and help you understand how to use the mantras to build allies in your own organization and in the community.
The webinar itself can be used as an opportunity to start building allies. For one of our recent webinars, a team of public innovators in Reading, PA held a watch party. By viewing the webinar together, they were able to immediately discuss what they learned and how they could apply it to their work. Follow their model—host a “lunch and learn” for your colleagues where you can learn new ways to think about this work and share your ideas for how to adopt and adapt it to your work!
RICH’S HEALING & HOPE TOUR: DAN RIVER REGION, VA
On the latest stop of his Healing & Hope Tour, the Danville Regional Foundation invited Rich to visit the Dan River Region of Virginia.
When the textile and tobacco industries gave way, the Dan River Region lost a central part of its identity and its economic base. Much of the region is still struggling, with many people suffering from poverty, obesity, and chronic disease at rates much higher than state and national averages.
But, the region is on the move. Many of the old textile and tobacco factories and mills are being rebuilt and repurposed as housing. Investments have been made in early childhood education and getting the workforce ready for the jobs of the future. Community councils are forming, enabling more citizens to step forward and engage in shaping their shared future. New businesses are opening.
However, like many communities facing this type of regeneration and growth, a number of the region’s residents are reacting to the change they are seeing with fear and resistance. Following his keynote address, Rich engaged with leaders from Danville, Caswell County and Pittsylvania County about how to move forward when much of the community is fearful of change. He helped them see that it is critical to make those who are resistant feel seen and heard. That by taking action on small changes where you can find common ground, you can build trust. That by inviting them to join you, you can make progress towards ensuring that no one is left out or left behind.
One lifelong resident of the area expressed that while staying deeply engaged in her work in the community has often left her with feelings of despair and exhaustion, working through these issues with Rich will help her refocus on the work with “a hopeful spirit. Finding a sense of civic joy from building something together is critical.”
GETTING STARTED AT THE MARITIME AQUARIUM
The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT is a non-profit institution dedicated to promoting the appreciation and protection of the ecosystem of the Long Island Sound, on which it is located, as well as the global environment through living exhibits, marine science, and environmental education. A beloved destination in the region for locals and visitors alike, in recent years the Maritime Aquarium has turned its focus towards deepening its ties with the community.
The Maritime Aquarium approached us to help them better understand how the aquarium can become more relevant and impactful as a community hub.
In April, we hosted a Getting Started Lab for members of the aquarium staff, as well as selected youth leaders from their Education Conservation Heritage and Outreach (ECHO) Teen Program, a program designed to create confident community advocates that are well-versed in both local and global conservation issues and initiatives. The participants learned the practice of Turning Outward, equipping them to build their community’s civic capacity, unleash a chain reaction of positive actions, and shape its future.
Both the aquarium staff and the teens immediately recognized ways in which they could apply what they learned—at work, at school and in their personal lives. One teen leader expressed that “learning that change can be a group of small acts rather than big actions” inspired him to believe that change was “attainable and possible.”
For the Maritime Aquarium staff, they were struck by the power of public knowledge and the ways it could shift how they interact with the community. They recognized that people were already coming to the aquarium, which affords them the opportunity to engage with their visitors around their aspirations so that the aquarium can better serve the community. In addition to applying what they learned to their external programming, they also plan to use the knowledge and tools internally to change how they operate programs like ECHO. As one staff member noted, “Honestly, I didn’t expect to leave with tools I could use daily, but that’s exactly the case.”
Rich’s Healing & Hope Tour: Virtual Engagement with IERG
Last month, Rich was a featured speaker at a virtual event hosted by the International Executive Resources Group (IERG), a global non-profit, professional association for executives who have lived and worked outside of their home countries and been enriched by in-depth exposure to diverse business environments and cultures around the world.
The meeting had near record-setting attendance, with IERG members and guests joining from the U.S. as well as Bulgaria, Spain, Jamaica, Colombia, and other countries around the world.
On the webinar, Rich zeroed in on the challenges we collectively confront as a nation, the result of deepening divisions across the country intrinsically brought on by social and psychological conditions such as fear, anxiety, and a lack of empathy and belonging, rather than about the often cited misdiagnosis of ideological polarization. He spoke to the group about the importance of civic leadership. In the face of a political environment that stokes division, he reinforced the need for a decidedly civic response, reminding the participants that it is the responsibility of those who care to push back and reclaim the public square—together.
The Latest from Rich
The Dan River Region has what it takes to be a beacon of hope
Rich’s op-ed in the Danville Register & Bee in advance of his Healing & Hope Tour stop in the Dan River Region.
On the Road: Dan River Region
Rich’s reflections on his visit to the Dan River Region and the questions and challenges the community faces as they move forward.