Leadership - Distributed - The Commons Social Change Library

Hand drawn sign on a wooden post on the lawn where there is a protest camp. On the sign it reads 'Onboarding Join Us!'

Movement Power: The Science of Nonviolent Direct Action

Step-by-step guide for activists about the movement power approach to building mass participation in campaigns for widespread social change.

Overcoming Despair and Apathy to Win Democracy

Lessons on movement building from one of the founders of the Serbian student movement that brought down dictator Slobodan Milosevic.

A young woman stands in front of a seated group of people. She is wearing a green tshirt that reads 'We are a powerful force for nature'

Building Organising Leadership During Election Mobilisation

Max Smith, co-director of the Community Organising Fellowship, reviews the Tools for Radical Democracy guide to electoral organising, and draws out some key considerations for deciding whether or how to engage in elections.

Leading Change: Leadership, Organization, and Social Movements

This chapter by Marshall Ganz, lecturer and activist, investigates social movement leadership and takes us through examples from history. He outlines Leadership Practices: Relationship, Story, Strategy, Action; Structuring Social Movements; and Leadership Development.

How to Build a Team: Online Course by Marshall Ganz

Do you want to know about building leadership teams and organising? 12 videos by Marshall Ganz that will help you learn all about setting up a team.

Front cover of the Purpose Driven Campaigning summary.

Purpose Driven Campaigning: 40 key principles for Growing Social Movements

Australian Progress has prepared this 40-point summary of Pastor Rick Warren’s bestselling book The Purpose Driven Church.

Diagram of the Circles of Commitment also known as the Ladder of Engagement. 5 concentric circles labelled from outside to inside: Community; Crowd; Congregation; Committed; Core.

Levels of Commitment from Community to Core

Rick Warren focuses on five ‘circles of commitment’ – community, crowd, congregation, committed and core, and argue that it’s important to recognise where your supporters fall in these categories, and develop processes to move them from the outside in. An excerpt from Purpose Driven Campaigning.

Photograph of two people standing on pavement, taken from above. Written on the ground is 'Passion Led Us Here'.

Retain Volunteers with Intrinsically Motivating Work

Civic associations depend upon volunteers to get their work done. Joel Dignam distils insights from Ruth Wageman and Richard Hackman’s “Designing work for individuals and for groups” from Perspectives on Behavior in Organizations.

A diagram with three organisers at the centre. From each organiser arrows go to a Leader, from the Leader there are arrows to 5 team members.

How to Structure Teams for Organising

Joel Dignam reviews Marshall Ganz’ treatment of structure as a craft of organising. As Ganz notes “Developing leadership requires structuring the work of the organization so it affords as many people as possible the opportunity to learn to lead.”

Two transmasculine people sitting together and having a serious conversation

Relationships are the Glue of Organising

This post reviews Marshall Ganz’ approach to craft of relationships in organising. Relationships foster the commitment that is needed for success and allow us to understand the interests, values and motivations of others.

Grassroots Led Campaigns: Lessons from the new frontier of people-powered campaigning platforms and programs

Decentralised, grassroots-led digital campaigning has taken off in the last decade. This report looks at the impact these campaigns are having, what lessons we can learn from them about success, and what these new campaigns platforms mean for the future of social change.

Cover of No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age.

No Shortcuts Organising for Power in the Gilded Age: Book Review

Joel Dignam reviews Jane McAlevey’s No Shortcuts: Organising for Power in the Gilded Age. McAlevey outlines a critique of most contemporary union campaigning, using case studies and other analysis to argue for a deeper more rigorous approach to organising.

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