Who wouldn't want a superhero on their team? And why would I fight my kid on wearing his Batman costume to run errands?
One of my favorite blogs to read, partially for the insightful content and partially because I’m convinced that she’s a terrific person (even though we’ve never “met”), Community Organizer 2.0, had a post awhile back that dealt with the idea of free agents, a topic expanded on in The Networked Nonprofit, and one that I’ve done some thinking about here before.
And it occurred to me at the time that my most successful parenting days come when I apply the principles of free agency to my kids, and that those lessons can help me not only succeed as a parent but also apply to my organizing and organizational development work. And, then it took me a couple of months to actually sit down and write that out. And, apparently, I’m incapable of doing so today in short sentences!
The concept of free agents is basically this: if nonprofit organizations and “official” entities try to control too tightly their messages and those who would be ambassadors for their causes, they’ll miss out on a whole lot of passionate activity that could be contributed by those who don’t see themselves as traditionally connected to a nonprofit base (as a staff member or volunteer), but who will “latch on” to your issue and, potentially, bring the new attention and energy that every campaign desperately needs.
There are some really smart people spending a lot of time thinking about organizations as fortresses and how to break down the barriers that discourage free agents, and about how to change organizational culture so that the idea of loosely affiiliating in this way isn’t so strange and scary. It’s tremendously exciting, in part because of the incredible advocacy potential of free agents (who often specifically want to tell people about a given cause and rally others to its defense, which is what advocacy efforts crave), and also because I believe that making organizations more responsive and responsible to free agents will make them places where clients can tap into leadership opportunities and where transparency will, to a large extent, reign.
Very important stuff.
And, of course, because I’ve got young children to raise, I tend to think of everything in terms of what it means for me as a mom, in addition to someone who tries to think about and work with social problems and the nonprofit organizations charged with addressing them. Which brings me (eventually!) to this post.
Because my kids are free agents, with me, not of me, and the more I remember that, the better things work around here. What this means for me as a parent, and what I think it can mean for us as practitioners?
I’m interested in hearing from both parents, about this whole free agent “thing” applied to kids, as well as from nonprofit folks who are finding ways to tap into and build up the free agents who circulate around their causes: is this parallel something my intense-summer-course-addled brain just came up with, or does it reflect what you see in the free agent realm?
Hi Melinda,
I feel the exact same way about you and your blog! In fact, I think your blog is such a breath of fresh air, integrating so many different ideas that revolve around community organizing, social justice, and and social policy.
Thank you for introducing me to that great word, equifinality. It applies to so many situations in community organizing, in the digital world (how many ways to connect and engage) and of course, in parenting. As a parent also, letting go is also a challenge. We want to be the fortress (aren’t we always right?? (ha)) but letting go does offer its own rewards. We now let our children pick out their own clothes and, unless, it threatens their health, they can wear whatever they want to school – and they have indeed worn the strangest assortment of clothes and shoes. A small way to give over ownership, which I do believe goes a long way towards building up their self esteem and concept of self.
Thanks so much, Debra. It’s always great to hear from you. It’s funny about how your kids dress themselves–I think my oldest son’s teacher thinks he only has 2 t-shirts (both Star Wars-related), but he has certainly combined them in creative combinations. We, of course, don’t have any more “control” over messages or the advocacy tactics of those who align ourselves to our causes, and, for me, it’s comforting to realize that, in many cases, relaxing my need to pretend that I have that tight command in the advocacy/organizing contexts doesn’t cause me any more pain than washing that Lego Star Wars shirt again, so that it’s ready for tomorrow! Have a wonderful summer!