Dotness Rebooting Your Organization with Natural Leaders Jonathan

“Dotness”: Rebooting Your Organization with Natural Leaders Jonathan Knapp February 21, 2018

Who Am I? • Immediate Past President of the Seattle Education Association • Former SEA Vice-President • High School Automotive Technology Teacher • Humanitarian Worker in Bosnian War • Former College French Teacher • Labor Party Activist • WTO in Seattle, 1999 • Environmental Activist, Greenpeace

What’s My Background? • Preacher’s Kid • Sensibilities formed in the creative tension of the 1960 s and 70 s • Social Justice mission: Civil Rights, Vietnam, Gay Rights, Women’s Rights, Workers’ Rights • Studied Languages, Culture, and Philosophy • Humanitarian work in Bosnia • Multiple careers • Came to teaching later in life • Trained in relational organizing

The World I Inherited at SEA 2010 -12 2012 -13 • On the path to financial insolvency • Superintendent nearly succeeds in busting the union • History of factional infighting • 11% member participation in officer elections • Unable to elect full delegations to state RA • Seats unelected on SEA board • Accepting school budget cuts without mounting a response • 25% member participation in officer elections • Ranked 12 th out of 20 regions in WEA in political action • Contentious contract ratification meeting

The World We Created at SEA 2014 • • • Successfully defeated school budget cuts with actions in 75% of school buildings SEA Board elections with all seats contested 54% member participation in officer elections Strongest financials of any local in WEA Ranked 4 th out of 20 regions in WEA in political action August 2014 Ranked 1 st out of 20 regions in WEA in political action November 2014 2015 • • Successful 6 -day strike for “Common Good” agenda 5000 people turn out to protest inadequate state finding Full delegations elected to WEA and NEA RAs SAEOPs and Para units engaging more members 131 new NBCTs in last 2 years; 14% overall Implementing community engagement project Leading the state in PAC growth

How Does This Relate to You? • Effectiveness doesn’t happen magically or by chance • Effectiveness takes clear planning and rigorous implementation • Moving to a place of effectiveness takes commitment, patience, and the ability to adjust priorities and strategies • Learning to overcome institutional inertia

Where to Start? 1. 2. 3. 4. Inventorying resources Creating a strategic plan Identifying natural leaders Developing opportunities for collective action

1. PNHPWW Resources • • • Active board Membership data Dues structure; dues potential Annual revenue picture; cash on hand Intangibles: – Position of physicians in the health care debate – Public perception of physicians in health care for profit – Reputation of the organization

2. Strategic Planning • No need to go overboard with details early on • Set a goal: to become effective as the voice of physicians for single-payer • Set a preliminary organizing plan • Think about next steps, not problems way down the road or ultimate outcomes • Devote resources to next steps • Adjust plan and goals to reality as you go

3. What is leadership? • Leadership is taking responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty • Effective organizations must have leaders who can unite people for a shared purpose in the face of uncertainty

3. The Leadership Approach We can reboot an organization by identifying natural leaders, building relationships with them, and inviting them to lend their leadership to a new shared purpose

3. How Do We Find Leaders? • Self-identified: volunteers who seek out activism, put themselves forward to do the work of the organization • Organization-identified: people “with potential, ” recruited because someone in the organization was impressed by their attributes • Colleague-identified: people who are identified by their peers as trusted and respected, either through their words or by evidence of followership

3. The Organizing Blitz Conduct individual listening sessions with as many physicians as possible at a worksite. Q 1: Get them talking about their experience. Q 2: Find out who the natural leaders are. 1. What do you think are the biggest issues facing doctors in your worksite? In our country? As a profession? 2. Who is trusted and respected around here? 13

3. Listening: The Essential Activity • People are hungry to be listened to and engaged • Do not try to tell them what they should think • Relational work is about listening intently and formulating questions that get people to speak from what moves them emotionally • Training in relational organizing helps; these are not just casual conversations; dig out their truths • People have powerful emotions tied to their stories; listen to them; don’t argue or refute

3. Track the Results 15

3. Focus on Building Relationships • Identify the “high dot getters” who are not involved in the organization in the worksites where you want to have a presence • Set up in-person meetings with those leaders • Acknowledged their leadership and ask if they would like to meet other people like themselves • In the SEA experience 80% showed interest and 80% of those committed and showed up

3. Leaders at a Seattle School

3. The Leaders Will Step Forward

3. Plan Around Those Leaders

4. Collective Action Opportunities • Once you have a database of leaders, look for opportunities for them to act • Ask leaders what is relevant to them • Listen to what your peer-identified leaders tell you • Propose actions that will be relevant to them • Let go of your received notion of what an “action” is

Avoid “Gumption Traps” • Do not focus immediately on asking leaders to join the organization • They will join when the work is relevant to them • If you give them the space to join on their own terms, they will bring others with them • They have followers; that is why they are leaders

Summary • Business: conduct a budget & resource analysis • Organizing: create an organizing plan where listening is key • Leadership: reboot with natural leaders • Advocacy: become the essential voice on health care reform • Leading your profession: take control of the narrative about single-payer

Contact Info • Website: www. organize 2 win. org • Email: jpknapp 1@outlook. com • Phone: 206 -948 -6422