Changing the narrative - driving impact as a collective
The time for heroes and sheroes is over. The knight in shining armour coming to rescue you is a fantasy, the only thing that sincerely brings change is a small group of people just as Margaret Mead said:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.”
Impact Chains is a way in which we can experience and show collective efforts, collaboration, and what holding each other to transform and be transformative looks and feels like. This is not an abstract, academic exercise; it is a felt, embodied and knowing experience that might take us out of our comfort zone or perhaps shift and shape us into some new knowing.
Over the years, we have found that learning happens when you are at the edge, not when you are in the centre; it happens when you see or feel something because you are in someone else’s shoes, or perhaps because of some trauma or disruption that brings clarity to your purpose.
At Impact Chains we are deliberately bringing our bias about collaboration. This is our default. In times of crisis the adage “everyman for himself” isn’t actually true, in a crisis or in times of danger the group tries to protect the most vulnerable. We have seen this during COVID, with the oldest and most frail being the first to receive the vaccine. In a crisis leaders are called on connection, compassion and cooperation to get their communities out of danger and this is what is driving our agenda for Impact Chains.
We are assembling leaders working on all kinds of challenges and crisis facing our country right now – we are not looking to fix those who are affected by these – but to address the systems that are holding these inequities in place. That is why we won’t be having a keynote speaker or a hero’s journey reflected in the program. We will be providing space to get a good look at the systems, play with some ideas and hear from peers about what is working in their worlds and together what is the chain reaction our collective impact is and might make, from where we are, with what we have.