Collective Visioning

How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable World

Linda Stout (Author)

Publication date: 05/16/2011

Collective Visioning
It's an unfortunate fact of social organizing that, despite even the best intentions, groups convened to effect positive change often fail to empower people from all backgrounds to speak up or to tap into a positive and inspiring collective vision. Longtime social justice crusader Linda Stout details a practical process that enables everyone—even those commonly marginalized—to work together with honesty, passion, commitment, and joy to create a positive, energizing, and sustainable vision and to make that vision a reality.

Stout shows, in practical terms, how to bring a group together, build trust, ensure that each and every voice is heard, create a positive vision, and develop an action plan that leverages everyone's abilities to bring that vision to fruition. Used successfully by more than 120 organizations—and illustrated here by dozens of practical examples and exercises—this process creates hope for change, even among those who've stopped believing that change is possible. This comprehensive guide will serve as a template for anyone seeking to create a better, more just tomorrow.
  • Shows activists how to develop an inclusive, inspiring vision of the future they want to create

  • Offers a process that guarantees the voices of marginalized people are heard and enables people of all backgrounds to work together with honesty, passion, commitment, and joy

  • Filled with examples and exercises taken from Linda Stout's decades of organizing

 

All of us want a future that's promising and a way to get there. For decades, activists and community groups have worked to create equitable solutions. Why then are so many of us disappointed at the results?

Despite sincere and well-intentioned efforts, organizers often fall short in creating groups in which people from all backgrounds feel comfortable speaking up. And while progressives are good at articulating what they're against, for a variety of reasons they have a tougher time getting specific about what they're for--creating a positive, energizing vision.

Linda Stout, a lifelong agent of social justice, introduces a process designed to ensure that all voices are heard, an inspiring vision of the future is agreed on, and an action plan is developed that leverages everyone's diverse talents and abilities. Used successfully by over 120 organizations, it creates hope for change among those who've stopped believing change is possible.

Stout lays out the extensive and innovative prework that must be done to build trust and openness before any kind of meeting is held--a distinctive feature of collective visioning. She describes creative approaches for encouraging people to share their histories and most deeply held personal values, and she explains how understanding why each person is drawn to the work is vital in designing action strategies that build on people's particular strengths. She illustrates her points with inspiring stories of what collective vision can accomplish, drawn from her decades of committed activism.

Collective Visioning is a complete guide for leaders seeking to create inclusive movements that work from a place of hope to create a better, more just tomorrow.

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Book Details
Overview
It's an unfortunate fact of social organizing that, despite even the best intentions, groups convened to effect positive change often fail to empower people from all backgrounds to speak up or to tap into a positive and inspiring collective vision. Longtime social justice crusader Linda Stout details a practical process that enables everyone—even those commonly marginalized—to work together with honesty, passion, commitment, and joy to create a positive, energizing, and sustainable vision and to make that vision a reality.

Stout shows, in practical terms, how to bring a group together, build trust, ensure that each and every voice is heard, create a positive vision, and develop an action plan that leverages everyone's abilities to bring that vision to fruition. Used successfully by more than 120 organizations—and illustrated here by dozens of practical examples and exercises—this process creates hope for change, even among those who've stopped believing that change is possible. This comprehensive guide will serve as a template for anyone seeking to create a better, more just tomorrow.
  • Shows activists how to develop an inclusive, inspiring vision of the future they want to create

  • Offers a process that guarantees the voices of marginalized people are heard and enables people of all backgrounds to work together with honesty, passion, commitment, and joy

  • Filled with examples and exercises taken from Linda Stout's decades of organizing

 

All of us want a future that's promising and a way to get there. For decades, activists and community groups have worked to create equitable solutions. Why then are so many of us disappointed at the results?

Despite sincere and well-intentioned efforts, organizers often fall short in creating groups in which people from all backgrounds feel comfortable speaking up. And while progressives are good at articulating what they're against, for a variety of reasons they have a tougher time getting specific about what they're for--creating a positive, energizing vision.

Linda Stout, a lifelong agent of social justice, introduces a process designed to ensure that all voices are heard, an inspiring vision of the future is agreed on, and an action plan is developed that leverages everyone's diverse talents and abilities. Used successfully by over 120 organizations, it creates hope for change among those who've stopped believing change is possible.

Stout lays out the extensive and innovative prework that must be done to build trust and openness before any kind of meeting is held--a distinctive feature of collective visioning. She describes creative approaches for encouraging people to share their histories and most deeply held personal values, and she explains how understanding why each person is drawn to the work is vital in designing action strategies that build on people's particular strengths. She illustrates her points with inspiring stories of what collective vision can accomplish, drawn from her decades of committed activism.

Collective Visioning is a complete guide for leaders seeking to create inclusive movements that work from a place of hope to create a better, more just tomorrow.

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