A case for transforming organisations: you’re a right-on manager leading a diverse team of committed staff towards meaningful social change. You’ve got words like “intersectionality” and “power” in your vocabulary, and sometimes you use them. You interrogate our shoddy political system as you sip your after work pint with some pals you met at university. You scoff at other men’s sexism in your sector, knowing full well how not to fall into the trap of mansplaining – after all, you read the F Word. You work hard and you have the best of intentions for everybody. So why do you sense that heavy weight on your chest every time the phrase “white man” comes into conversation? It makes you nervous for a bit, but then you remember, you’re right on! You’re a progressive! Best you stick where you are so you can keep doing the good work. You’re making sacrifices, you’re taking one for the team, you have so many reasons to stay… Is this such a bad thing? In this article, I’m going to reflect on the limitations and struggles of the “woke” manager, whom by holding positions of power in social justice organisations are keeping us back from achieving real change. This analysis is part of a wider conversation about the failures of civil society organisations, and one that to me is the most urgent and practicable. My reflections focus on white, straight, able-bodied, cisgender, middle class men because these dominant mix of privileges make up the majority of leadership in our sector and in part my personal experience as a middle class, able-bodied straight woman of colour. My use of “woke” is tongue in cheek – referring to the self-labelled identity that expresses a white liberal approach to social change. I may refer to “white men”, but of course these reflections stand true to more than just identity, they embody a mindset that is present in us all and exhibited through a set of unconscious behaviours. As I write I will be addressing you; a “woke” manager in a social justice organisation, hoping to do good but struggling to understand how to as people challenge your identity and background. Social justice organisations are suffering from a leadership3 problem where mainly white men occupy positions of power easily, and the real leaders struggle to access roles with any real influence or responsibility. By passively accepting this status quo, we will continue to pump love, time and energy into our campaigns and we will continue to fail. Transforming the leadership of our organisations is more than just thinking about diversity; it will help open up the heart of our movements currently struggling to grow within a very suffocating NGO culture. Making space for real leadership to emerge will help us prepare for transformative social change4, where organisations can become the spaces to practice our social justice principles. Are you a “woke” leader in a social justice organisation? To help you, reader, to locate yourself, I have explored some justifications I hear often when challenging someone about their identity and background. They are written to support you in understanding the reality of your position in the organisation. “I just sort of, landed here, I didn’t ask for all this responsibility” No white, cisgender, middle class man just “lands” in a senior position in an organisation. Assuming the universe was nice to you and you got lucky, dismisses a lot of necessary self-reflection:
- Society is structured in a way where your whiteness and maleness assures you’ll get a leg up to the top, maybe even a whole ladder.
- Someone who looks, speaks and jokes like you sits in another position of power that pulled you up to where you are now – a funder, director, board member or partner organisation.
- There will always be someone with power who has your back, even when you screw up.
- You’ll be forgiven unquestionably when you make mistakes. More likely the only people who will notice and speak up are those who have less power than you, but feel all the impact of your actions
- Through complete lack of trying, you’ll exhibit all the behaviours, language and interests that mainstream NGOs will look for in organisational leadership. You are a “safe” pair of hands under white supremacist-patriarchy.
- Failing to acknowledge or reflect on your privileges can leave you complicit in unconscious behaviours that will favour others that also look, act and sound like you. You’ll find it harder to build trust with those who should be supported in their leadership because they look, act and sound different to you
“I work super hard, sometimes I even work whole weekends!” The fact you can give so hard to this movement without reflecting on the impact that has on those around you, and yourself, is testament to your privilege and self-absorbed actions.
- “Hard work” is both a symptom of capitalism and a behaviour that the meritocracy rewards. Over-working your 9-5 job ensures your privileges can play into this system for only your benefit. You’ll achieve over what is humanly expected of you (making it hard for anyone who values a work life balance to meet your standards).
- You build a culture of overworking that is damaging to those in your organisation that need the mental and physical space to switch off from their paid work to make space for healing, self-reflection and just being human in a society laden with violence and trauma.
- No one is expecting you to work this hard, you’re placing those expectations on yourself because you want to be seen to perform. This risks derailing your activities from the purpose of your organisation’s social justice values and becomes all about you; your achievements, how you are recognised, what you are known for. In short – check your ego.
- Neo-liberal capitalism will not fall to its knees overnight because you stayed up ‘til 3 AM writing funding proposals
- It’s bad for your overall health – making you emotionally and physically unavailable to those that need you in your team, or worse, preventing you from acting with understanding and empathy towards others
“I recently hired a person of colour (POC) into our team”
