Creating Change without Authority

Often, we look at the world around us, and we find we wish it were better. But the parts that we most wish to change don't always have to do as we say. That does not, however, mean that we are powerless.

In this keynote, we explore how small actions, supporting ourselves, and broadening our perspectives, we can enable us to create change—even without the official authority to do so. By the end, you'll not only have tactics to try, but will feel it is possible to achieve what you imagine.

Transcript

1. “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
   Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
   Mathew Brady, public domain,
   via Wikimedia Commons
   

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2. “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
   Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
   Mathew Brady, public domain,
   via Wikimedia Commons
   

   View Slide

3. Mathew Brady, public domain,
   via Wikimedia Commons
   “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
   Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
   

   View Slide

4. Mathew Brady, public domain,
   via Wikimedia Commons
   “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
   Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
   

   View Slide

5. Mathew Brady, public domain,
   via Wikimedia Commons
   “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
   Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
   

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6. *
   Mathew Brady, public domain,
   via Wikimedia Commons
   “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
   Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
   

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7. What does it mean to be
   
   a change maker?
   

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8. Creating Change
   without Authority
   Veronica Erb | Designing for Digital 2018
   
   @verbistheword
   

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9. =
   

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10. View Slide

11. What does it mean to be
    
    a change maker?
    

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12. Inspire change
    
    Sustainably
    
    Together
    

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13. Take small actions
    
    Support myself
    
    Broaden my perspective
    

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14. Take small actions
    
    

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15. “The most common way
    
    people give up their power is by
    
    thinking they don’t have any.”
    
    — Alice Walker
    

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19. Remote work culture
    

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22. I acted in a way
    
    that wasn’t normal
    
    to make it normal.
    

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23. Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    

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24. Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    

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25. Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    Address directly
    

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26. Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    Address directly
    Opt out
    

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27. Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    Address directly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    

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28. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    

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29. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Work
    remotely
    myself
    Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    

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30. This. Is. Hard.
    

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31. Take small actions
    
    

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32. Support myself
    

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33. “It is untenable to go through life
    
    as an exposed wound.”
    
    — Roxane Gay
    
    “The Illusion of Safety/The Safety of Illusion”
    
    Bad Feminist
    

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34. Support myself ?
    

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35. Support thoughts, relationships, emotion
    

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36. Externalize my thoughts
    

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37. Habitual thought capture to
    
    understand and decide what to do
    

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41. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Understand
    and decide
    what to do
    Externalize
    my thoughts
    

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42. We need to externalize our thoughts so
    we can decide what to change
    
    and how to make it happen.
    

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43. Externalize my thoughts
    

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44. Build my relationships
    

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45. Regular two-way human interaction to
    
    help make and evaluate change
    

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48. “In 2006, a survey in the American
    Sociological Review famously reported...
    that the number of Americans who felt
    they had no confidants at all had more
    than doubled, from 10 [percent in 1985]
    to 24.6 percent [in 2004].”
    — Jennifer Senior, All Joy and No Fun
    

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49. View Slide

50. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Make and
    evaluate
    change
    Build my
    relationships
    

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51. By building communities
    
    around ourselves, we can stay
    
    connected and motivated.
    

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52. Build my relationships
    

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53. Release my emotion
    

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54. Habitual emotional release to
    
    be able to take small actions
    

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57. spire.io
    

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58. spire.io
    

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59. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Be able to
    take small
    actions
    Release my
    emotion
    

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60. We need to release our stress
    
    so that we can live healthy lives
    
    and create change.
    

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61. Release my emotion
    

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62. Support thoughts, relationships, emotion
    

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63. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Take small
    actions
    Care for
    myself
    

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64. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    Care for
    myself
    

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65. Support thoughts, relationships, emotion
    

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66. Support myself
    

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67. Broaden my perspective
    

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68. “If you want to make the world
    
    a better place \ Take a look at yourself,
    and then make a change”
    
    —Glen Ballard & Siedah Garrett,
    
    for Michael Jackson, “Man in the Mirror”
    

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69. As we create change, we gain power.
    

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71. As we create change, we gain power.
    

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72. Avoid assimilating the compromises
    
    that we have made.
    

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73. `
    Notorious RBG:
    The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
    Lynn Gilbert CC BY-SA 4.0,
    via Wikimedia Commons
    

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74. Lynn Gilbert CC BY-SA 4.0,
    via Wikimedia Commons
    Notorious RBG:
    The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
    

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75. Lynn Gilbert CC BY-SA 4.0,
    via Wikimedia Commons
    Notorious RBG:
    The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
    

    View Slide

76. Lynn Gilbert CC BY-SA 4.0,
    via Wikimedia Commons
    Notorious RBG:
    The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
    

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77. Avoid assimilating the compromises
    
    that we have made.
    

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78. Train ourselves to manage our biases.
    

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79. Maanvi Singh
    “So You Flunked A Racism Test. Now What?” npr.org
    

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80. “And, voila! When participants took the
    same implicit-bias tests after the nap,
    they were up to 50 percent less biased.”
    — Maanvi Singh, “So You Flunked A Racism Test. Now What?” npr.org
    

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82. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Work
    together
    Expand my
    perspectives
    

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83. Train ourselves to manage our biases.
    

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84. By noticing my power, avoiding
    assimilation, and managing my bias,
    
    I support the change we each seek.
    

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85. Create change without authority
    

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86. What does it mean to be
    
    a change maker?
    

    View Slide

87. Inspire change
    
    Sustainably
    
    Together
    

    View Slide

88. Take small actions
    
    Support myself
    
    Broaden my perspective
    

    View Slide

89. Take small actions
    
    Support thoughts, relationships, emotion
    
    Broaden my perspective
    

    View Slide

90. Mathew Brady, public domain,
    via Wikimedia Commons
    *
    “The Making of the J. B. Grinnell Class”
    Daniel Kisslinger, Grace Gallagher, Kesho Scott
    

    View Slide

91. Address directly
    Address indirectly
    Divert attention
    Opt out
    Inclusive
    remote
    culture
    Externalize
    my thoughts
    Build my
    relationships
    Release my
    emotion
    Expand my
    perspectives
    Be able to
    take small
    actions
    Understand
    and decide
    what to do
    Make and
    evaluate
    change
    

    View Slide

92. Lynn Gilbert CC BY-SA 4.0,
    via Wikimedia Commons
    Notorious RBG:
    The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
    

    View Slide

93. Even if when we don’t have a budget, a
    title, or a team, we can create change.
    

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94. With persistent small actions, self-care,
    and a broad mind, we can change the
    way things work.
    

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95. Together, we can even change
    
    the things that we may have thought
    
    “are just the way they are.”
    

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96. Veronica Erb
    @verbistheword
    Creating Change without Authority
    
    Designing for Digital 2018
    

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97. Thank you to all the people who supported this presentation!
    
    Anthony Pitale, Dan Newman, Erica Liao, Esmé Middaugh,
    Ijeoma Ezeonyebuchi, Janeen Williamson, Julie Rogers,
    
    Justin Lucas, Kaytee Nesmith, Libby Bawcombe, Liz Danzico,
    Mary Glendinning, Megan Williams, Tommy O'Keefe,
    
    Wanyu Zhang, Erin Teare Martin, Lauren Bracey Shiedt,
    
    McCaul Baggett, Anne Leyh, Millie Erb, Ron Erb, Tony Pitale,
    Durrie Bouscaren, LA Johnson, Sarah Knight, Willy Tekeu,
    
    Jason Alderman, Elissa Frankle Olinsky, and many more
    

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98. Veronica Erb
    @verbistheword
    Creating Change without Authority
    
    Designing for Digital 2018
    

    View Slide