S'aligner sur la direction du groupe : comment décider de ce que vous voulez et comment vous y arriverez

EN COURS DE TRADUCTION

The following responds to questions raised in our structure and strategy workshops from members of groups that are either newly formed, or have not adopted alignment on a clear direction. This resource was developed from recommendations included in organizer-developed resources, from activist insights, and from direct consultation with HUB advisor Amara Possain. Included in the below article are suggestions for formulating a vision and mission, determining your group values and conduct, forming a theory of change and pointers for facilitating these meetings.

Introductory thoughts

1. Remember that none of this prep work is meaningful until you start doing things together! You can always revisit your agreements and direction at a later time.' It's important not to get stuck in the process of making the 'perfect' statements to the point of never actually taking action. Give an action that is agreeable to the group a try, and debrief afterwards how it stacked up against your principles, values and purpose. Words don't have real meaning until you do something. -Amara Possain, HUB advisor'

2. Incorporate joyful, relationship-building opportunities throughout this process. It's important to build trust, so that folks are committed to the process and it's outcomes!

Step 1: Agreeing on your process

A great place to start is agreeing that your group wants to collectively build something! Responsibility for facilitating this process should be shared by at least 2 people. Throughout the process, think about leadership development in addition to the process of building your group. Rotate responsibilities to skill up members. -Amara Possain, HUB advisor === Conditions that support alignment

Stages of forming vision and mission statements

1. Reflect and brainstorm ideas	In our learning circle on Mobilizing and activating members: recruitment and retention 101, when prompted with the question "why are you here?", many people responded with their desire to be with others who share similar values, who care about what they care about, and to navigate climate grief and fear by taking action with others.  Other questions to reflect on: What is the dream for our community? What would we like to see change? What do we see as the community's major issues? What do you see as the community's major strengths and assets? What do you think should be the purpose of this organization (or effort)? Why should these issues be addressed? What would success look like?
2. Write down sentences that summarize ideas from your discussions	You can do this individually and come together, or collectively. Ask for feedback to adapt the statements.
3. Review good vision and mission statements	A good vision statement is </ref></ref> For example... “A world of fair, inclusive and caring societies, where white supremacy and patriarchy are things of the past and where people can live free from colonialism, exploitation and inequality, in all of its forms. A world where our societies operate in respect of the resource limits of the earth and support the survival of all forms of life. Where no population extracts and consumes an inordinate amount at the expense of others and one where all people, wherever they live, are protected from the effects of climate change and resource depletion.” -The HUB’s vision statement A good mission statement is Concise, but longer than vision statements. Outcome-oriented. Explain the fundamental outcomes your group is working towards. Inclusive and broad. Don't limit your statement in the strategies/sectors that may become involved. For example... “Stand.earth challenges corporations and governments to treat people and the environment with respect, because our lives depend on it.” -Stand.earth
4. Form your vision and mission statements!	The following exercise by Mob Lab can be used to formulate your vision statement: a) Give everyone a sheet of paper and things to write/draw with (or asked folks to take notes or draw in front of them if virtually meeting). Have each person draw their vision for the future. This is intentionally left vague, with no time frame, to allow participants to define the scope of the vision. Maximum 10 mins for the drawing exercise. b) Everyone presents and talk about their drawing or writing (2 minutes each). While this is happening a facilitator takes notes on flip chart or virtual post-its capturing the highlights of what people say. c) Once everyone has presented all images are posted on the wall (or virtual board) together. Ask participants what similarities they see. These should be big picture themes related to the long term vision. d) From discussion, identify biggest themes and write them as statements that describe the long term vision for the campaign where everyone can see and access it. Want an alternative to the above exercise? Check out the following exercises by ACT tools: 'future travel' exercise & magazine article exercise. The following questions by ATC tools can be used to guide discussion and formulate your mission statement: Who do we serve? Who do we not serve? What do we provide? What do we not provide?  What’s the benefit of what we provide? We are unique because… What are we really good at? What are we not really good at? What will we do to fulfill our goals?
5. Revisit your vision and mission statements	We suggest revisiting your vision at least once a year to reflect on how your team is engaging with it. See the following vision assessment tool from ATC. A good rule of thumb is to restate your mission with your members at least once a month. It helps to keep members aligned and motivated.

Step 3: Determining what is important and how you'll work together (decision making, boundaries and expectations)

To define what's important and how you'll work together, you'll need to outline your collective values, principles and protocols. This is usually compiled in the form of a collective working agreement or a code of conduct. These components help to form the basis for the team culture you hope to build.

Reminder: it's important to remember not to spend too much time bogged down on writing perfect working agreements! Start with what is most important to your collective. These agreements can be revisited and modified as concerns arise.

Coming up with a working agreement/code of conduct:

Hold initial reflections	Why do you do this work? What motivates you personally? What is most important for us for a good team environment? What behaviours do we need to take individually and as a team to support and live our values?
Understanding components of a working agreement	Principles help to establish purpose and to further shape the overall mission. For example, fairness, integrity, and honesty. Principles drive values. Values are beliefs and opinions that people hold regarding specific issues or ideas. For example, we value authentic relationships and the rights of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior, and informed consent. Principles and values are often written together. It is likely that you'll be able to draw principles and values from your discussions held to define your vision and mission. Protocols are the ways that principles and values look in action; i.e. order, boundaries, practices; the how of working together. By this stage if you haven't already, it would be helpful to choose a decision making framework that you'd like to use to work together. Please see the following wiki pages related to decision making: consensus decision making (suggestions for small groups) and modified consensus decision making (suggestions for large and small groups). See below for a suggested framework that can be implemented with some ease (if you do not have experience with decision making models).
Review example group principles and protocols	Example protocols from #Asians4BlackLives: "Embrace Frontline Leadership, Center Blackness We understand that the path to liberation for all communities travels through the liberation of Black communities in America. When Black people have justice and liberation, we all move one big step closer to real freedom. To us, solidarity encompasses understanding that we will never be truly free till Black people are free. We will keep our messages and slogans on the theme of Black Lives Matter, not All Lives Matter. We are committed to centering frontline leadership, and in this struggle that means centering Black organizations locally and nationally linked to this movement. With this commitment, we also understand that Black leaders and movements are not monolithic and we recognize some Black-led groups are also in (trans)formation stages. We respect and appreciate the diversity in their voices, strategies, and tactics, We will stay accountable to these diverse priorities specifically in relation to goals, vision, message, tone and choreographing of actions. We will raise our voices with, not above, those of Black people in this movement." Other examples of protocols might include, for example A TOC is your hypothesis about how to organize your resources to affect those who hold the resources/power to solve the problem. See our definitions page on theory of change for an overview. The general format for a TOC is: if we do (TACTICS) then (STRATEGIC GOAL or CHANGE) because (REASON).  Turning alignment into action: planning a campaign Once you've drafted a rough TOC, you can begin to define the strategy you'll use to put the alignment of your team into action. Please see the following wiki page for information on these next steps: What is the right way to come up with a campaign strategy? In sum, you'll want to define some short/mid-term campaign goals and strategies based on your TOC, and with consideration for your available resources, capacity and leverage points. If your team is divided on a campaign direction, create working groups that carry out separate campaigns, reporting back to and seeking support from the whole team. Facilitation pointers for the alignment process and beyond General pointers from Adrienne Maree Brown's Emergent Strategy </ref></ref>