The Barefoot Guide to Working With Organisations and Social Change

This is a practical, do-it-yourself guide for leaders and facilitators wanting to help organizations function and develop in more healthy, human and effective ways as they strive to make their contributions to a more humane society. The guide includes tried and tested concepts, approaches, stories and activities which will stimulate and enrich the practice of anyone supporting organizations and social movements in their challenges of working, learning, growing and changing to meet the needs of our complex world. The authors offer a perspective on why organizations exist, the real roles they play, and on the importance of supporting the sovereignty of local organizations and social movements for meaningful social change. They demonstrate a range of approaches to understanding the roles of leaders and facilitators undertaking and facilitating change in organizations. In addition, the significance of relationships and power dynamics in organizations and organizational change processes are explored. Finally, the guide gives support to processes of building learning organizations, how leaders can continually learn both from their own experiences and the experiences of others.