2020 has been a year of change. A year of uncertainty. A year of questioning. Continually, we have looked to our leaders for inspiration and hope in this time of movement. Today’s leaders need to have confidence and be adaptable in this ever-changing world. Due to contemporary circumstances, I believe that our leaders need to be well versed and learned in the social change model.
The Social Change Model is defined as a leadership model where “CHANGE, in other words, is the ultimate goal of the creative process of leadership - to make a better world and a better society for ourselves and others.” (Higher Education). It is based on the seven C’s that are organized above. These C’s are as follows: collaboration, common purpose, controversy with civility, citizenship, the consciousness of self, congruence, and commitment. Each of these C’s is necessary to create lasting change in our society.
“While our model emphasizes collaboration, empowerment, and shared responsibility, we also recognize that any collaborative group effort to effect change needs to be initiated and then sustained. While the initiation process will often involve the efforts of an individual administrator or faculty member, we hope that [this] will also stimulate individual students and student groups to initiate projects on their own.” (Higher Education).
To begin with, one should prioritize collaboration and a commitment to their cause. It is important that a leader is passionate and driven to complete their project. If they have these attributes, they should be able to inspire the individuals of the group to do their best work. They should foster communication and creativity in each person to bolster the group’s work.
Overall, in today’s world, our leaders need to inspire individuals to push the envelope on what is possible in our society. We need leaders with the soft skills necessary to represent our individual ideals and foster communication and collaboration across the world.
Works Cited
Higher Education Research Institute (1996) Social Change Model of Leadership (3rd ed) Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
https://socialchange.osu.edu/posts/documents/socialchangemodel.pdf
https://www.heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/pubs/ASocialChangeModelofLeadershipDevelopment.pdf
