Stacey Abrams and the Beauty of Change
Tell the story of your organizer. Focus around the “Beauty of Change” theme. How does your organizer experience change in her life? How does she approach the work of change making? What has been beautiful or grotesque about change in her life and politics? Assess some of the key strengths and weaknesses of your organizer.
Stacey Abrams exemplifies the concept of Beauty of Change. The story of her run for governor is one that we are all familiar with but also one that I’m sure we are never tired of hearing. Despite a disheartening loss, Abrams did not let the race deter her from public service. Instead, she aided the registration of 800,000 new voters in Georgia. This effort led to Georgia voting for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since 1992… an exemplary way to demonstrate how to change (in this case, an election loss) can be made into something beautiful. “Sometimes, bold action is about your willingness to change who you are and what you think you want for your life” (Abrams, 137).
Abrams' book says it all, “How to Lead From the Outside and Make Real Change.” Abrams wastes no time telling her readers what making change looks like. “When you decide what you want and why you want it, take action immediately. Do not wait for an invitation to act. I promise you, the letter is not in the mail. Know what you want. Know why you want it. Know how you will achieve it. Then get started.” It’s hard to read that and not feel like it’s time to get off your butt and go do something… literally anything. Essentially, she approaches change-making with a very action-driven approach that she has the ability to inspire with her words.
When thinking of Abrams' strengths, tenacity and perseverance come to the forefront of my mind almost immediately. Between March and August 2014, Abrams and Fair Fight raised more than $3.5 million dollars and submitted more than eighty-six thousand applications to the state of Georgia for processing (Abrams, 51). She never stops searching for opportunities… “Sometimes no one volunteers because the job seems too insignificant. That’s when real opportunity begins. It doesn’t take much to polish a diamond, but turning coal into a shiny jewel is a surefire way to stand out” (Abrams, 64). I think this is important to consider when thinking about the greatness of Stacey Abrams. She got to the level of recognition and appreciation that she has today due to that tenacious and perseverant thought process, a beautiful outcome of her passion for change-making.
If you were to ask Abrams about her weaknesses, she might talk about the time that she dismissed the relevance of building social relationships with potential colleagues (Abrams, 66). But, honestly, that’s just the process of personal and professional growth. So, back to the drawing board on that topic...
When I couldn’t find any more talk about weaknesses in the book, I searched and searched for a weakness that would apply to Abrams. I couldn’t come up with any on my own, so I turned to Google. Indeed provides a list. of eight leadership weaknesses - separating/standing apart from your team, being overly critical, micromanaging employees, requiring constant contact, acting without integrity, failing to set clear expectations, failing to set clear goals, and providing ineffective feedback. Do any of those sound like Abrams to you? Hopefully, you’re shaking your head no right now because I don’t think they do.
Perhaps, the lack of acknowledging weakness is a weakness? The word weakness is only written five times in the book, and only one of those times is an actual example of Abram's self-evaluated weakness. I think an important aspect of leadership is being able to really relate to the people who look up to you. Everyone has at least one weakness and that’s not necessarily a bad thing - in fact, I think it is actually motivating when weakness is framed as an area for improvement. The book acknowledges personal strengths and weaknesses but doesn’t lead by example. Even when she discusses self-doubt (pg 70), she doesn't provide a personal example or story (despite utilizing many of these throughout other parts of the book). I think this could potentially encourage the mindset that weaknesses are to be hidden and not talked about. I wonder what the book would feel like to read if each “activity” had Abrams genuine answers to read about as well.
Strengths and weaknesses aside, Stacey Abrams is undoubtedly a change maker. It is important to note that even if she hadn’t lost the election or helped turn Georgia blue, she would be a noteworthy change maker. Rachelle Hampton enlightened me on the danger of focusing too much on these achievements, stating “...And putting her on a pedestal also seems to function to absolve white people of any culpability. ‘Abrams is the best for the job, so we’ll just sit back and let her do it.’ And to the ‘do it yourself’ bit, there are organizers just like Abrams in every single state currently doing this work.” This really made me think about the specifics of how to define a change maker. Why is it that credentials for qualifications such as being a change-maker are rooted in data and/or accomplishments? Or media coverage recognition of accomplishments? I will definitely keep this in mind moving forward and continue to grapple with recognizing change-making outside of data-based success.