Ann Caton, partner at Potomac Group and Adriann Barboa, of Young Women United, teamed up to present “The Dream and the Drama: Ups and Downs of Alternative Organizational Structures” at the Sister Song conference here in DC.

This workshop created an all too rare space for 20 women from various organizations around the country to talk about the dynamics taking place inside of their organizations. There are few places where grassroots groups are able to discuss these issues and receive support in addressing them. Ann and Adriann presented best practices from Young Women United, a polarity management model on “participatory and directive management,” and frameworks for understanding the exploration of alternative structures.

As a part of this workshop, Ann shared a new paper on three common myths in managing social justice groups. Read her paper:

3 Common Myths in Managing Social Justice Groups:

“Most social justice practitioners take on the work of organizational management not by choice but by necessity. We make our way by luck and instinct, trial and error, and seldom pause to share what we’ve learned. For our collective consideration, I offer here three myths that I often find - and that I once subscribed to fully - in the management of social justice groups.”

1. Conflict is unbearable

Organizers and activists can look like an angry bunch - interrupting meetings, blocking traffic, picketing people’s homes. In our efforts to win victories for our communities, we are apt to defy social convention and spark conflict on purpose, in public y con gusto. Outside the walls of our organizations, we are warriors. Inside those walls…eh, not so much.

It’s a given that every organization has it’s own unique culture…READ THE FULL ARTICLE.