Creating a shared purpose
A shared purpose should be created together as a group.
Bring your group together in a space that works for you.
You will need:
sticky notes
pens
large sheets of paper
Steps to create a shared purpose
1. Write ‘we are’, ‘our shared purpose is to’ and ‘we will do this by’ at the top of separate sheets of paper.
2. Ask your group to fill in sticky notes to add to each sheet. The following questions can be used as prompts:
‘We are’
What is your group name?
Who are you as a group?
Are you a group of neighbours, people who share the same landlord or residents in a tower block?
What housing issue are you united under?
‘Our shared purpose is to’
What is your group's big vision for change?
To see this change, what are your group's campaign goals?
‘We will do this by’
What are your campaign tactics?
How will you work together?
What skills can your group members use to help do this?
Do you have any dates you want to achieve your goals by?
3. Discuss the sticky notes and group similar ones together. Turn these groupings and sticky notes into complete sentences to create your shared purpose statement.
Source
Originally adapted from Leadership, Organizing and Action: Leading Change, run by Professor Marshall Ganz through Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.