Life Cycle of Organizations w/Raquel Laviña

The Rad Ops Podcast is one component of a dialogue-based tool that supports organizations assessing and discussing the possibilities and limitations of putting liberatory values into practice. Each guest will share their Rad Ops lineages, their expertise on today’s pressing operations questions and leave listeners with resources and discussion questions to take back to your teams.

In this closing episode of season one, we take on the tough topic of the Life Cycle of Organizations with our guest, Raquel Laviña, Consultant, most recently with the Grassroots Power Project. 

Resources from this episode:

• Transforming Our Organizations, Transforming Ourselves article by Sha Grogan-Brown contains many links to resources that can support organizational culture shifts
• When you are leading with other people, try out this somatic practice called CFEEB (Center, Face, Extend, Enter, Blend) together
• Rad Ops Workbook - try out these activities with your colleagues
• Visit the Rad Ops Resources page

Discussion questions to take to your team:

• Questions for our Organizations
  • How does the purpose of this organization need to pivot under the conditions of rising authoritarianism?
  • Is this organization we built in previous conditions still the one that is needed in this current moment?
  • If many organizations may not make it through this period of rising authoritarianism, how can we clearly assess the unique purpose of this organization?
  • What are the new formations we might need for the times ahead, beyond our current organizations?
  • How can the Rad Ops principles inform our collective understanding of what our organization can and cannot do?
  • How can resilient relationships be baked into organizational structures so we are not relying on individual mastery, or set back due to transitions?
• Questions for Ourselves
  • Can I be okay with what my organization can and cannot put in place? 
  • How can I ensure my relationships outlast current organizational structures?
  • How can I use the qualities that I’ve learned of starting, stewarding, pivoting, sunsetting in our movement building, even if my organization doesn’t make it?
  • What will I need in order to sustain myself through whatever transitions are ahead?

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Produced by Josh Elstro with Convergence magazine. Design support from Kimmie David. Music by Tigercat, Sha’s amazing 10-year-old, with polish by Josh.