Social Change Model

For me, the Social Change Model put together a lot of things I already had an idea of regarding effective leadership and social change. In other words, I had a pretty good idea of the different qualities it took to be a solid leader, but not necessarily how they worked together to promote even more effective leadership. The Social Change Model provided me with this structural knowledge.

Collaboration and Common Purpose, in conjunction with one another, had a profound impact on my studies for this class, an impact I immediately saw take hold on my daily leadership activities and projects. Yes, it is evident that in order to lead, you must have people to lead. That is, you must have people to collaborate with. What is more enlightening and motivating, however, is the potential posed in combining collaboration with working towards a common purpose. Not only does collaborating with others help you achieve your own goals, but it allows you to form new group goals and make an even greater difference. 

Congruence and Commitment, two additional connected pieces of the SCM, inspired me not only to always keep my personal values in mind in everything I work towards, but to stay committed to them at all times. Not only to say I support or represent a certain moral or idea, but actually carry out these words and demonstrate them through my actions. Talk to the talk, but more importantly, walk the walk. Leaders and social change agents do this last part not only sometimes, but every time. College is a time when so many different values are thrown at an undergrad, making it difficult to keep your personal morals in check. This is vital to leadership. If you don't lead with a moral compass, that what is the point of leading?

To me, the Social Change Model represents a structure that anyone, anywhere can learn and implement into their daily lives and become a leader. It takes simple concepts that we all already know and are familiar with from past experiences and puts them into action by demonstrating their interconnectedness with one another. The SCM has educated and influenced my leadership within the classroom, FIJI, and my daily action in general, even though my original impression had been that leadership was something that could not be taught out of a book. To some extent, it still can't, but the SCM proposes ideas and lessons that can be instantly implemented to real life situations. The SCM has a lot to offer, whether you are an experienced or new leader.