Although Campbell’s work resonates with many and has been used widely to guide organizational transformation and inner psychological journeys, is it a model that fits the complex challenges of leadership today? Transformation is a difficult process, particularly when trying to achieve social change. It can be discouraging. Unfortunately, we often find our hero/heroine burned out or fired before any transformation can occur.
From Hero’s Journey to Collective Heroism
The Heroine Journeys Project, a research project to collect and analyze literature, film, and transforming life experiences of women and members of marginalized groups, puts forward an alternative way to think about that journey—one that may be more realistic when considering social change. The research team argues that real change is not achieved by singular action or even high-profile events; rather it is achieved over time, by large groups of committed people working together, with many stops and setbacks along the way:“First, we acknowledge—and keep acknowledging—that lasting social change of any type occurs in increments over long periods of time through the prolonged efforts of many people. This shouldn’t discourage us; this is how it has always been. What does discourage us is when we treat milestone actions as ultimate victories, because then we are doomed to disappointment. When the next bump in the road comes, we think we have failed. We need to adjust our attitudes and recognize that a milestone or first commemorable step is a significant action rather than the destination.”
The researchers note that our society likes to celebrate individual heroes because we believe it inspires participation, but research has shown that this can weaken social movements. They urge that we move from believing that one mythic figure can save us to understanding that we need to achieve long-term commitment from larger groups of people. How is that achievable? They suggest that “sustainable social change must be relationship-focused. That is, narratives should recognize and emphasize the importance of the actions of a broad network of actors. Within movements working towards social change, relationships create networks of support, motivation, and accountability.”
“We love to exalt heroic individuals,” says Elizabeth Svoboda, author of What Makes a Hero?: The Surprising Science of Selflessness, in an article in Greater Good Magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. “But in this historical moment, collective heroism is best suited to the challenges we face.” In the article, Svoboda quotes Scott Allison, University of Richmond psychologist and author of Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals, who says that “In the best-case scenario, collective heroism can even eliminate the need for individual heroic sacrifices.” Svoboda further explains that the signature quality of collective heroism is that it’s made up mostly of everyday, ordinary acts, which can easily be dismissed as insignificant, but to succeed “a collective heroic effort must be constructed like an acrobat pyramid. Each actor must have confidence that others will join in to support the structure’s weight.”
The Power of Empathy to Ignite Social Change
So how does a school move from a culture of individual heroic acts to a collective one? Is that even possible at a time of such polarization in our communities? Two recent studies shed some light on how to make progress.
In “Yes We Can? Group Efficacy Beliefs Predict Collective Action, but Only When Hope is High” researchers at the University of Surrey identified that to build support, you must first convince people that broad social change is possible. Hope must be present to coalesce collective heroism. That can be difficult to nurture in cultures that prize self-determination, but not impossible. Another study provides a possible pathway. In “How Game Features Give Rise to Altruism and Collective Action? Implications for Cultivating Cooperation by Gamification,” researchers at the Technical University of Berlin studied how often online gamers used cooperative game features over those that drove individual success. Just like building muscle, it turns out that that the more you engage in this kind of activity, the more you want to support the common good. They suggest that “participating in collective action—whether it involves helping others, protesting, or pledging to wear a mask—makes you feel good about your contribution, and that rush motivates you to contribute more in the future.”
So, for school communities, the message is that we need to begin building that muscle for the common good if we want to become communities that are good for all and can move past the polarization that dominates today. Building that muscle begins with developing empathy—beginning with ourselves and then engaging the larger community. As it turns out, empathy is not something you either have or you don’t; individuals can develop it. Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology at Stanford and author of The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, in a May 2019 article for Harvard Business Review, identifies three steps that any organization can take to center a culture around empathy:- Acknowledge that it can be built. Leaders must engage the community in professional development centered around empathy, first stepping back and making people aware of their own mindsets.
- Highlight the right norms. Zaki points out that, “The loudest voices are seldom the kindest, but when they dominate conversations, they can also hijack our perceptions. When one team member loudly expresses a toxic attitude, colleagues can confuse theirs for the majority opinion. Such “phantom norms” can derail positive change when people conform to them.” This is an important revelation for schools today. Zaki says that you can overcome these phantom norms by drawing attention to the right behaviors. “Empathy often belongs to a quiet majority. Foregrounding it — for instance through incentives and recognition — can allow employees to see its prevalence, turning up the volume on a positive norm.”
- Find culture leaders and co-create with them. Look for people on your team who naturally encourage cohesion. They tend to be the most connected members of your community. Zaki says, “Information, ideas, and values flow through them. They are their groups’ unsung influencers.” In “Changing Climates of Conflict: A Social Network Experiment in 56 Schools,” the authors outline a case of middle-school leaders using influencer students to create effective anti-bullying campaigns in their school.
