On Activists and Organizers
Activists are the people with the time to do work on behalf of a cause, but they shouldn't be put in positions that are better filled by organizers. When they are, things goo poorly...
Dear Friends,
This essay is not about any particular organization, it’s about all organizations.
Broadly speaking, you can separate roles in an organization into those who organize the work and those who do the work. Managers and workers, organizers and activists, officers and enlisted, the pattern is all over our society.
There is a recurring idea that the people who do the work should control how the work is done. Syndicalists want to have worker managed corporations, kibbutzim want to have all members of the community to participate in the organization of collective resources, Ron Paul revolutionaries want state Republican parties to be run by the hardcore conservative activists, not the lawyers and adminstrators who usually run political parties.
There are varying degrees of success when these efforts are implemented, but for the most part it’s better to let managers manage and workers work.
There’s a reason that the Tea Party folks had time to spare to go to rallies and knock doors. They’re not that busy running a business or pursuing a career or doing other volunteer work in the community. These are folks with more energy and time than they have money and connections.
When you put them in charge of major donor events, things go poorly.
We’re seeing this in the Arizona Republican Party, where some truly fringe activists have been placed into leadership positions and it has created a collapse in fundraising, candidate recruitment, voter registration, and polling. At one point last year, I had more money in a business bank account than the entire Arizona Republican Party.
Donors don’t give to fringe people because political donations are public record. If you give money to people who spout antisemitic conspiracy theories, people of good will are going to boycott your business. Most business owners want to avoid controversy and focus on good governance. They’re not here to support pet theories and weird hoaxes.
Let your organizers create the plans and the systems to achieve the success of your organization. Have them give clear guidance and positive recognition to the activists who get the work done so they feel appreciated and valued for their contributions. You’ll see greater success than will ever come from putting the line worker in the CEO position.
Yours truly,
Nick