Citizen Empowerment and Transformation at a Glance

The Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation is about more than mouse-
click advocacy or just leaving a message with a Congressperson’s receptionist. Here are
some of the components of citizen empowerment and transformation.  All require a
powerful structure of support to assist people in climbing over their hopelessness and
despair in order to take :

•           Breakthroughs: For a citizen to go from not knowing the name of their member
of Congress to having a deep, trusting relationship with them requires a
series of breakthroughs—it requires moving out of your comfort zone. That
is essentially the definition of a breakthrough, seeing something that seems
difficult or impossible, having some discomfort in taking it on, and then, with
coaching and support, going through that comfort zone to experience the
joy and accomplishment on the other side. These breakthroughs can happen
with a member of Congress, with an editorial writer, with other leaders in the
community, and with oneself.

•         Engaging others: Engaging other community members in being empowered
volunteers is part of the structure of support. If I invite a friend to a meeting
there is always the fear that they will say no or that they will come and see this
as a useless activity. When volunteers become senior to that fear, when the
commitment to the purpose and vision is greater than the fear of rejection, then
big things can happen.

•         Building relationships: When an op-ed is selected for publication it has less to
do with the quality of the op-ed and more to do with the relationship one has
developed with the op-ed editor. Of course timing and quality are important,
but I would rather have 10 people who have great, trusted relationships with op-
ed editors pitch a good op-ed rather than send a great op-ed to 10 editors with
whom there is no relationship. So the commitment is not so much to having an
editorial writer or member of Congress say yes to every request, but to building
a deep, trusting relationship. Hearing “no” from a member of Congress early on
should be seen as just one step along the path to building a great relationship
over time.

•          Being vulnerable: Showing a moving video or reading convincingly an excerpt
from an emotional article to a member of Congress is more important than just
sharing information. The goal is to tap into their humanity and create a deeply
memorable moment. But people shy away from being vulnerable, especially with
those in positions of power. However, a willingness to be vulnerable is essential
to having breakthroughs, engaging others, building powerful relationships, and,
ultimately, success.