What does it take to change the world?
HERO status and plenty of questions...
‘What drives busy, passionate people to do more? To put in the extra effort to improve the world for others? Why bother when there is already so much to do?’
Last week I completed my three-month Social Impact Fellowship with the Social Impact Hub. When I applied for the Fellowship early in 2024 I was still employed and wondered how I would squeeze the three to four additional hours of learning and project work into my already busy week.
I needn’t have worried.
Not only was I not employed by the time the Fellowship started in March, the content we covered (understanding, designing and funding impact) perfectly aligned with my first big project back as a self-employed consultant. I was exploring as I implemented. The perfect way to learn.
Fellows joined from across Australia, two to three times per week. The content was delivered online, via Zoom sessions peppered with ‘breakout room’ conversations. We explored everything from Leadership in Social Change, to Impact Measurement to Diversifying Revenue. The lessons were fast-paced and provided a great introduction for a newbie like me.
But it was the people who brought the experience to life. My fellow Fellows, and the experts we learned from, are change makers. They are learners and disruptors and entrepreneurs and doers. They are passionate about creating change to make the world a better place, through social enterprise, research, community development, philanthropy, not-for-profits, education, communication, governance, finance and so much more.
Put people like this together and the curiosity, creativity, collaboration, drive, grit and kindness that emerges is infectious. You want to join them. You want to make a difference. Everything feels possible.
For me, emerging from an environment in which change and progress was often a slog, this was a buzz.
When a few of us came together over drinks in Collingwood last week to celebrate our learning, share our zest for possibility (and meet face-to-face), we couldn’t help but ask, ‘What drives busy, passionate people to do more? To put in the extra effort to improve the world for others? Why bother when there is already so much to do?’
This is no small question. The work to change systems and structures is messy and uncertain and difficult. It requires collaboration, compromise and courage. It’s rarely accompanied by neatly packaged job descriptions and commensurate remuneration. You spend a lot of time in the ‘grey’. There is no path, no map and it’s often lonely. What drives people to persist in these circumstances?
We didn’t arrive at an answer, of course, but it got me thinking. What do I know, as a psychologist, about the forces that drive people to persist in the face of challenge? To do more, even when it’s difficult. To challenge, innovate, create and disrupt in pursuit of a better world? What’s going on there?
As happens, serendipity intervened* and I stumbled across an article about Psychological Capital. I’d done some work exploring Psychological Capital - ‘PsyCap’ - in organisational settings years ago but had largely forgotten about it as other ideas in positive psychology emerged and my career pivoted to new places.
But suddenly PsyCap and the role of our psychological resources in driving success flashed in neon before me (figuratively at least).
Here’s how it works…
Imagine that your mind is like a toolbox. In this toolbox, you have various tools, or ‘psychological resources,’ that help you deal with life's challenges and achieve your goals. Just like a handyman needs a well-equipped toolbox to fix problems, we all need a variety of mental tools to handle different situations effectively.
Psychological Capital is a collection of four essential tools in your mental toolbox: Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (HERO).
Hope is the belief that you can achieve goals and overcome obstacles through perseverance and a clear vision. We refer to it as ‘the will’ and ‘the way’.
Efficacy is confidence in your ability to complete tasks and achieve desired outcomes.
Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back from adversity, setbacks, or failures.
Optimism is a positive outlook on life and the expectation that good things will happen.
We can each be measured as ‘high’, ‘low’ or somewhere in between on PsyCap and its HERO components but what’s most exciting about this concept is that it is developable. We can grow our Psychological Capital, just as you can grow financial, social or other forms of capital.
Most of the research on PsyCap to date has explored its role in workplace and organisational outcomes such as job satisfaction, productivity, performance and wellbeing. Individuals ‘high’ in PsyCap tend to rate ‘high’ on each of these dimensions too. The research suggests that psychological capital helps us to feel more confident, stay motivated, adapt to change, and maintain a positive outlook, even when things get tough. We can develop it in ourselves and others through coaching, role modelling, feedback, acknowledgement and psychoeducational programs.
There’s no research that I can find that directly links Psychological Capital to the attributes of those working in the Social Impact sector. Are high ‘PsyCap’ people drawn to the field’s challenges? Does the nature of the sector promote PsyCap in those who immerse themselves in it? Is there an interactive effect with one bouncing off and building upon the other? (There’s a PhD in there somewhere for someone.)
What excites me most about PsyCap and social impact is that the challenges addressed by the sector reflect the challenges we face in the world. How do we navigate climate change? How do we address social inequality? How do we support and promote mental health? How do we ensure future generations are ready for the future, and address the needs of underserved populations? How can technological innovation be leveraged to promote positive change?
If those working together to create positive change in the world are high in Hope, Efficacy, Resilience and Optimism and this helps them to muddle through the messiness, to collaborate, to persist, to question, to try, to fail and to learn - what can other fields learn from this? And what does the social impact sector need to do to ensure that those with these attributes continue to thrive?
If the experience of exploring together and innovating and persevering in the face of challenge to create impact helps us to build psychological capital - what can we learn from that?
What can leaders, across all sectors, learn about the antecedents and outcomes of psychological capital? What should they do to cultivate more of it, if that is what’s required to make positive change in workplaces and the world? And how can for-profit and for-purpose organisations collaborate to find solutions to the world’s challenges while also promoting the growth and wellbeing of the people who work for them?
As usual I am faced with more questions than answers, but as I explore a field that’s new to me I am inspired by the people, the work and the possibilities. There are burgeoning conversations and collaborations and initiatives, all seeking to do better and be better, for other people and the planet.
I don’t know where my curiosity will take me with my shiny new status as a Social Impact Fellow, but I’ll stay open to possibilities, work with discomfort and connect with others to explore and find my place. It will be messy and take time but what better way to build my own HERO status?
Stay tuned for more.
Onwards and upwards,
*This is more likely to be the salience effect at play.
The Fun Stuff:
I’m watching… Evil, the fourth and final season. If you were a fan of the X-Files back in the day, this is for you.
I’m reading … The Leaders Ecosystem: A guide to leading, exceptionally by Dr Paige Williams. Paige was my guest on the Potential Psychology Podcast a couple of years ago, talking about Becoming Antifragile. Her new book explores ideas and frameworks helpful for leaders to successfully navigate the systems they operate in.
I’m listening to… Finneas, Olivia Rodrigo and my comfort listening, George Michael (still in mourning *sigh*)
