There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that many people in the cultural heritage sector know well. It’s not just the workload, it’s the feeling of trying to do meaningful, justice-oriented work inside systems that weren’t designed for it. Or pushing for change while navigating structures that resist it. Or caring deeply about community while feeling like the tools available to you weren’t built with your community in mind. That tension is a systems problem, and addressing it requires a different kind of leadership than most of us were trained for.
That’s why Educopia is hosting a 2-part interactive workshop this summer and fall: Practicing Systems Leadership for Knowledge Equity, where we will build shared understanding, map change, and leading from where we are. Sign up via Eventbrite, by clicking here!
Systems leadership is a framework that takes seriously the complexity of the challenges facing our sector. Rather than focusing on individual authority or top-down direction, it emphasizes something different: deep understanding of how systems actually work, inclusive engagement of the people most affected by them, and collaborative approaches to driving change that lasts. As the Harvard Kennedy School describes it, systems leadership “seeks to address complex societal challenges by combining deep understanding of system dynamics, inclusive engagement and empowerment of all stakeholders, and new forms of collaborative leadership that enable widespread action for system change.”
For knowledge workers—archivists, librarians, museum workers, researchers, curators, facilitators, community organizers, and others who steward information and cultural heritage—this framing resonates. We already understand, intuitively, that the challenges we face aren’t simple. Underfunding, inequitable access, structural racism, the erosion of public trust in institutions, these aren’t problems you can fix with a better workflow or a new strategic plan. They require us to think and act differently, together. Systems leadership gives us language and tools to do that.
In this workshop series, we’ll explore what it means to practice systems leadership in local contexts within the cultural heritage sector. We’ll look at how to build shared understanding across communities with different histories and stakes. We’ll work on mapping change: identifying where the leverage points are in the systems we’re part of, and where collective action might take root. And we’ll reflect on what it means to lead from wherever we are, regardless of our formal title or position.
This isn’t a workshop for executives or senior managers only. Systems change doesn’t happen only at the top. It happens when people at every level of an organization or community develop the capacity to see the bigger picture, act with intention, and work in genuine solidarity with others.
We welcome both seasoned and emerging leaders. We welcome people who feel confident in this work and people who are just beginning to find their footing. What we ask is that you come curious, ready to reflect, and open to learning alongside a community of peers.
Sessions take place July 16 and September 10, 2–4pm ET.
Sliding scale pricing from $50 to $600.
Learn more and register at [link].
Read Educopia’s Systems Leadership Interview Series:
- Interview with Madison Snider, Seigel Family Endowment
- Interview with Gabe Solis, After Violence Project
- Interview with Gita Manaktala, MIT Press
- Interview with Kimberly Jenkins, The Fashion and Race Database
- Interview with Ann Lee Steele, STUDIO SANSHIN