Viewpoint
Learning to value our ‘tempered radicals’

By Dan Florizone

“Often change need not be cajoled or coerced.
Instead it can be unleashed…”
-Kelman

After attending a recent presentation by Helen Bevan at the University of Saskatchewan, I was struck by not only the possibilities that social movement thinking lends to improving health care in Saskatchewan, but that social movement thinking can become part of our pedagogical tool belts when working with students in the health care field.

We all know how social movements have shaped many defining moments in history, from the abandonment of gender and culture as defining an individual’s legal status and rights, to sweeping human rights activism that we see today. Bevan asks us to consider how these things happen. What enables people to do the remarkable things they do? And what can we learn from social movement thinking to help us deliver better care for patients, foster dynamic environments of interprofessionalism and nurture students to become the health care providers they dream of being?

How can we each act as agents of change in our classrooms, in our systems, in our lives? Tolstoy said it well— “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself…” Revolution begins in the transformation of consciousness. This consciousness includes beginning with me. Social movement thinking suggests we unpack what we have always done so we can then think differently about what we do, and apply ourselves in different ways to accelerate improvement and transformative change.

Teachers can be powerful leaders. Social movements are inspired by great leaders, those people who have mastered the skill of mobilizing others toward a shared goal (Kouzes & Posner), while understanding personal costs may be involved and that resistance is essential. Bevan identified five powerful principles for radical change that can be translated into pedagogical practice: frame to connect with hearts and minds; energize and mobilize for action; organize to drive change forward; make change a personal mission; and hold the gains while sustaining momentum.

Each of us can inspire and influence others while nurturing those who can/will affect lasting system-wide changes. One way of working through the struggle for transformational systems change is to value those unsung leaders who challenge the status quo while occupying spaces within it.

Bevan notes that we must value our “radicals”, those who challenge the status quo. It is the inspired educators who have an essential role in nurturing radicals, those who will develop and lead systems change well into the future. These “tempered radicals,” as Bevan refers to them, are often the unrecognized “everyday leaders, often not CEO’s or presidents, yet they frequently play as critical a role in change as that of the formal authority.”

These agents are essential. They are already involved in the process of change. They know exactly who they are, what is important and are driven by a deep sense of purpose. How can these “tempered radicals” be supported and nurtured in their attempts towards systems change? They can be encouraged to keep with the spirit of social movement involvement and put that energy into the practice of systems change while working within the system.

We must learn to value and not fear those “tempered radicals” who can rock the boat while staying in it. They possess the truly unique skill of holding two seemingly binary oppositions—conformity and rebellion—and working with systems, not against them, to achieve powerful, lasting systems change to the benefit of the many.

Dan Florizone is chair of Saskatchewan’s Health Quality Council, an independent agency that measures and reports on the quality of care in the province.