What is Inner Work for Social Change?
Inner work is any form of deliberate and ongoing reflective practice that increases awareness of self, others, and the systems in which complex social problems arise. More specifically, it is any reflective practice that enables individuals or groups to connect to a deeper sense of purpose, strengthen relationships, and become more effective agents of social change. Inner work lies at the heart of bridging leadership, which is the capacity and will to build trust and tap the fullest contributions of diverse stakeholders, helping them to come together across divides to work in concert for the common good.
Inner work is any reflective practice that enables us to:
Connect to a deeper sense of purpose
Build more trusting relationships
Collaborate more effectively to deepen social impact
“Inner work” is a multifaceted concept that takes on various names and embraces many different practices and purposes. This project focuses on the connection between inner and outer work, between who we are and how we act in the world, individually and in concert with others. It proposes a definition of inner work that honors this connection, drawn out of our own work. Read our full inner work definition here:
Inner work is a tool of bridging leadership.
Inner work is a core element of the Synergos approach to social change. Our approach cultivates Bridging Leadership: the ability to build trust.
Bridging leadership is a style of leadership practiced by both individuals and organizations that is effective for building trust and collaboration among diverse stakeholders to solve complex social, institutional, and environmental problems. By ‘bridging’ diverse, often conflicting perspectives and convening unlikely partners, Bridging Leaders inspire trust and help forge a common agenda that delivers durable solutions.
For 30 years, Synergos has used bridging leadership to transform how people across sectors come together, develop deeper understanding, create shared vision, and take collective action to take on systemic challenges together.
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