What do you do if your efforts to stand out in community organizing are going unnoticed by higher-ups?

Community organizing often is really feeling the pulse of the community and the running to the front of the line. For myself, core values such as local food sustainability, natural energy, and a fair cost of living are key goals for creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly society. I myself did not imagine these things, however they are values that I have adopted as guiding principles for a better Hawai’i. I have been a steady proponent of geothermal energy since the first geothermal well was developed when I was in the third grade. I did not appreciate the ramifications of this at the time, other than it was “SO COOL!” I will continue to work toward geothermal expansion in our lifetime!

I'm often more surprised when "higher ups" do see community organizing. There are few incentives in the way in which their working environments are structured, to see, value and learn from community organizing efforts. (Although some of the provisions of the US IRA and Justice 40 initiatives now profile such efforts.) Community organizing needs to engage with formal power structures as part of its strategy. Learning who has the pen to revise or write the policy we seek, design the regulations we require or create the funding envelopes we need should be part of the community organizing effort. It takes knowledge, patience and capacity to deal with systems of power and we value those people who have those skills in our groups to do this work.

I agree with this. Alignment is critical, but even if you are aligned, recognition should not be a primary objective of the organizer. Rather, whether the efforts made make real and positive changes in the lives of the people living in that community.

I would supplement the above by seeking feedback from the communitybitself and developing a waybfor the community to directly give its feedback to the higher upa in your organization.

Documenting success should be done against measurable goals established by the entity engaging the community, and agreed upon by the staff assigned to work in the community.

One of the things organizers tend to forget is that you are not only organizing your community. You’re also organizing your colleagues and your boss. The same way you wouldn’t begin a campaign without sitting down and developing a strategy, you shouldn’t go to work without a strategy for how to move your boss and colleagues to where you need them to be in order for you to succeed. Every tool you use in the community should be applied with the same vigor inside your organization. If you have regular check ins with your leaders, you need them with your boss and colleagues. You build support for your career the same way you build support for your campaigns.

Quantify, quantify, quantify. It is so easy for junior organizers to get lost in qualitative stuff that can be messy and doesn't always produce the intended result. This can mean a lot of wheel spinning with little to no result. But if someone can bring me solid quantitative metrics, it shows me they aren't wasting time. It usually means real results. Most importantly, it helps me understand what they are doing and how to help them improve. For instance, if you made 3000 volunteer calls and only got one volunteer, then I know we may need to work on your pitch.

I would say consulting with and rebuilding real non-transactional relationships with the people you are fighting for. I think organizations are looking for too many transactional partnerships not relationships. Organizations want to give their staff 4 hours to go to a site and volunteer. Half of that time used to take pictures in matching t-shirts. How does that feel to the communities that they enter in? Not really interacting with the people because of anxiety among the volunteers? It does not help class and race relations. To the family whose house that’s being worked on, or the food that is distributed it perpetuates and promotes invisibility for the people that are being helped. It does not build an opportunity for networking.

There seems to be an underlying assumption, when doing good through community organizing, that our efforts and deeds will speak for themselves. Many people try to remain humble rather than make a show of their works - but then grow frustrated when they aren't recognized. A classic Catch-22. Creative and intentional, internal storytelling is vital to cross the barriers of organizational hierarchy. Giving the benefit of the doubt to organizational leaders - that they would be proud and enthusiastic of your community organization efforts, if only they knew about them - is the best place to start.

Think about why you want to "stand out." For me, community organizing was always about helping position the community to be the best representative of their cause. My role was a supporting one. It was never about me. However, if you're trying to move ahead in the company or organization and aren't being noticed, become indispensable. Learn how to do someone else's role, so if they leave or go on a break, you can step in to help. Cross training is often ignored in organizations, but it's so vital! Be clear in your intentions with HR or the senior leadership team. Ask what training they would advise you to take. Or take on a special project that involves working directly with leadership.

View and present yourself as a leader and in return others will view you that way too. It is not always about title. At the same time it is important to view yourself as equal to everyone no matter their title or position in the community and life.

Yes seeking feedback on your organization is key to understanding why you’re not being noticed and to get pointers and advice on how other organizations got to where they are.