Reflections on making change
What really drives lasting impact?
Hello Imagining Change readers!
This month’s post is a cross-post of an article I wrote for KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, as I reflected back over the past year and half that I served as transitional executive director. Today marks my last day, and I want to celebrate and honour the work and the people that give life to this movement for migrant justice, Indigenous rights, gender justice and ecological justice, here on Turtle Island and around the world. Being part of KAIROS has expanded my world, and expanded my relationships, in so many ways.
Read on below for the article reflecting on what I’ve learned about making change and social movements.
with gratitude,
- Leah RK
Seven tips for change makers: here’s what it actually takes to drive lasting impact
It’s been an honour to serve as Transitional Executive Director supporting the KAIROS movement through a time of organizational change and transformation from September 2023 through May 2025. Looking back over my term of service with KAIROS, here are some of my takeaways on what it takes to make real change happen.
Established relationships are what best help you respond and pivot in uncertain times. When partnerships and coalitions are a way of life, like they are at KAIROS, it is second nature to reach out to a web of relationships for support and to move big ideas forward together. And, it takes time and tending to nurture relationships and partnerships in formal and informal ways, so that they are there to rely on when you need them.
Inclusion and equity considerations must start from the initial planning stages of an event or campaign, not as an add-on at the end. We know we need all voices at the table, with the many perspectives we each bring, to have the most robust and creative solutions. That means putting in the time and care upfront and having the established relationships in place to bring together all the perspectives needed at the planning and design phase, not just the roll-out phase.
Welcome the skills and gifts of the ones who actually show up, including the quiet voices in the room. Sometimes despite your best efforts, the group you have to work with is not who you wish was there, or who used to be there, or who you thought would be there. Find the authentic conversation that can only be had with this specific group of people, and speak and act together with conviction grounded in the experience you have in the room. If you don’t have the breadth and depth of experience and perspective that you wish you had, certainly reflect on why that might be. But don’t let the absence of imagined “ideal” participants distract you from the real skills and passion of the ones who are there with you, and who keep showing up. The people who keep showing up consistently are the ones who drive change.
Visions and ideas are plentiful; it takes patience, perseverance and unglamourous work to really get things done. Follow through and consistency matters. Organizing meetings, taking notes, making follow-up phone calls, carrying through on the commitments to action that you make, taking personal responsibility to make sure that things get done – this is what really drives impact. Strive to be known as a person who gets things done.
Think about today, but plan for tomorrow too. Long range planning builds resilience for future challenges. One of the actions that has made the biggest difference in KAIROS’ ability to weather many storms over its 20+ year history is the establishment of the Justice Fund endowment fund by dedicated donors with strategic foresight. This helped KAIROS weather COVID-19 pandemic funding challenges and also made it possible to rapidly scale up the KAIROS Blanket Exercise as a response to the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report Calls to Action in 2015. It continues to provide an important foundation for organizational sustainability alongside a mix of many other funding sources and annual donors.
The most impactful initiatives are intersectional and cross cutting – For example, you can’t talk about migrant justice without also addressing how climate change and climate- affected conflict and natural disasters is affecting people’s livelihoods and migration choices. You can’t talk about ecological justice and the protection of water and land without recognizing the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and the ongoing impact of colonization. There is strength of bringing all these themes together for a stronger analysis and response. A great example of how KAIROS is doing this is the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee 2025 campaign, bringing together analysis of economic and ecological debt, in the context of Indigenous rights, globally and locally. We are all interconnected and interdependent, as humans and with the more-than-human world we depend on. Our activism is strongest when we begin from this perspective.
Cultivating humility and a learning attitude are essential skills. As change makers committed to making the biggest impact we can, we have be willing to be wrong, and be willing to take guidance from and learn from all kinds of people, not just the ones we are used to seeing as experts. In many ways, I think of cultivating this attitude of humility and learning as a spiritual discipline, a way of existing reflectively and mindfully in an ever-changing world. As we all navigate complexity and uncertainty, it again brings us back to relationships; relationships for learning and acting together in the best ways we know how. Until we learn new ways, continue to adapt, and keep moving forward for a future that is good for all people and the world we live in.
What do you think? Do you agree with me? Disagree? What would you add to the list, or change?
This work takes all of us, and the many viewpoints and perspectives that we each bring. Thank you for leading out in your community, and places of service. It’s been a privilege to take faithful action for justice alongside you. Keep on showing up, strengthening your relationships, paying attention to the details, and pushing for intersectional, cross-cutting change that is good for people and good for the planet we share.
May we all flourish together!
Coming soon! Check out this free online event from Junia Centre:
Orientation, Disorientation, Reorientation: Navigating Lament and Hope in a World Turned Upside Down
June 24 | 7:30 PM ET | Online via Zoom
In a time marked by political upheaval, ecological crisis, and deep uncertainty, how do we make space for lament—and where do we find signs of hope? How might we make sense of the unsettled terrain around us? Join us for an evening of honest reflection and collective grounding as we explore these questions together.
Panelists Paul Okoye, Dr. Kim Penner, Rev. Dr. Hyung Jin (Pablo) Kim Sun, and Leah Reesor-Keller will guide us through a rich conversation from the vantage points of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Organizational Change; and Theology. Each will speak from their own disciplinary and lived experience, naming the disorienting realities we face and lifting up where they see hope emerging.
This event will include a participatory element: attendees are invited to share anonymous laments, fears, and hopes on a virtual whiteboard. These offerings will be held together in a time of communal prayer, creating space for both grief and courage in the presence of others.
Come to listen, to name what weighs heavy, and to discover how we might reorient ourselves toward healing and collective resilience.
Learn more and register here or visit JuniaCentre.ca/events
I particularly like your comment about working with the people who actually show up. It is easy to get discouraged when one is upset because of no-shows. In the future I will pay attention to those present and get on with it!