What True Mobilization Means

While sustainability is widely discussed, achieving real change requires personal involvement, trust, and reciprocity. Allison Reynaud, Co-director, Partnerships and development at Montréal Climate Partnership, outlines a collaborative approach to mobilization, where understanding others’ challenges and creating mutual value is key.

Nowadays, we’re witnessing increasing talks about sustainability and how businesses are embarking on this journey which could lead us to believe that protecting our environment has become a no-brainer.

But the truth is, it’s not. 

Getting out of your echo chamber sometimes feels like stepping into an iced-bath, wondering how the hell did you – or they – get there. In the midst of this feeling of stupefaction, you’re facing multiple choices: reject, deny, fight or engage. I’ve chosen to make the last one my professional mission, which is as galvanizing as taking the streets to protest.

I imagine you’d be skeptical, so let me lay it out for you.

Engaging with opposite – or somewhat – minded people to put sustainability on the table and convince them to take climate actions is no simple task. It requires personal involvement, the right collaborative structure and a specific level of engagement.

Being at the table

In other words, being present and authentic when you’re engaging with the organization and the people you’re aiming to mobilize is key. It’s about building meaningful relationships, based on trust and reciprocity. This can seem overused and we could all have a tendency to skip this part, but rushing towards our goal without taking people into consideration as the most important factor to initiate a change could be harmful to your goals. They, we, you, are at the hearth of it. We’re the ones making daily decisions having an impact on our future. We’re the ones enabling a system to perpetuate its woes. We’re the ones in power to change it, and the person in front of you might just be able to do it. That’s why betting on people has more value than buying a lottery ticket.

Relationship building is the core of mobilization. And to build relationships means getting to know the person in front of you. The reality they’re facing at work, their challenges, what they’re trying to implement or to put forward, what kind of help they need to turn it into reality. Receive all of it with openness – judgment won’t get you anywhere, but that doesn’t mean you can’t say your piece, share your values and ask questions. Actually, that’s exactly what reciprocity and authenticity are!

Surroundings are the key

Next step? People again. The ability to act is maximized when you’re surrounded by others taking the same step as you, therefore sharing the risks and the opportunities. That’s where a collaborative structure is useful, even more so when it gathers organizations with various levels of engagement. Some will act as champions – and there are many out there – leading the way, and others will learn and follow by being in contact with them.

“The ability to act is maximized when you’re surrounded by others taking the same step as you”

–Allison Reynaud

To make it relevant, your collaborative structure must come with a price. It has to require an effort, a commitment for the organization. In a nutshell, you’re creating the premises of engagement, which will tell you if the organization is willing to commit itself to the journey. A collaboration without effort and involvement, especially regarding climate issues, will run out of steam. Here as well, reciprocity matters. 

Don’t be afraid to ask

We often expect people to “do the right thing” and to adhere to our vision. Most of the time, it doesn’t work like that. You have to ask for the change you want to see happen. It doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get it, but you’ve stated your expectations and unlocked new possibilities. Asks generate conversations and negotiations, and will deepen the relationship. On the contrary, a “no” won’t stop the relationship! Your goal can’t be reached today? Try new ways to get there in partnership with the organization you’re engaging. Even better, ask them how to get there and what it will take for them to say yes. Playing the long game is – almost – always a win.

For this part, I would also add that you have to identify who’s the best person to make the ask. It might not be you, but another organization you’re working with, someone from within the organization itself, an elected official, a board member… who will be the best suited to plead the case, and to whom?

“We often expect people to “do the right thing” and to adhere to our vision. Most of the time, it doesn’t work like that. You have to ask for the change you want to see happen”

–Allison Reynaud

Celebrate and honour

What I find truly rewarding in my job is the joy. The joy to see an organization taking a significant step for a sustainable future, the pride people can feel when they finally achieved what they hoped, the amazement we all feel when dozens of organizations are working together to craft something new with a wide impact, the content we express when the C-suite or the board finally embraces the vision others have been laying out for them. All of this needs to be celebrated, and the relationships at the heart of it need to be honoured.

Mobilization is not always about numbers, results and charts. It’s about the people making it happen. So thank them and create something positive, they will be even more willing to initiate the next step. Indeed, why should they be stopping if it feels good to do the right thing?

Disseminate

Finally, spread the word! You can see mobilization as a spider web which keeps growing. It’s contagious and it’s based on something we often forget: connecting with each other.

In the end, you did not check boxes or follow a process, you built a network of agents of change working towards the same goal: a place where it feels good to be alive.