Not one face, but many: practising change together
When we talk about change in councils or communities, we often imagine it as a technical fix. A new structure. A fresh strategy. A dashboard that tells us if we’re “on track.”
But real change is more human. It’s about people putting on different faces depending on the situation — not masks to hide behind, but lenses to see differently, skills to draw on, and ways of working that stretch us.
Tom Kelley from IDEO calls them the Ten Faces of Innovation. They remind us that change isn’t only led by heroic leaders or lone entrepreneurs. It’s nurtured by people who can tell stories, cross-pollinate ideas, overcome hurdles, and design spaces where collaboration flourishes.
Here are a few times I’ve seen those “faces of change” in action — and what they might mean for us.
🌱 The anthropologist: seeing what’s hidden in plain sight
A few months ago, I joined a Kitchen Table session. The scene was ordinary: tea mugs, biscuits, the hum of everyday chatter. But the stories people shared revealed something powerful — residents who were running food swaps or sharing lifts quietly, without ever calling it “community organising.”
The tension was that these everyday acts often go unnoticed by councils and funders, so they rarely get support.
The action was simple: listening with curiosity, asking questions not about deficits (“what don’t you have?”) but about strengths (“what are you already doing?”).
Call to action for teams: how can you take on the face of the anthropologist in your own work? Try running a “living library” or borrowing the Empathy Museum approach to help staff and residents share lived experience stories as a source of insight.
🧪 The experimenter: learning by doing
During a challenge on prevention in a previous organisation, teams didn’t wait for perfect plans. They tested ideas quickly: new ways of reaching residents before crisis, trying different referral routes, experimenting with drop-in sessions in community spaces.
The tension was the usual one: risk-aversion. The fear that if something didn’t work, it would be judged as a failure.
But by acting as experimenters, the teams learned more in weeks than a traditional project plan would have in a year. Some ideas stuck, others were adapted, and one was quietly shelved — but the learning lived on.
Call to action for teams: where can you set up a “safe-to-fail” experiment? Even a small one — like redesigning a meeting format, or trialling a new way of engaging residents — can give you confidence to act faster and learn together.
🎶 The storyteller: weaving meaning into change
When a community launched a neighbourhood campaign , it wasn’t just about services. It was about telling a story that residents could see themselves in — street murals, local voices in short films, children’s drawings about the future of their neighbourhood.
The tension was that without a shared story, participation risks becoming a series of disconnected projects.
The action was to create spaces — online and in-person — where people could co-author the story of their place.
The outcome was that residents didn’t just attend events, they owned them. They began sharing the story back, adding their own chapters.
Call to action for teams: think about your next project. How can you tell its story in a way that invites people to add their own voice? Could you use visuals, myths, or even music to bring it alive?
Looking ahead
Whether we act as anthropologists, experimenters, or storytellers, the point is the same: change needs many faces. And each of us already has some of these lenses within us — it’s just a question of which ones we practice, and which ones we leave dormant.
So here’s my question for you:
👉 What “face of change” do you want to develop next, and how could your team create the conditions for each other to try it out?
Faces of Change — what it means for us
👁 See differently
Notice what’s hidden in plain sight. Curiosity reveals strengths we often overlook.
🧪 Learn by doing
Test small. Fail safe. Share what you learn so others can grow too.
🌱 Cross-pollinate
Bring ideas from different worlds together. New links spark fresh possibilities.
🚧 Overcome hurdles
Reframe barriers as openings. Ask for help, and turn blocks into breakthroughs.
🤝 Collaborate with care
Make space for other voices. Shared effort creates stronger outcomes.
🎯 Guide with clarity
Set direction without control. Coaching helps people step up.
🎨 Design experiences
Create moments that engage all the senses. Change feels real when people live it.
🏠 Shape spaces
Transform where we meet — online or in person — to spark wellbeing and connection.
💚 Nurture
Look after each other. Small acts of care create trust.
📖 Tell stories
Share meaning, not just data. Stories help people find their place in change.
