The Important and the Urgent

Addressing the challenges of social change leadership

Social justice leaders share how they balance the important and the urgent, stay focused, and avoid burnout.

From the
Curated Collection

Across the country, extraordinary social justice leaders are tackling tremendous challenges with limited resources. They are called upon to lead not only their own organizations, but also to play key roles in larger movements, and even across movements. For even the most gifted and dedicated leaders, this can feel overwhelming and lead to missed opportunities. At worst, it can contribute to burnout.

In this video, eleven exceptional leaders of organizations that work in the immigrant rights and LGBT movements share their experiences and offer insights into how they navigate these challenges. They are all participants in the Haas, Jr. Fund’s Flexible Leadership Awards program, but the issues they raise are relevant to other organizations and social change movements.

In order to advance social justice, we need movements with strong leadership at every level. To learn more about how funders can invest effectively in leadership development, download the Haas Leadership Initiative Information Kit here.