Why You Build Belonging Before Belief: Hahrie Han

While you’re busy trying to get buy-in for your change effort … you might be missing the real starting point.

In this episode of Change Signal, I talk with Hahrie Han, political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and author of How Organizations Develop Activists and Undivided, about why belief doesn’t come first — and why belonging does.

Instead of chasing persuasion, Hahrie shows us how community, agency, and small acts of participation create the power to change systems that resist being changed.

In this eye-opening conversation, you’ll discover:
Why making things easier can actually weaken engagement
How “radical belonging” turns divided groups into communities of action
What small, safe failures can teach teams about courage and confidence
The difference between compliance and agency — and why it matters
How leaders can design “scaffolding” that turns involvement into influence
Why convenience isn’t the same as contribution
How participation becomes durable power

🎯 KEY TOPICS:
00:00 Introduction
03:10 Why convenience undermines commitment
06:25 Belonging before belief: a new order of change
10:45 Small acts, big shifts: how agency grows
14:20 From compliance to contribution
18:05 Designing scaffolding for risk and learning
22:40 Radical belonging in divided spaces
27:30 Final thoughts and takeaways

💡 ABOUT HAHRIE:
Hahrie Han is a political scientist and the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. She’s the author of How Organizations Develop Activists and Undivided, and a leading voice on civic engagement, movement building, and how everyday people create lasting change.

👉 RESOURCES:
Hahrie’s latest book Undivided: https://geni.us/undividedbook
More from Hahrie: https://www.hahriehan.com
Connect on LinkedIn:   / hahriehan  

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Tags:
#ChangeManagement, #Belonging, #HahrieHan, #LeadershipDevelopment, #OrganizationalChange, #CommunityBuilding, #ChangeSignal, #MovementBuilding, #Agency, #CultureChange