What we have learned from more than 12 years of engagement with leaders across the future-making system, and how we are working with politicians to address our findings
On our mission to improve the way Australia makes its future, Next25 has collaborated and engaged with hundreds of leaders and experts from across all sectors and elements that make up what we call “the future-making system”. Driven by curiosity and optimism, we always create space for big-picture questions and generative conversation. We want to hear from everyone: “What’s standing in the way of Australia making a flourishing future?”
Everyone we have spoken with is frustrated that Australia is dropping the ball. A wealthy nation with boundless opportunity is squandering its future success. However, along the way, we coined the phrase “the powerless powerful” to refer to a phenomenon that emerged through our formal research and informal engagement.
When considering the state of the future-making system, we heard loud and clear that “a lack of agency and sense of powerlessness over the future is shared by leaders and members of the public”.
Agency in a Complex System
Australians see politicians, business leaders, and experts as the three parts of society with the most power to make a difference to the country's future. Next25 Navigator, a social research study that answers the question, “What future does Australia want, and are we on track?” presented a negative and confronting picture of how Australians view institutions and progress on important aspirations. It found that the aforementioned three parts of society with the most power have been unable to agree on or make effective changes for Australia's future flourishing. The Navigator study also revealed that more than two-thirds of the public feel powerless to influence the future.
However, in contrast to this public sentiment, Next25 has found that many politicians, business leaders, and other influential members of these key institutions also feel powerless to improve the system—despite having a strong personal desire for change. For example, many Next25 Recoded interviewees said they felt powerless to stop negative cycles in the system, despite their “noble ambitions”.
“You go in with all these noble ambitions to be different. Then, the system somehow beats you down and you're told you're naive. Then, your self-survival kicks in and you think you're trying to change the system from the inside, but really, you're just frittering at the edges, and you've kind of turned into the system.”
“No one person, no one group, can stop it. The media can't just stop reporting and solve the issues, the politicians can't stop. It's a cycle, and everyone feels powerless. They feel like the system is set up against them.”
The powerless powerful.
But if we can’t rely on leaders and experts to navigate and effect change in the future-making system, what chance do we have at creating a flourishing future?
The system is broken. There is a dangerous disconnect between those in power who make choices for Australians and the people they serve. We must address the public’s perception that powerful institutions do not act in the public interest.
In response to this finding, supporting the “powerless powerful” to deeply consider, better understand, and effectively deploy their agency to drive positive change in a complex system is an underlying tenet of all Next25’s work.
After all, we are the system. The future-making system may be more than the sum of its parts, but we play many roles within that system and the many systems within it. A politician may also be frustrated with people they view as having powerful roles in other sectors—business, the judiciary, the media.
In fact, politicians who have participated in our programs rank “more constructive conversations between journalists and parliamentarians” as the second most effective way to improve how parliamentarians make decisions in the long-term interest of society.
Nora Bateson captured the leadership and agency challenge well when she said:
“There is no such thing as an isolated individual—we are all interdependent. Period. Our evolution is only in our mutual contribution and learning. Mutual. Leadership is an evolving process and, as such, our understanding of what leadership is must evolve in accordance. In the past, the world understood leadership as the great deeds of heroes; now we are in another phase of global transition that requires an understanding of leadership based on our understanding of interdependency.”
It’s crucial that we understand the complex interdependencies and dynamics of these different systems within the greater future-making system so we can be pragmatic about where and how we put effort into change. However, we must also consider our biases and assumptions about the power and agency we do have, even within a constrained and resilient existing system.
Our “Do” Tank - Next25 Leadership and Improving Democracy: Transforming Parliament for Women
Next25’s Leadership program and its offshoot initiative, Improving Democracy: Transforming Parliament for Women, are designed to support Australian parliamentarians to transform self and system. This is a critical lever for change because:
Australia, like many other democratic nations, is at risk of serious democratic backsliding, given a substantial drop in the proportion of the Australian population who were very satisfied with democracy between 2008 and 2023, and that “three-quarters of Australians believe politicians enter politics to serve their own interests”.
As we approach Next25 Leadership’s 10-year anniversary, we are proud to reflect on the incredibly strong feedback we have maintained across years of programs delivered to an alumni community of more than 10% of all sitting MPs. In the context of the aims of the program and the phenomenon of the “powerless powerful”, some of our most encouraging data is that:
100% of participants report an improvement in “understanding their role and agency in changing or influencing the political system” and “empathy and understanding of their own biases and preferences”
99% of participants report an improvement in their “power to drive change”
93% of participants report an improvement in their relationships with parliamentarians from other parties
“I learned so much in such a short space of time about understanding myself within my system of work and how I can impact or influence that system in a positive way. The content was directly relevant to my role and current challenges!
The workshop, in a short, focussed time, gave me a greater understanding of the complex system I work in and the encouragement to look for the less obvious problems and fully consider the less obvious solutions with an open mind and heart. Time well spent!”
Anon., 2022
Making meaningful, positive change in a time of polycrisis is a complex challenge, but it’s not one we can afford to overlook.
It’s fair to look to our leaders to be a genuine force for positive change in a system that isn’t serving Australians as best as it could, and it’s frustrating and discouraging to hear resignation or apathy on their behalf in the face of ineffective or destructive systems. However, we can support our leaders in reconsidering their agency in positive and optimistic ways, and we can do the same ourselves as individuals who are also key parts of and play multiple roles in the future-making system.
With your support, we can expand our capacity for greater impact. You can make a difference today with a tax-deductible donation via our affiliation with UNSW.
And to nominate an Australian MP for one of our programs, please click this link and follow the prompts. We’ll then invite the nominated MP to take part in the course based on your referral.
