Why You Build Belonging Before Belief
The Change Signal with Hahrie Han
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Hahrie Han, political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and author of How Organizations Develop Activists and Undivided, has spent her career studying how people build power that lasts. She brings a sharp, human perspective on what drives genuine participation and why small, intentional acts often change systems more than sweeping plans.
The conversation explores why engagement depends less on ease and more on meaning, how “radical belonging” can transform even divided communities, and how leaders can use small, safe failures to build confidence and agency across teams.
You’ll also hear practical tools for turning involvement into influence — designing scaffolding that helps people learn from risk and own their results.
If you’re leading transformation, culture, or change projects in a big organization, this conversation offers fresh, grounded insight into how participation turns into durable power.
Here are three big insights that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Hahrie Han:
Are you creating value or just convenience?
Does belonging come before belief in your organization?
Are you building agency or just compliance?
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.
Music Credits: Rest in the Garden - SackJo22 ft Duckett & The Stubble Field Break (Mana Mixed) - Mana Junkie ft Apoxode
