On June 18, 2026, Harvard professor and leader of the Social Innovation + Change Initiative, Julie Battilana, delivered an exceptional NGO Academy keynote about how power is not an exclusive domain of the few, but a capacity available to all who take the time to understand its mechanics.
Julie Battilana’s keynote centers on the role of power as a critical enabler of social change, especially for social innovators, NGOs, and civil society leaders working in complex crises. She argues that although many innovative ideas exist and have impact, they often fail to scale because leaders misunderstand or avoid engaging with power.
Power is the energy needed to make change happen.
One of her core messages is that power is essential, not optional, for social innovation. Without understanding and mobilizing power, even the best ideas cannot transform systems sustainably.
Drawing on her research and concrete examples, Julie addresses three common misconceptions that hinder social innovators’ effectiveness: that power is a personal trait, that it belongs only to those in formal positions of authority, and that power is inherently “dirty.” She debunks these misconceptions, emphasizing instead that power is relational and context-dependent, arising from control over access to valued resources. This means actors at any level, including marginalized individuals, can gain influence if they learn to identify who controls valued resources, and to grasp the motivations driving the people around them.
For social innovators, effective change requires mapping stakeholders, understanding resource dependencies, and building alliances. Here, Julie highlights collective action: while individuals may lack power alone, NGOs can amplify impact by pooling resources and coordinating efforts. And though she warns that power can be abused, she points out that it can also be used responsibly through humility, empathy, accountability, and power-sharing structures – crucial principles for any democratic system.
The full keynote can be (re-)watched below.
If we cultivate community and empathy, if we welcome strength and reinforce the structures of power sharing and accountability, then we can engage cleanly with power.