Working in networked ways is fundamentally different than traditional ways of working. Organizations can commit to a network approach yet not fully realize all the pieces and behaviors needed to make it actually work. Leaders and organizations can easily slip back into traditional ways of working that can undermine progress on creating a collaborative culture… Read more
Category: Networks
Tips for Navigating Uncertain Territory (Part 3 of a 3 Part Series)
This blog builds on previous Part 2. Tips for Navigating Uncertain Territory Here are some of the ways I coach leaders in learning how to work in this uncomfortable territory of not having a clear answer or plan: Name the discomfort – I find it helps to name how uncomfortable this feels, e.g., to convene… Read more
Network Thinking Partner: An Interview with Janne Flisrand
Since 2014, I have had the pleasure of working with Janne Flisrand in the role of a coach/thinking partner supporting her role as a Network Weaver for a new national network, called Network for Water, Energy and Health in Affordable Buildings (NEWHAB.) She also has her own consulting practice called Flisrand Consulting. I recently interviewed Janne as an opportunity to… Read more
Connecting a University and its Community around Earth Day
I have written previously about collaborations with Madeline Snow. She and I are both enthusiastic fans of ways to design and facilitate meetings that are more engaging and participatory than traditional meetings. So when Madeline called to share an opportunity to experiment with these techniques for a new initiative she and colleagues at the University… Read more
Using Events to Close Triangles
We have been experimenting with a technique to encourage and strengthen network connections at conferences. In this great blog post from our colleague, Janne Flisrand of Flisrand Consulting, she shares how it works and her experience using it at a recent conference. Janne is a network building facilitation consultant, based in Minneapolis. This is cross-posted… Read more
Join us at the Better Together Summit, October 24th in Maine
We are excited to be working with the New England Environmental Education Alliance and the Maine Environmental Education Association to facilitate a Better Together Innovation Lab. This interactive day will be held at Pineland Farms, in New Gloucester, Maine, a 5,000-acre working farm and business and learning campus. Creating healthy, resilient, sustainable communities requires all of… Read more
Crafting a Value-Add Strategy for a Network or Collective Impact Initiative
Several clients recently have asked us to help with strategic planning. The more I have worked with networks and cross-sector initiatives, I have seen the limits of the traditional way of thinking about strategy. Typically, a strategy will be for one organization to look out at the world, assess “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats” and… Read more
Invest in the Field
One of the potential benefits of working in a network is the capacity to learn together quicker. Harold Jarche calls this “social learning” – the idea that learning and work happen as interconnected groups (e.g., networks.) In times of rapid change, we need information and feedback about innovations and what works and doesn’t to flow… Read more
Networks for Systems Change – Five Stories
The scale of complex systems we are working to change is much larger than one organization. Collaborative networks are emerging as a new way to organize work at a larger scale and create collective impact. We have found the best way to learn about these approaches is to explore stories of leading examples, as they… Read more
A Systemic, Strategic, and Networked Approach to Economic Development
Vermont is using an innovative approach and philosophy for creating economic development and growing local jobs through the food system. Building on consumer demand and interest in local foods and farming, in 2009, Vermont’s legislature passed a law directing the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) to develop a Farm to Plate Strategic Plan. The goals… Read more