While the news is full of partisan politics, an alternative model is emerging for how to make progress in addressing large scale challenges: collaborative networks. Through network initiatives, parts of a system can come together, find common ground, and pursue solutions and collective action from those points of agreement. The Energy Action Network (EAN) in… Read more
Tag: Collaboration
Collaborating to Ensure Transit-Oriented Development Works for All
The City of Somerville, close to Boston, is about to undergo the kind of land use transformation not likely to be seen again in decades, with the Green Line subway adding 6-7 new stations to Somerville neighborhoods and a new Orange Line station in Assembly Square. With this opportunity, comes the challenge of how to… Read more
Collaboration Over the Long Haul: Community Revitalization in Lawrence
Last week, I had the opportunity to tour the Spiket River Greenway, a community restoration initiative in Lawrence, MA that provides an inspiring story of vision, collaboration, and persistence over decades. The tour was part of a “learning journey” organized as the kick-off event of the Great Neighborhoods Network sponsored by the MA Smart Growth… Read more
Blueprints for Collaboration from Nature
As someone who has long been fascinated and inspired by what we can learn by mimicking nature’s patterns, the field of permaculture feels like one I could study and practice for a life time and never run out of more to learn. Permaculture has various definitions, such as the science of resilience or how to… Read more
Leading with a Network Mindset
Working in a network is different than working in an organization. When we invite people to join a network, we cannot expect people who have spent their entire careers working in organizations to know how to “show up” to work in networked ways. Traditional organizational structures are based on certain way of seeing the world… Read more
Funders Role in Catalyzing Collaboration in Networks (or Undermining It)
Funders inherently have significant power in a system. The way that they use their funding and positional authority can have huge impact on whether a network works effectively. At the Northern New England Networks community of practice gathering I attended this week, a group of network leaders, funders, and consultants reflected on the question: In… Read more
Collaboration Lessons from the Basketball Court
Several mornings I week, I play basketball with a group of women in my town. We have no rules and do not keep score. We just enjoy the exercise and the fun of playing and teamwork. Our core group has been playing multiple times a week for over five years, which is probably more time… Read more
Preparing for the Unexpected
Outside my window, the snow is heavily streaming down as New England is being buried in a blizzard. In the hype of media coverage about the approaching big storm, emergency response officials talked about their efforts to be prepared for whatever would come. This got me thinking about how leaders in any type of work… Read more
New Jobs that Support Collaborative Work
In the late 1990’s, I shifted my work from environmental management consulting towards a focus on sustainability. At the time, most of my friends and family, had not even heard of the word “sustainability” and I struggled to explain it as well as to figure out a way to make a living doing this work…. Read more
There IS Time: How a False Sense of Urgency Gets Us in Trouble
“People are so busy, it will be difficult to get them to take the time for a longer meeting.” “C’mon, we had a majority vote, we need to make a decision and move forward, stop belaboring things, even if some people disagree.” “Enough talk, let’s move to action and get things done.” This sense of… Read more