Network Approach to Leadership
Our Chief Programs Officer Tara Kirkland recently interviewed Heather McLeod Grant who will be a keynote speaker at the Mission Capital Conference on September 8-9, 2016. In her 20+ years in the nonprofit sector, Heather has learned that success requires both mastering basic nonprofit management and creating larger systemic change by building resilient networks. She and Tara discussed a networked approach to solving community problems and why our sector is prime for people to create, learn, grow and adapt within and across networks.
What is “networked leadership” and how is it different from general leadership?
Heather: Many organizations have a hierarchical or top-down structure for leadership. Networked leadership is about being connected to others and to the whole system. Some practitioners talk about this style as “collaborative” or “facilitative” or even “adaptive" leadership. Network leaders focus on building relationships, seeing the whole system, connecting assets to problems, and helping facilitate members of the network to self-organize and collectively solve challenges.
People have been organizing and advocating for change through their networks for many years. What is new or different about this approach?
Heather: Yes, it’s true that much of what we know about network leadership and collective impact builds on tried and true approaches. However, we’re now more connected than ever thanks to social media and the internet, and our world becoming increasingly decentralized with power devolved to the local level. The opportunities for self-organizing are far greater as we no longer rely as much on centralized institutions to organize our lives. This all gives increased need for a type of leadership style that encourages collaborative approaches to solve problems.
What have you learned about what it takes for a network approach to succeed?
Heather: A network or collaborative approach requires certain conditions to be successful. First, the problem you’re addressing has to be complex, systemic and adaptive. Second, there has to be some sense of urgency among participants in the network - a recognition that past approaches haven’t worked and a willingness to try something new. Third, you need time and patience: doing collective work is complicated and messy, and requires navigating through conflict. It also requires being able to “go slow” (slow down to build shared understanding and relationships) in order to “go fast” later. Lastly, network approaches need to be well-resourced: having some sort of collective funding for facilitation, shared problem solving, group meetings, etc. is important.
What are common obstacles or barriers that can lead to failure?
Heather: Where I’ve seen network approaches fail, it typically comes down to a few factors:1. Lack of clear leadership. Network leadership is the art of working with groups and helping them navigate conflict to get to where they need to go. When there is not skilled leadership in place, networks can devolve.2. Politics and egos which get in the way as groups devolve into power struggles over control, credit and resources. This underscores the need for adequate skilled facilitation.3. Lack of resources: Often a lack of resourcing means the network either can’t hire skilled facilitators, or runs out of momentum before achieving quick wins.
What are some examples of where this approach has really taken hold and is producing powerful results?
Heather: In Fresno, California, the Irvine New Leadership Network has built the capacity of local community leaders to collaborate across sectors and lead “collective impact” projects to tackle complex local problems. This network is now being replicated in other communities in CA by the Irvine Foundation. Strive is another well-known example of a network approach to tacking cradle-to-career issues facing youth in communities. I’ve also written about the ReAmp network in the Midwest, which has taken a collaborative approach to tackling climate change in that region. FSG is also a great resource and has written extensively about the new network leader.
Is this just a tool for the nonprofit sector, or is there something in this that corporate, government and philanthropic leaders should also be tuning into?
Heather: I think the best examples of “network leadership” involve working across sectors. Complex problems--like climate change, homelessness/housing, income inequality, and failing education systems--all require the participation and leadership of all three sectors to be most successful. At the end of the day it’s about bringing people together to work across sectors and combine the best assets from each to contribute collectively to solving these problems.
In her conference keynote, Heather will provide insights from her ongoing work focused on scaling impact and leveraging networks for social change. Heather will draw upon her best-selling book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits and her perspectives on developing leaders who are prepared to create and sustain the kind of systemic change needed to solve big community problems. If you want to learn more about Heather’s take on networked leadership across sectors, join us at the Mission Capital Conference.