This document provides an overview of networks and network leadership from the perspective of the Monitor Institute. It discusses how networks can accelerate social impact for non-profits and shares frameworks and tools for understanding networks. Key points include that networks allow for decentralized coordination, emergent solutions, and new technologies are enabling more collaborative approaches. Effective network leadership requires facilitating collective action, building connections, and nurturing self-organization with a network mindset. Tools like network mapping can help analyze network structure and flow.

1. BeijingCambridgeChicagoDelhiDubaiHong KongJohannesburgLondonLos AngelesMadridManilaSocial Change with a Network MindsetStanford Nonprofit Management Institute Oct. 7, 2009Heather McLeod Grantheather_grant@monitor.comMoscowMumbaiMunichNew YorkPalo AltoParisSan FranciscoSão PauloSeoulShanghaiSingaporeTokyoTorontoThis work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.Zurich

2. Who is the Monitor Institute?We are… part consulting firm, drawing on the talents of our own dedicated team and the resources of the global professional services firm, Monitor Group. part think tank, analyzing and anticipating important shifts in the rapidly changing context that leaders must navigate. part incubatorof new approaches. We work with clients and partners to test and prove new models for social impact.

3. How can Networks Accelerate Social Impact?In partnership with the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Monitor Institute explored the role of social networks and social media in the non-profit sector

4. Theory: Building Our Knowledge (IP)Convened ExpertsScanned LiteratureScanning EnvironmentNetwork Resources InventoryCase Study ResearchToolsandTrainingBlog

5. Action: Pilot ProjectsEcosystem-Based Management (EBM) NetworksNitrogen WikiMapping Networks in SalinasNetwork Effectiveness (ONE) SupportFarm Bill Network Mapping

6. Monitor Institute’s Network PracticePublications: “Working Wikily 2.0”Knowledge BuildingBlog: workingwikily.netMembership Organizations ResearchCapacity Building & CoPsNet Effectiveness Working Sessions Network of Network Funders COPClient ServiceIntegration of Net Effectiveness into TMI toolkitProjects with Monitor Institute clients

7. Objectives for Today’s PresentationShare network frameworks and tools that we’ve developedUse brief “case studies” to illustrate network approachesHelp you be more effective in your networks

8. What are Networks?Groups of individuals or organizations connected through meaningful relationships.

9. We’re most Interested in Networks With…Many participantsAbility to self-organize Fueled by new technologiesCollaborative mindset and behaviorsSource of photo: http://www.midnightpoutine.ca/archives/flashmob1.jpg

10. Networks Have Been Around Forever…

11. New Technologies for Sharing Content……New Online Spaces for Building Relationships

12. Advances in Our Understanding of Networks…“If someone tells you that you can influence 1,000 people, it changes your way of seeing the world.”Dr. James Fowler …Combined with Established Group Processes

13. “Working Wikily” = With a Network Mindset“… wikis and other social media tools are engendering a new, networked mindset—a way of working wikily—that is characterized by principles of openness, transparency, decentralized decision-making, and distributed action. " - Working Wikily 2.0

14. What Do We Mean by “Working Wikily”?Established Ways of WorkingWorking WikilyDecentralized

15. Loosely controlled

16. Emergent

17. Open, shared

18. Relational

19. Two-way conversationsCentralized

20. Firmly controlled

21. Planned

22. Proprietary

23. Transactional

24. One-way communicationsWhere are you? The answer will be different for different situations

25. Obama Used Networks to Mobilize 13 M Supporters“One of my fundamental beliefs…is that real change comes from the bottom up. And there’s no more powerful tool for grass-roots organizing than the Internet.”Barack Obama His Administration is Experimenting with Gov. 2.0“We live in an age of democratic experimentation — both in our official institutions and in the many informal ways in which the public is consulted”James Fishkin, Stanford political scientistSource: Whitehouse.gov; NY Times

26. 250K Individuals Coordinated Protests “Ordinary folks are using the power of the Internet to organize. In the old days, organizing large groups of people required an organization. Now people can coordinate themselves.”Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2009Twitter “Emboldened” Iranian Election Protesters “If anyone had questions about the power of citizen media, those questions were answered by the Iran protests.”HamidTehrani (Iran editor for Global Voices)Source: ethanzuckerman.com/blog Twitter, youTube Time Magazine

27. We’re Witnessing the Death of Old Models…“While newspaper circulation has long been in decline, the latest figures show the drop is accelerating…Weekday circulation declined 7.1% for the six months that ended March 31, compared with the previous year.”New York Times, April 27,2009…And New Models Are Emerging

28. The Way Our Work Gets Done Is Changing

29. Nonprofits Need to Find Ways to Work WikilyIncreasing Number of NonprofitsMany Nonprofits Not at ScaleMore Competition for Resources82% of Nonprofits operate on less than $1M in budgetCenter for Nonprofits ‘07Networks are one answer for increasing scale, efficiency, coordination, and impactSource: “Index of National Fundraising Performance, 2009 First Calendar Quarter Results”, Target Analytics, 2009, Alliance Trends

30. Networks Can Address Diverse ChallengesWorking Wikily PotentialProblemIsolation

31. Unmet needs

32. Lack of power

33. Duplication and fragmentation of effort

34. Lack of shared knowledge

35. Untapped talent and wisdom

36. Suboptimal impact and challenges with growth

37. Build community

38. Engage people

39. Advocate for policy change

40. Coordinate resources and services

41. Develop and share knowledge

42. Innovate

43. Get to scaleBuild Community2008:162 Countries400,000 Ministers / Priests1980:205 Members

44. Engage People2008: 400,000 Volunteers in 104 Countries1985:Single-site Effort in US

45. Advocate for Policy Change 2009: 5+ Million Members1998: Email to100 friends

46. Coordinate Resources and ServicesTotal Loans2009: $66 millionTotal Loans2006: $1 million

47. Develop and Share Knowledge14 Countries1,300 Trained VolunteersInteragency Program Integrated Fire Management

48. Innovate“Open Sourcing Social Solutions”Internal, Proprietary R&D Labs

49. - EGYPT- Get to Scale…transformingcommunities through collaborations to address root causes of poverty and homelessnessTypical HFH country programs produce 200 houses each yearIn Egypt, HFH builds 1,000 houses a year, on averageSource: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman, “Habitat for Humanity—Egypt,” Harvard Business School Cases, October 3, 2006.

50. Quick Conversations ExerciseTurn to your neighbor and share:A personal network I’m part of and purpose. . .A network I’ve worked with professionally. . . My biggest questions are…Source: June Holley

51. Understanding NetworksSource: orgnet

52. A Typology of Organizing StructuresCentralizedNonprofit organizations (withoutnetwork structure)

53. Membership organizations

54. Nonprofits with explicit network structure

55. Coalition / Alliance

56. Networks of networks

57. Ad hoc networksDecentralizedNote: These categories often overlap. Most of the examples fit in to multiple categories.Developed from: Plastrik and Taylor, “Net Gains,” (2006); Patti Anklam, “Net Work,” (2007); Krebs and Holley. “Building Smart Communities,” (2006).Source: orgnet

58. How Do Movements and Campaigns Relate to Networks?MovementCampaignNetworkA large, informal grouping that brings people together around shared values, and provides strategy and structure for collective actionAn organized effort which attempts to persuade others to change certain ideas, attitudes, practices, or behavior Groups of individuals or organizations connected through meaningful relationshipsChoose Justice: Campaign to Protect RoePro-Choice MovementSources: Movement def’n- LokmanTsui on Marshall Ganz (www.lokman.org). Campaign def’n- Kotter Philip, Ned Roberto and Nancy Lee. Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life. Movement image - commondreams.org. Network graphics: orgnet.com

59. PeripheryClusterLinkNodeCoreHubA Few Helpful DefinitionsSource: Monitor Institute

60. Social Network AnalysisSociogramsAnthropologists in 30s

61. Sociologists & Teachers in the 50sSource: June Holley

62. Network Mapping can be Low-Tech…Source: June Holley

63. …Or More High-Tech

64. What’s Possible from Network Analysis?Visualize the network: see connections

65. Make visible network resources, flow

66. Spark a conversation among participants

67. Diagnose the “health” of a network

68. Assess change in network over timeSource: June Holley

69. Salinas Network Mapping Pilot

70. Network by Organization TypeGovernmentFoundationNon-ProfitFor-ProfitSchoolUnknownReligiousOtherMaps Were Used to Analyze the NetworkA map of the different networks shows fairly loose connections

71. Barr’s Green and Healthy Building Network: 2005Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe

72. The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2007Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe

73. Network Diagnosis:Characteristics of Healthy Networks

74. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: OverviewValueClearly articulated give and get for participants

75. Delivers value/ outcomes to participants

76. Trust

77. Diversity

78. High engagementParticipationFormBalance of top-down and bottom-up logic

79. Space for self-organized actionLeadershipLeadership with “network mindset”

80. Distributed leadershipConnectionStrategic communications

81. Ample shared space: on-line and in-personCapacityAbility surface & tap network talent

82. Model for sustainabilityLearning & AdaptationLearning-capture

83. Ability to gather and act on feedbackHelpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky

84. Leading with a Network Mindset

85. How is Network Leadership Different?Network LeadershipOrganizational LeadershipRole, behavior

86. Collective

87. Facilitation

88. Emergent

89. Relational, connected

90. Bottom-up

91. Process-oriented

92. Position, authority

93. Individual

94. Control

95. Directive

96. Transactional

97. Top-down

98. Action-orientedWhat would it take for you to work more wikily?

99. Network Leadership RolesOrganizerEstablishes value proposition(s)

100. Establishes first links to participantsFunderProvides initial resources for organizing the networkWeaverWorks to increase connections among participants

101. May focus on growing the network by connecting to new participants

102. Can be multiple people with formal and informal rolesFacilitator / CoordinatorHelps participants to undertake collective action

103. Ensures flow of information and other resourcesTechnology StewardFacilitates the network use of online technology to learn, coordinate, connect or share information togetherSources: Peter Plastrik and Madeleine Taylor, Net Gains (2006); Beth Kanter; Stephanie Lowell , Building the Field of Dreams (2007); White, Wenger, and Smith, Digital Habitats (2009)

104. What is the Work of Network Leadership?Convene diverse people and groupsEngage network participantsGenerate collective actionBroker connections and bridge differenceBuild social capital – emphasize trustNurture self-organizationGenuinely participateLeverage technologyCreate, and protect network ‘space’Source: Adapted from Net Work by Patti Anklam (2007) and “Vertigo and the Intentional Inhabitant: Leadership in a Connected World” by Bill Traynor (2009)Source of picture: flickr

105. A Few Challenges Faced by Network LeadersUnlearning past behaviors and frameworksEngaging and inspiring network participantsLetting go of controlDetermining network boundariesDealing with information overload Making the case; measuring successLearning and leveraging new technologies Source of images: Cut Throat Communications, Blog.com, Rutgers University RU FAIR, Kodaikanal International School, flickr

106. Quick Conversations ExerciseTurn to your neighbor and share:Would any of these tools be valuable to help you understand your networks?How might you contribute to developing or leading a network?What are the barriers to working more wikily?

107. How Can you Begin to Make the Shift?Established Ways of WorkingWorking WikilyDecentralized

108. Loosely controlled

109. Emergent

110. Open, shared

111. Relational

112. Two-way conversationsCentralized

113. Firmly controlled

114. Planned

115. Proprietary

116. Transactional

117. One-way communicationsWhat would it take for you to work more wikily?

118. Eight Lessons We’re LearningDesign your experiments around a problem, not the toolsExperiment a lot, make only new mistakesSet appropriate expectations for time and effort requiredPrioritize human elements like trust and funUnderstand your position within networksPush power to the edgesBalance bottom-up and top-down strategiesBe open and transparent

119. So, Whether You’re Launching New Networks…Mom’s rising is new organization designed using network principles: open, flat, flexible, collaborative, adaptive, fast

120. …or Transforming Old Organizations…AJLI: an older organization using network principles to transform itself

121. The Choice is YoursBoardExecutiveDirectorVPVPVPManagerManagerManagerManagerManagerManagerManagerManagerMEMBERS

122. Thank You!Additional Resources:Networks Resources page on blogBarr FoundationIISC - collaborationLeadership Learning CommunityThinkers: Clay Shirky, Marshall Ganz, Peter Plastrik & Madeline Taylor, Bill Trainer, June Holley, Marty Kearns, etc.Beth’s Blog www.beth@typepad.orgWeAreMedia trainingN-Ten, TechSoup, Net-SquaredCase FoundationNew Organizing InstitutePersonal Democracy ForumBlog (twitter): www.workingwikily.netStanford ContinuingStudies, Winter ’10Website:www.monitorinstitute.com