LLC Webinar | Network Structures: Innovative Governance and Decision-Making with June Holley

Leadership Webinar SeriesNovember 2, 2017

LLC anticipates the future and is a dynamic catalyst capable of creating a link from today’s issues in leadership development to tomorrow’s solutions.

(Donna Stark, The Annie E. Casey Foundation)

Network Research Application

Leadership Learning Community

Leadership For A New EraThe value of collective leadership networks is in their capacity

to solve problems quickly in an environment of uncertainty and complexity (Watts, 2004)

On Technology

◉ Over 300 people registered for today’s webinar◉ We expect over 150 participants live today

◉ Please remain muted

◉ Send your questions via chat (LLC will ask them of June) in the last 30 minutes

June HolleyNetwork Structures:

Governance and Decision-Making

Today’s Presenter

In the chat: Where are you?1. Are you part of a network with a governing board?

2. Are you supporting a number of networks and want to help them in designing their governance systems?

3. Are you starting a new network or helping an informal network be more intentional?

4. Other, please explain

Governance and Decision-Making

What is governance?▸ Who is making decisions about what?

▸ Where are decisions made?

▸ How are decisions made?

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This is an urgent issue not just for networks but for all parts of our lives because how governance works in our lives is about BOTH

▸ power and control

▸ who creates the world around us

9CAN’T CREATE A HEALTHY WORLD WITHOUT ADDRESSING unequal POWER AND CONTROL

10Most Current GovernanceBoards & Senior Management & Congress have the power and control - they make the rules

Corporations NonprofitsRepresentative Democracy

But what are the alternatives?

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12

13Dozens of new networks being formed every month

The only way to deal with the complexity of problems we face

14And yet, most of us have pulled the old decision making models from the non profit and corporate world.

Many networks have governing boards, much like non profit boards, that plan and make decisions.

Staff and governing board

Network Participants

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Let’s create Network Governance based on our values...

Proactively dismantling hierarchical and racist power dynamics through peerness and distributed, decentralized power

▸ Open and transparent

▸ Inclusive and peer-based

▸ Relational

▸ Participatory

▸ Based on interests

▸ Experimental

▸ Innovative

▸ Individual and group initiative

▸ Adaptive and continually improving

▸ Transformational, based on radical learning

▸ Fun

16Governance Based on our VALUES

requires us to interact in new ways

Take a survey on network values!

http://bit.ly/nov2017webinar17

18Networks based on these values unleashes amazing innovation & energy for transformation

Three exciting shifts:

1. Technology

2. Enough different network models of governance that we can learn from

3. New participatory processes

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Two types of networks emerging in importance for governance:

1. Multi-sector policy networks

2. Networks who are applying the self-organizing project model to network operations & governance

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▸ Example: large scale conservation networks

▸ Many people and organizations with diverse perspectives (tree-huggers, loggers, government, non-profits, business, residents) come together and develop POLICY or GOALS that all consent to (for management of the land)

▸ Some cases highly participatory, many using well-developed & innovative deliberation, dialogue and decision-making processes

▸ A model of how more and more policy may be made in the future

21Multi-sector Policy Networks

Self-organizing networks ▸ Many people initiate action in the network

through self-organizing collaborative projects

▸ Many more people initiate, get engaged and become leaders

▸ Action is experimental - helping us learn more about problems, about the world we are trying to co-create

22Self- organizingnetworks

Self-organizing networks perfecting co-creation & synergy processes▸ Local food networks

▸ Health Access Network: very rural Allen County Kansas Culture of Health Award from RWJF; dozens of projects involving hundreds of resident in creating greater access to health

▸ Resonance Network: innovation fund supporting projects of young girls of color and emerging issues fund that have made sure women not left out of disaster assistance in Florida. They encourage peer support and deep learning among funded projects.

23Self- organizingNetworks

EXAMPLES

New model of self-organizing governance: Circles and Advice

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Self-organizing fits a lot of our values: many people engaged in governing through co-creating

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Other self-organizing models

http://sociocracy30.org/

https://www.holacracy.org/

Highly

Recommended!

An easy read!

Circles

As a network need emerges, a self-organizing group forms to address that need

27

Zappos Circle Structure

From Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2016/07/beyond-the-holacracy-hype

The importance of starting with small circles29

Usually only 2-3 meetings needed to develop proposal and make decision

Small commitment means many more people willing to volunteer

This means higher engagement levels of network participants

Important strategy for expanding the network

Powerful way to develop more leadership

NCT Staff

Tenants Bill of Rights

Best Practices

Coordinating

Convening Circle

NEWHAB STRUCTURE

Ad Hoc

Ad hoc

Other Ad hoc

Informal

A

Networking

Mostly ad hoc groups with a mixture of Network Design/Operations and Issue Content

31 Catalyst

Circle

Circle

Scanning:What is needed?

Where is the energy?

Circle

Governing group shifts to being a Catalyst Group

Catalyst Group

32Supporting

Catalyzing

Catalyst Group helps set up

1. Need a good communications system: people need to have access and know how to use zoom, google docs, group email

2. Need staff and current governing board or consultants serve as coaches for circles the first few times

3. Circles need to share what they are learning about running circles through a community of practice

4. Need resources for the circles for coordination, research, expertise, graphics, etc

Noticing where operational needs and energy are

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Catalyze lots of action and self-Organizing circles

34

Make sure the commun- ication system lets people know about network operational needs

35

COACHING

Make sure growth and learning are supported

36

Encourage everyone to support new leadership - set up Communities of Practice so circles can learn from each other

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Characteristics of Catalyst Group

38 1. Big picture person2. Good at noticing what is needed3. Like to catalyze and get things started4. Good at supporting others5. Systems thinker6. Thoughtful, not rigid, open7. Like innovation, not afraid of trying new

things8. Big capacity for learning and reflection9. Majority people of color

Have your governing board take the values survey - if the group scores high, you’re ready to go!

Decision- making byAdvice Process

Circle makes final decision but must seriously consider advice

39Supporting

Catalyzing

Noticing

EngagingCircle Drafts

Proposal - Co-design

Sends proposal

to all impacted

People give

advice / feedback

Circle incorp- orates advice

Decision review

time set

Data on how

worked

It’s much easier (and faster) making decisions as part of a co-design process!

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Example:CommunicationMany small projects with different people in each based on interests

41 Communication Circle

Web Page more

engagingZoom

Training

Group blog for sharing

42 Resourcing the Network’s Work (Funding

Pools)

Emergent Issues Fund System

leverage Fund

Innovation Fund

Circles Projects

FundFunders: this is a place you could really help!

43 Reflection and Learning

Values Shift

Communities of Practice

Storytelling

44 1. Have people in your network read Reinventing Organizations Illustrated

2. Share this video and/or powerpoint

3. Form a Study Group

4. Let us know in chat if you want a follow-up session where we could have people trying circles share how it is going, give you a chance to ask more questions, and we talk about implementation in more detail.

Where to start in your Network?

45Current board agrees to learn about and try this approach

Have some funds for a circles pool of funds

Have some people willing to coach the circle(s)

Have a decent communications system (group email, zoom training and access, google docs to work on proposals collaboratively)

Readiness Checklist

46 Share these ideas with your current governing board and network participants (you will have access to this video)

Ask your network participants to suggest a burning (but small) operational issue. Have the governing board catalyze this first one: it needs to have a champion and evidence that other people would join them.

Have a coach from the governing board or staff help the group develop a proposal.

Make sure they send the proposal out to all network participants impacted giving a deadline for advice.

Help them craft a final proposal and send that out.

Support them as they implement the new policy.

Make sure that the policy is reviewed.

Set up a circle to decide how to implement circles fully. Consider setting up a pool of funds and soliciting 3-5 circle projects

Checklist for action

47A study group is forming that is working to

articulate new ideas about network governance, find case studies and develop support materials. If you are interested, put your email in chat and what in particular you are interested in.

How to Join In

48Web: www.networkweaver.com

ScoopIt: http://www.scoop.it/t/networks-and-network-weaving

Network Weaving Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/339757846085496/

June HolleyEmail: [email protected]

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