The Center’s mission encourages creative partnerships to design and implement initiatives that use collective leadership to address critical issues in our community. We have been honored to be part of the formation of Nourishing Networks, in which community members self-organize to fill the gaps that leave community members hungry. The Center is delighted to be the fiscal sponsor and welcome the Nourishing Network Institute as a program of the Center. In this newsletter, we describe the power of working in networks, introduce Linda Benson, leader of the Nourishing Network Institute, and share the experience of a recent gathering. ~ Karma Ruder
Working in Networks to Respond
When Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. coast, it wreaked incredible damage and illuminated the power of networks. In her wake, all sorts of networks came into play – on-the-ground response networks formed to deploy in such emergencies; networks of neighbors watching out for each other; new social media networks kicking in to connect local volunteers and resources to local needs; and national networks sending funds to their regional arms.
When disaster hits, crisis often brings out the best in us. People jump in to offer their time, their talent and resources because they are called to respond to the suffering and needs of others – whether they personally know those who need help or not. What would it be like to create community-wide networks that stay engaged when the level of need is about living, day to day, rather than the explosive impact of a rare storm?
Of course, a number of these types of day-to-day caring networks already exist – faith-based groups reaching out to live their principles; volunteer networks working at food banks or with other service organizations; parents organized to support the students in schools; civic clubs tackling community problems…and yet these networks tend to stay focused on very specific projects or goals instead of forming the networks that would allow us to collectively create a net so strong that no one could fall through.
At the Center, we are exploring what working in networks means when we apply it to the common good. We are learning that it is more than just the currency of relationships that increase available resources (although that is a great benefit); it is a different way of thinking and working together than in traditional organizations and coalitions. This exploration is rooted in our long term commitment to collective leadership as a way of distributing ownership and tapping into everyone’s gifts in surprising ways around a deeply shared purpose of making our communities better for all of us. As it turns out, network principles and roles provide a very interesting structure to support distributed, collective leadership.
We are, of course, not the only ones interested in the question of how to make networks thrive. We are in an era of entrepreneurial start-ups for social gain, as well as financial gain. As mainstream organizations become financially challenged by the burden of overhead and hierarchical structures, innovative individuals are out finding new responses and more localized answers. But how to keep it all connected so that it adds up rather than further fragmenting our ability to respond to the needs that face us? As bigger challenges demand more partnerships that are flexible enough to stay intact when power dynamics show up, how do we activate the best assets among us? These leadership questions are facing all of us and there are interesting answers emerging out of experiments with working in networks.
As the Center welcomes the Nourishing Networks Institute as core to our emerging work, we are finding the principles that help networks meet our collective challenges, while uncovering the issues that must be addressed for networks to thrive. Participants unlearn habits that work in traditional organizations in order to open to the flow of offers based on knowing their gifts and how they are called to use them. Within this flow, people learn how to find and collaborate with their natural partners. It is a leadership that demands consideration of the needs and how one can contribute – rather than assuming someone else will do it. It’s not how big or small the contribution is – it’s about following through. Ultimately, it is about creating a whole community in which we recognize that everyone is hungry – hungry for connection, meaning and purpose, or hungry to meet basic needs. We are all nourished when we operate from our deep calling and purpose as both giver and receiver.
When Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. coast, it wreaked incredible damage and illuminated the power of networks. In her wake, all sorts of networks came into play – on-the-ground response networks formed to deploy in such emergencies; networks of neighbors watching out for each other; new social media networks kicking in to connect local volunteers and resources to local needs; and national networks sending funds to their regional arms.
When disaster hits, crisis often brings out the best in us. People jump in to offer their time, their talent and resources because they are called to respond to the suffering and needs of others – whether they personally know those who need help or not. What would it be like to create community-wide networks that stay engaged when the level of need is about living, day to day, rather than the explosive impact of a rare storm?
Of course, a number of these types of day-to-day caring networks already exist – faith-based groups reaching out to live their principles; volunteer networks working at food banks or with other service organizations; parents organized to support the students in schools; civic clubs tackling community problems…and yet these networks tend to stay focused on very specific projects or goals instead of forming the networks that would allow us to collectively create a net so strong that no one could fall through.
At the Center, we are exploring what working in networks means when we apply it to the common good. We are learning that it is more than just the currency of relationships that increase available resources (although that is a great benefit); it is a different way of thinking and working together than in traditional organizations and coalitions. This exploration is rooted in our long term commitment to collective leadership as a way of distributing ownership and tapping into everyone’s gifts in surprising ways around a deeply shared purpose of making our communities better for all of us. As it turns out, network principles and roles provide a very interesting structure to support distributed, collective leadership.
We are, of course, not the only ones interested in the question of how to make networks thrive. We are in an era of entrepreneurial start-ups for social gain, as well as financial gain. As mainstream organizations become financially challenged by the burden of overhead and hierarchical structures, innovative individuals are out finding new responses and more localized answers. But how to keep it all connected so that it adds up rather than further fragmenting our ability to respond to the needs that face us? As bigger challenges demand more partnerships that are flexible enough to stay intact when power dynamics show up, how do we activate the best assets among us? These leadership questions are facing all of us and there are interesting answers emerging out of experiments with working in networks.
As the Center welcomes the Nourishing Networks Institute as core to our emerging work, we are finding the principles that help networks meet our collective challenges, while uncovering the issues that must be addressed for networks to thrive. Participants unlearn habits that work in traditional organizations in order to open to the flow of offers based on knowing their gifts and how they are called to use them. Within this flow, people learn how to find and collaborate with their natural partners. It is a leadership that demands consideration of the needs and how one can contribute – rather than assuming someone else will do it. It’s not how big or small the contribution is – it’s about following through. Ultimately, it is about creating a whole community in which we recognize that everyone is hungry – hungry for connection, meaning and purpose, or hungry to meet basic needs. We are all nourished when we operate from our deep calling and purpose as both giver and receiver.
The Thanksgiving Summit
Last week, one hundred people came together at the second Nourishing Networks Thanksgiving Summit to celebrate the work of the last year and to learn about network principles and roles. They formed small groups to share learning and plan action around specific topics. Over the last year, the five Nourishing Networks have supported community gardens that provide harvest for food banks; community members filling hundreds of backpacks weekly with weekend food for hungry students, providing meals when school is out; community kitchens; students working in a high school to reduce the stigma of being hungry; and networking organizations that care about addressing hunger.
As Linda Nageotte, CEO and President of Food Lifeline, said at the Summit: “Food pantries across the country are looking for ways to engage their communities in the effort to end poverty...and Nourishing Networks are actually doing it."
This is the vision for Nourishing Networks: People everywhere are working with each other in profound new ways to tackle tough challenges. Together, we are weaving the latent talents, time and imagination of all community members and networks, with our existing safety net – beginning with hunger in King County. We are building collective ownership for community well-being. This initiative is being supported by the Nourishing Network Institute, a new program of the Center, staffed by Linda Benson (formerly of Hopelink), James Whitfield (Leadership Eastside), and Karma Ruder (the Center for Ethical Leadership). Regional partners include the Seattle Foundation, United Way, and Food Lifeline.
Hundreds of citizens in north and east King County work in five Nourishing Networks, in Issaquah, Northshore, Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland. They are learning what it takes to work in networks with no intention of forming yet another organization to do the work. It is an exciting process that requires people unlearning organizational habits in order to unleash the capacity of passion-driven networks. They are learning that there are certain principles that require participants to think and be together in different ways. When these are activated, the surprises and the possibilities are off the charts. The core principles are:
Trust the Community: Those who are in a community are in the best place to truly understand the needs and gaps and should take the lead. Those who show up know enough, have enough, are enough to do what must be done while respecting everyone who is part of that community.
Focus on Relationships, Not Just Task: When we focus on relationships we have a better understanding of people’s gifts and the unexpected ways that they can be offered. We recognize that everyone in the network benefits by knowing and helping each other– this is an effort built on mutual reciprocity.
Collective Sense Making: When people from many different perspectives come together around their passion and concern for community, share what they know and cooperate, we learn what we need to know to take effective action.
Work from Passion not Obligation: When people work from a place of being called, of finding what is theirs to do, it liberates energy and provides focus on what is possible.
Put on Offer, Rather Than Seeking to Control: This is about people offering ideas, solutions, and resources that they believe can make a difference rather than people trying to control or tell others what they should do. Decisions are made by those doing the work.
I Make the Net Work: When each person takes ownership for doing the part that is theirs to do, together we can do what is needed. This means making the commitment in front of your community to name what you will be accountable for – however big or small.
Here is a link to a current example of the power of the network once it is in place. This is one among very many stories of what it means for people to find new ways of taking collective ownership for community well-being.
Last week, one hundred people came together at the second Nourishing Networks Thanksgiving Summit to celebrate the work of the last year and to learn about network principles and roles. They formed small groups to share learning and plan action around specific topics. Over the last year, the five Nourishing Networks have supported community gardens that provide harvest for food banks; community members filling hundreds of backpacks weekly with weekend food for hungry students, providing meals when school is out; community kitchens; students working in a high school to reduce the stigma of being hungry; and networking organizations that care about addressing hunger.
As Linda Nageotte, CEO and President of Food Lifeline, said at the Summit: “Food pantries across the country are looking for ways to engage their communities in the effort to end poverty...and Nourishing Networks are actually doing it."
This is the vision for Nourishing Networks: People everywhere are working with each other in profound new ways to tackle tough challenges. Together, we are weaving the latent talents, time and imagination of all community members and networks, with our existing safety net – beginning with hunger in King County. We are building collective ownership for community well-being. This initiative is being supported by the Nourishing Network Institute, a new program of the Center, staffed by Linda Benson (formerly of Hopelink), James Whitfield (Leadership Eastside), and Karma Ruder (the Center for Ethical Leadership). Regional partners include the Seattle Foundation, United Way, and Food Lifeline.
Hundreds of citizens in north and east King County work in five Nourishing Networks, in Issaquah, Northshore, Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland. They are learning what it takes to work in networks with no intention of forming yet another organization to do the work. It is an exciting process that requires people unlearning organizational habits in order to unleash the capacity of passion-driven networks. They are learning that there are certain principles that require participants to think and be together in different ways. When these are activated, the surprises and the possibilities are off the charts. The core principles are:
Trust the Community: Those who are in a community are in the best place to truly understand the needs and gaps and should take the lead. Those who show up know enough, have enough, are enough to do what must be done while respecting everyone who is part of that community.
Focus on Relationships, Not Just Task: When we focus on relationships we have a better understanding of people’s gifts and the unexpected ways that they can be offered. We recognize that everyone in the network benefits by knowing and helping each other– this is an effort built on mutual reciprocity.
Collective Sense Making: When people from many different perspectives come together around their passion and concern for community, share what they know and cooperate, we learn what we need to know to take effective action.
Work from Passion not Obligation: When people work from a place of being called, of finding what is theirs to do, it liberates energy and provides focus on what is possible.
Put on Offer, Rather Than Seeking to Control: This is about people offering ideas, solutions, and resources that they believe can make a difference rather than people trying to control or tell others what they should do. Decisions are made by those doing the work.
I Make the Net Work: When each person takes ownership for doing the part that is theirs to do, together we can do what is needed. This means making the commitment in front of your community to name what you will be accountable for – however big or small.
Here is a link to a current example of the power of the network once it is in place. This is one among very many stories of what it means for people to find new ways of taking collective ownership for community well-being.
Introducing Linda Benson
Linda’s work is grounded in her passion for the infinite capacity of human potential and an unwavering belief that we have the ability toimagine and elicit a different kind of community. As a result, she has devoted much time on the boards of organizations that develop greater community leadership capacity and solutions to changing the face of poverty.
Currently, she is providing leadership and guidance in the development of Nourishing Networks through the Nourishing Networks Institute. This initiative creates significant new levels of capacity and competence within local communities to identify and to help fill the changing and growing gaps that the formal human services system is unable to fill. This dynamic vision is based on building a new type of self-organizing network model that provides a way to systematically link the latent resources of volunteer time and talent within communities to the need at hand, beginning with hunger.
Linda is the former chair of the boards of Center for Ethical Leadership, and Leadership Institute. She currently serves on the boards of Eastside Baby Corner, One Redmond, and the Eastside Timebank. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Brigham Young University and is the proud mother of three beautiful daughters.
Linda’s work is grounded in her passion for the infinite capacity of human potential and an unwavering belief that we have the ability toimagine and elicit a different kind of community. As a result, she has devoted much time on the boards of organizations that develop greater community leadership capacity and solutions to changing the face of poverty.
Currently, she is providing leadership and guidance in the development of Nourishing Networks through the Nourishing Networks Institute. This initiative creates significant new levels of capacity and competence within local communities to identify and to help fill the changing and growing gaps that the formal human services system is unable to fill. This dynamic vision is based on building a new type of self-organizing network model that provides a way to systematically link the latent resources of volunteer time and talent within communities to the need at hand, beginning with hunger.
Linda is the former chair of the boards of Center for Ethical Leadership, and Leadership Institute. She currently serves on the boards of Eastside Baby Corner, One Redmond, and the Eastside Timebank. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Brigham Young University and is the proud mother of three beautiful daughters.