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Transformative Networking

for Organizational and

Community Change

Ross A. Wirth, Ph.D.

10/14/2015 2

Networks are the future organization

• 20th century – Society of Organizations

– Clear, formal hierarchy with top-down

direction (stable)

– Chain of command (formal)

• 21st century – Society of Networks

– Transient relationships to bring together

resources for a common purpose

even within organizations (dynamic)

– Circle of influence (informal)

Kanter (2009)

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Online networking – a Paradox

• Internet & social media platforms

enabled people to easily organize

– Yet most online groups focus on building

membership and not collaborative work

• Easy to search for information and locate

experts & others with common interest

– Yet, many change leaders struggle in

isolation without the

benefit of shared knowledge4

Why?? What are the challenges?

• Missing critical pieces:

– Lack of time to keep up with information

overload that continues to grow

• Low relevance & lack of relevant “push”

– Don’t know what we (they) don’t know

• Johari Window, lack of awareness to even look

– Competing Priorities – Disengagement

• Joining implies a commitment to contribute or

• Little value seen in lurking

– “Everything” is

Socially Constructed

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Shift Approach to Demand Side

• Chronic disengagement is a

major barrier to change

– Too often “Helpers” use supply-side approach

(deliver what is thought to be needed) versus

– Approach from the demand-side

(deliver what is regarded as valuable by those in need)

• Community Building needs to be a

Populist Economic Movement,

Not a Political Movement

Traynor & Andors (2005) and Traynor (2007)6

Basis for

Building a Networked Community

• Organic shaping how people meet & interact

• Search for interconnected individuals goals nested within the collective group goals

• Multi-dimensional reasons for connecting– Not all connections are for the same reason

– These reasons also change over time!

• Creating relationships based on bi-directional value exchange

• Freedom to self-organize– Sufficient infrastructure without constraints

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Network Requirements

• Dynamically morph network to

accommodate changes in

– Membership turnover

• New members discovering the network

• Older members with changing interests

– Evolving interests within the network

• Group goals met or new goals with higher priority

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Theoretical Foundation

• Communities of Practice (KM tool)

– Expertise identification & knowledge sharing

• Social Network Analysis

– Map information diffusion across network

– Identify connectivity gaps

• Large Group Methodologies

– Small group dialogue within large groups with large group sharing

– Discovery of mental models in use

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Theoretical Foundation, cont.

• New leadership models

– Collective (shared) leadership

– Direction-Alignment-Commitment Model

• Wikinomics

– Grassroots, collective effort that deviates

from traditional exchange-based economics

– Governance protocols with few rules &

self-nominated leadership

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Theoretical Foundation, cont.

• Swarm Intelligence

– Simple decision-making rules that are local,

yet capable of driving collective action

– Sub-optimal, but quick & adaptive to change

• Complexity Science

– Self-organization, emergence

– Tipping point through

self-organization as people

vote with their feet

11Individuals ranked by degree of involvement

Degree of Involvement – not Uniform

Level o

f A

cti

vit

y

High engagement

acting as group “owners”

Loosely connected, but

Linked to other networks

Old-guard losing interest or

involved for a specific objective

bringing new insights

Level of engagement

drives role & value delivered

to the network

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Proposed Networking Approach

Purposefully connecting people with

common interests

Supported with minimal infrastructure

to provide encouragement and

just-in-time assistance

Without limiting what might emerge

as a shared vision develops

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Community Building – Essentials

Create Choices

• Competing demands on time

• Allow opt-out without guilt

• Welcome trial

Multiple entry points

• Smorgasbord of opportunities

• Small duration projects

• Find common interest

Reason to engage

• Fun, fellowship, recognition

• Value in convening (demand-based)

Proactive linking

• Interconnected networks

• Encourage movement

Traynor & Andors (2005) and Traynor (2007)14

Community Building – Governance

• Specific roles, but not permanent

– “Voice” that is not institutionalized

• Provisionality – constantly adapting

• Resonance – Law of Two Feet (from OST)

• Information broadcast

– With “collective history” for newcomers & efficiency

• Minimum infrastructure without constraining what might emerge

Traynor & Andors (2005) and Traynor (2007)

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Community Building – 8 Lessons

1. Experiment around problems, not tools

2. Provisionality & Resonance

3. Be realistic with the time it takes

4. Focus on building Trust & Fun

5. Leverage all roles across the network

6. Decentralize Power

7. Influence (but don’t hinder) movement

8. Communicate & leave trail

Scearce, Kasper, & Grant (2009)16

“Membership” in the Future

• Connected, but not obligated

• Part of many, owned by none

• Low-level affiliation

• Flexibility, provisional, informal

Traynor (2007)

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Transformative networking –

if a critical mass of passionate

people were networked,

how might their collective vision

be transformative?

The Potential

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• Change Leadership CoP – online

– Peer-facilitated learning circles

– Knowledge base & collaboration

• Neighborhood strengthening (revitalization)

– Community-level issue (problem) discussion

– Local neighborhood – power of convening

• Idea Incubator

– Exploratory discussions

Potential Demonstration Projects

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• Test the networking and community

building approaches in pilot tests

• Document the process sufficiently that it

can be replicated without over

prescribing the approach that is used.

– Past tests not well documented or

not in a form easy to replicate

Next Steps

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Transformative Networking

for Organizational and

Community Change

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References

• Kanter, R. M. (2009). On Twitter and in the workplace, it’s power to the connectors. Retrieved from http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/kanter/2009/11/power-to-the-connectors.html

• Scearce, D., Kasper, G., & Grant, H. M. (2009). Working wikily 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.monitorinstitute.com/documents/WorkingWikily2.0hires.pdf

• Traynor, W. J. (2007). Building community in place: Limitations and promise. Retrieved from http://macdc.org/initiatives/Building-Community-in-Place--Traynor.pdf

• Traynor, W. J., & Andors, J. (2005). Network organizing: A strategy for building community engagement. NHI Shelterforce Online, 140. Retrieved from http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/140/LCW.html