Network Series: One Size Does NOT Fit All
The See What I Mean Network Series was created to share the best advice and lessons learned on effective network practices. SWIM has gathered all there is to know about networks and is sharing lesson-by-lesson the Six Practices of Effective Network Leadership which you can also download in this eBook
“One Size Does Not Fit All”
It will come as no big surprise that complex networks of various sizes, demographics, purposes and needs do not fit a one-sized approach. You’ve heard this advice throughout your career and as a network leader, you’ve seen it in play. While we inherently know that one-size-fits-all solutions do not work, we struggle to understand the best ways to segment our networks. We know it is inefficient and practically impossible to attempt full customization for every network engagement. At See What I Mean, we have observed networks attempt to solve this issue by leaning towards segmentation focused on demographic information like size of budget, number of staff, amount of programming, or geographic identifiers. The challenge with these segmentations is that they do not do much to build network capacity. They place people in categories that limit understanding of potential growth or willingness to achieve more towards a mission. At their worst, these types of segmentation can take inequities in a network and magnify them by focusing resources towards segments deemed best at bringing things to scale, and leaving less-resourced segments behind.
One option to address this segmentation challenge is personas. Personas, a tool used heavily in the technology world, can help us think differently about how we segment organizations of the network to create strong network cohesiveness. Personas are descriptions of the ways people, or organizations, think and behave. Persona segmentation focuses on differences in mindsets, strengths, and behaviors instead of numbers like budget or size. Learn more about personas by downloading our free eBook and watch Michael Wagler of Main Street Iowa, discuss what he has learned as a network leader.
Main Street of Iowa partnered with See What I Mean to better understand their relationship with their network. Together, we identified relationship-building practices that were working and ways to improve the relationship.
“SWIM came in with a fresh perspective but a firm foundation of what makes good relationships within a network.”
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Download “Moving from Theory to Action: Six Practices of Effective Network Leadership” in advance and begin learning today or book a free consultation session to discuss how SWIM can support your mission.