A network that achieves shared power has greater potential for shared action with high impact. Everyone is involved and everyone pulls the same direction. Highly effective networks shift their power dynamics from a hierarchical model to a shared model.

We had a chance to sit down with community leader, Gina Weekley, to talk about her experience within network leadership, how power is shared and how decision making can play a role in sharing power.

Offerings - workshops, communities of practice, webinars, toolkits, and research briefs - are the heart of how network hubs (like associations or network HQs) influence their members. In our new publication with partnership with the Iowa Council of Foundations (ICoF) “From Implicit to Explicit: Lessons for supporting funders in advancing racial equity in philanthropy,” we move from discussing single offerings to thinking about a more strategic approach: delivering interwoven offerings over time to generate momentum of network adoption.

Everyone on the See What I Mean team has seen at least a handful of my plants on camera during our zoom calls. Total I have at least 45 plants (it’s been a while since I’ve counted). My interest in botany has been growing for the past 6 years when I was a summer intern at a local botanical garden during my time in undergrad. Since then, my collection has grown, more extensively during the start of the pandemic like many others. I bought a few plants right before embarking on the remote work lifestyle and just couldn’t stop. Here are a few things that I’ve learned along my plant journey that I believe we all can benefit from as well.

Add See What I Mean to the chorus of voices encouraging change in philanthropy. So many institutions adjusted approaches during the pandemic and many of those changes would be excellent to make permanent. Here’s a quick list of ways we can improve the grantmaking process.

We’re heartened to see that so many organizations have leaned into participatory leadership. Participatory leadership means recognizing the value in asking many people for advice, input, ideas, and problem-solving. This can raise new ideas and garner early buy-in.

When I was a new executive director, I would frequently keep a piece of scratch paper next to my desk where I would jot the items I wanted to talk about at the upcoming board meeting. It looked a lot like the grocery list I kept in my kitchen at home…

My last day of working in an in-person office setting was March 17th, 2020. Since then, I have perfected my work-from-home routine. My corner is set up with perfect lighting and a comfortable chair. My Nespresso machine is on a daily timer so I have delicious coffee right before my morning meetings. I’ve gotten so used to my WFH (work-from-home) routine that I forgot in-person meetings existed until I was asked to join a business trip to conduct in-person training.

I am on the old edge of Millennial. That edge people like Pete Buttigieg hang on to in order to keep their street cred with young people, but still be old enough to run for president. Sometimes I shy away from being labeled “Millennial,” but I am finding that I am actually proud of some of the traits other generations hold against us. One of those traits is demanding a better work-life balance. Millennials aren’t the only ones looking for a work-life balance. In fact, a study by LinkedIn showed that nearly half of American workers would pass up a better job for more work-life balance. That sure isn’t the message I hear from the field.

When approaching new solutions, many of the organizations we work with are eager to create innovative solutions. They put in countless hours building new solutions from the ground up. Unfortunately, all too often they watch these programs and solutions slowly fizzle out as they fail to gain traction in their community and target populations. All of the surveying and data collection in the world cannot change the fact that many organizations are designing solutions that are not guided by the people with lived experience in the matter. We see this across industries and areas of focus. From food banks to health clinics and private schools to local governance; solutions that are not led by people with lived experience fail to consider the full needs, wants and cultural realities of the groups they are targeting.

Engaging voices from the field is a critical piece of any network leader’s work. At See What I Mean, we advocate establishing a clear feedback loop. The earlier in the process, the better. Too often, network leaders think of a feedback loop as following three steps: Ask → Analyze → Demonstrate. This approach misses a critical step in a transparent feedback loop: Ask → Analyze → Share back → Demonstrate.