How do you create a culture or otherwise encourage people to work in networked, collaborative ways? I have recently been asking a variety of social change leaders this question, in a series of interviews as part of putting together a field guide on collaborative networks with the Garfield Foundation’s new Collaborative Networks Initiative. A theme… Read more
Category: Leadership
Humility as a Core Leadership Quality
A recent New York Times Fixes column about promising social change initiatives highlighted the story Blue Engine, an initiative in New York City schools that has a new model to boost the rates of high school students getting into college. Instead of going with the tide of reformers focusing on individual teacher accountability and pay… Read more
A Dangerous Unselfishness
“Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.” – Dr. Martin Luther King In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a TV weatherman who travels to a small town and gets stuck there in a snowstorm. He goes to bed and the next morning he wakes up to the same day and has to… Read more
Words of Wisdom…Quotes that Lead in New Directions
True to the name of our business – New Directions – we look for the maps, ideas, and ways of seeing and working together that can enable us to create a thriving future distinct from the harmful ways of the past. The following is a compilation of quotes, insights, and good questions gathered along the… Read more
Leading with a Network Mindset
Working in a network is different than working in an organization. When we invite people to join a network, we cannot expect people who have spent their entire careers working in organizations to know how to “show up” to work in networked ways. Traditional organizational structures are based on certain way of seeing the world… Read more
Strategic Questioning and the Art of Network Leadership
In a complex world of interconnected social and environmental challenges, it is increasingly clear that no one organization can solve these alone. A new focus on “collective leadership” is emerging where people collaborate and align their work across organizations and traditional boundaries for greater impact. In this context, we need skills to engage the diversity… Read more
“Catalyzing a Network” Training Session for Food System Leaders in Vermont
When the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and its partners were ready to launch the Vermont Farm to Plate (F2P) Network, they recognized that they needed to build the understanding of network approaches among people in the food system who would be leaders in implementing a network. New Directions Collaborative, in partnership with the Interaction Institute… Read more
“Catalyzing Networks” Workshop for EPA New England’s Office of Assistance & Pollution Prevention
New Directions Collaborative provided a one-day training and strategic planning session for the staff of EPA New England’s Office of Assistance & Pollution Prevention on how to catalyze networks. The training was designed to build on the strengths of their previous work by viewing it through a network lens. We shared an overview of network… Read more
Building Trust before a Crisis
One of the memorable stories of 9/11 is what unfolded in response to the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 at the Pentagon. On that Tuesday morning, a plane carrying 10,000 gallons of fuel going over 300 miles an hour crashed into the building, ultimately killing close to 200 people. Consider the challenge emergency responders… Read more
New Directions on TV!
Beth Tener, Principal of New Directions Collaborative, was interviewed on Green Screen TV (click on the Episodes 1-4 tab) on the MyTV New England channel on Sunday, April 3rd, 2011. The show featured several sustainability case study videos that were produced by Sustainable Step New England, which Beth was involved in helping to create. One… Read more