Eleanor Cooney's blog

We proudly Spotlight two participants of this year’s Creating Space X who have generously accepted the challenge of organizing a learning cluster around the topic of Leadership and Networks: Alex Carter of the Safe Spaces Project, and Jenifer Wagley of Avenue CDC. We were fortunate to catch up with both Alex and Jenifer this month to hear about their current work and the stories of how they arrived there. We also get their thoughts on self-organizing as they launch the Learning Cluster. Check out last month’s Spotlight on Learning Cluster Organizers: Cheryl D. Fields and Mary Stelletello, to hear more about these informal virtual learning meetings. We encourage you to join the upcoming Learning Cluster call. If you are interested in organizing or participating in a Learning Cluster, contact Lauren@leadershiplearning.org.

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This year following our national gathering, Creating Space X, LLC recognized the need and interest of participants to self-organize in order to continue building relationships and pursue collective learning. CSX participants surveyed in June indicated the greatest interest in exploring Leadership and Equity as well as Leadership and Networks. We are proud to Spotlight the members of our community who have boldly and generously accepted the challenge of organizing learning clusters around these themes. Cheryl Fields of Langhum Mitchell Communications, and Mary Stelletello of Vista Global Coaching & Consulting  are currently partnering to prepare for the launch of LLC's Leadership and Equity learning cluster. Learning cluster participants will be able to share insights with the community as to what “works” in terms of virtually building small hubs of peer learning and study. We are excited to follow Cheryl and Mary’s progress in their organizing and share the highlights with you.

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This month we recognize the many amazing thought leaders in the leadership field who have partnered with us to produce a wide range of high-quality webinars, including sessions on collective leadership, systems thinking, and leadership networks. The series, launched in 2011, has engaged over 2,000 participants across the nation, and thousands of video and slideshow viewers. Because of the support from our webinar presenters, we have received overwhelmingly positive reviews from our community, and through their generous donations, we are able continue to offer these free resources.

We highlight a few of our past webinars here, and encourage you to visit our entire catalogue of previous webinars!

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Eleanor Cooney responds to: How Can Leadership Development Programs Make a Difference in the Challenges of Tackling Racism?

I entirely appreciate Deborah's writing, How Can Leadership Development Programs Make a Difference in the Challenges of Tackling Racism?, and want to revisit and put emphasis on her point that at our Creating Space meeting in May, it was clear that we need to do a more skillful job of talking about racial equity. It sounds like Deborah’s use of “we” refers to our learning community in general, but here I would like to make a distinction.

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#CreatingSpace2013 Tweet Chat
Transcript & Resource Links:

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On Evaluation and Data…

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) Seattle Chapter’s new co-leader, Efrain Gutierrez, reflects on the recent EPIP national conference, highlighting four recommendations for philanthropy leaders around collaboration: Be humble, know who you are not, listen, learn and adapt. Further on the theme of listening, Stanford Social Innovation Review recently published a piece called Listening to Those Who Matter Most, the Beneficiaries, wherein beneficiary feedback initiatives are featured including CDA Collaborative Learning Project’s Listening project, GreatNonprofits and NeighborWorks America Success Measures. Case studies on the YouthTruth program and the Institute of Medicine’s report “Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century” give concrete examples of beneficiaries’ experience being used as drivers of positive change.

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On Social Media & Measurement…

Akaya Winwood, President of Rockwood Leadership Institute writes on risk-taking by nonprofit leaders in a time of great change. The article includes a link to Getting Started With Data-Driven Decision Making: A Workbook. Beth Kanter blogs on a topic of special interest to the Leadership Learning Community at a time when we are planning for and promoting Creating Space 2013. In her article, Tips and Tools for Integrating Social Media Into Your Nonprofit Event Marketing Plan, Beth includes a wealth of tools for spreading awareness of nonprofit events, driving participant engagement during the event, and finally documenting and sharing the “after story” of the event. Danielle Brigida gives insight into the three primary types of data she collects in her work for the National Wildlife Federation including: data to determine the type of content that is shared, data to determine engaged social media users who serve as ambassadors for the cause, and data that reveals customer complaints or praise.

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On Leadership and Networks…

Curtis Ogden of IISC writes on network evaluation, offering a clear infographic on the framework for network building and links to key resources including “Network Evaluation: Cultivating Healthy Networks for Social Change”  by Eli Malinsky and Chad Lubelsky. Beth Tener demonstrates the value in visually representing networks for those involved in systems change. She asserts that it is critical for change agents to “see the system” they work within. Debra Askanase reflects on her recent “Redefining Community Leadership for an Online World” session where the traditional community leadership model is explored and compared to the emerging online community leadership model.

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On Nonprofit Leadership…

Nonprofit social media expert Beth Kanter is interviewed on her advice for developing nonprofits and her thoughts on the changing dynamics of philanthropy and use of social media in this month’s FastCompany Co.Exist article by Rachael Chong. Curtis Ogden of the IISC Blog references the emergence of social media and other social and economic factors on the changing demands of leadership in his article, New Calls to Leadership. The Monitor Institute also features an article on adaptive leadership this month, where the classic model of strategic planning is examined against the organizational demands of a rapidly changing world.

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