The Reason Why Your Networks Come Out Crummy
Most of us are doing networks wrong people.
I never was much of a sandbox kid. Was it the germs? It was not. Was it a silent protest to sitting in a pile of (essentially) rocks? Wasn’t that either.
I wasn’t much of a sandbox kid because I hate group activity. I only wanted to ensure Hamburgler’s castle came out of its mold intact. Why did everyone else insist on sharing toys and suggestions and knock-knock jokes?
The same held true for school projects. Once a teacher started counting-off groups, I went missing so I’d be the odd man out. Putting on a performance of feigned disappointment once I got back that was Oscar worthy.
Fast forward 25 years and not much has changed. Making it ironic I’ve chosen an occupation (working with impact orgs) that requires the utmost amount of collaboration and you guessed it….group activities. Evidenced by the number of networks and coalitions I find myself in.
As a card carrying member of the “Doesn’t Play Well With Others” Alliance I made it a point to understand what it takes to create successful networks and be an impactful network member. Right now I’m reading
and
Not finished yet, but I’ve already had an ah-ha.
Most of us are doing networks wrong, people.
Myself included. Networks are friggin’ hard, this we all know. Anyone that says otherwise doesn’t want you to be successful in life.
Knowing “network pain” is all too real, we reflexively look to strategic planning as the salve. Here’s the thing, strategic planning isn’t what we need; it’s network planning. The book “Networks that Work” talks about this extensively and it’s turned my entire world upside down. Well, maybe not upside down but its definitely tilted that axis.
Strategic Planning is only part of the puzzle. If we’re not adept at all of the other pieces of a network (consensus building, meeting management, facilitation, dispute-resolution, built in feedback, etc.) we won’t make it to strategic planning because we’ll be ready to kill one another.
Next week on the blog I’ll write a little more on the specific ways each book recommends we go about effective network building, from pre-network questions to ask to first-steps, so be on the look-out.
Erin Mcclarty is Founder of Erin Mcclarty, PLLC, offering strategy, business consulting and legal services to mission-focused organizations. Her clients include for-profit social enterprises and small businesses, nonprofits, foundations, community centers, government institutions, leaders and anyone else wanting to create, grow or manage their positive impact.