“Network weaving is about tending to the relationships that make transformation possible.” —June Holley
We have a friend. She’s an amazing visionary. She gets people excited about something, moves them to acton to join in a cause. She has started new organizations, connected them to cross sector coalitions to address difficult and complex social issues. Our friend is a network weaver with a cautionary tale.
Almost all of the things she’s started have failed. People stopped following her. The structure fell apart and the cause suffered because the whole movement depended on her excitement, vision and charisma.
When she burned out — so did the movement. This isn’t rare. The biggest mistakes network weavers make is trying to do it all, and not allowing the movement to grow and be sustainable beyond themselves.Weavers, though arecrucial to creating movement, building relationships, and network building
So, how do we help equip weavers to do their thing but also ensure we are setting up a collaboration, network or partnership for long-term success?
