From Self to Systems Readings - Week 1 - Mindfulness and Presencing
As we prepare for the April workshop From Self to Systems: Leadership for Collective Impact, we’ll be sharing materials and readings that will focus on the various aspects related to leading within collective impact.
Every Friday this month, we will share a few resources, curated by workshop faculty, that can help boost your capacity as well as provide a way to discuss these topics with workshop attendees and CI Forum members.
From Self to Systems curriculum will look at collective impact leadership through multiple lenses: Leading Self (to consider one’s own contribution to the problem and the solution), Leading Others (to catalyze broader leadership in the change process), and Leading Systems (to better understand the complex dynamics that prevent or accelerate progress). Along with examining these areas of leading Self, Others, and Systems, we will also discuss applying the necessary lens of racial equity while doing collective impact work.
Leading Self Resources – Exploring Mindfulness and Presencing
You may be familiar with the term mindfulness. Whether this is a new term or a practice that you are very familiar with, below are a few resources that discuss how mindfulness and presencing can support your understanding of yourself and how you navigate within your leadership role.
- This excerpt from C. Otto Scharmer’s Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges provides great context on how mindfulness can fit within your work. Download PDF excerpt from the publisher
- In this short blog post, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh shares about the different ways to practice mindfulness and how it can bring calmness and clarity to your work.
Hungry for more? Find more resources exploring mindfulness below.
- Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity – Interview with Ellen Langer
- What is Mindfulness - Video with Jon Kabat-Zinn (5 minutes in length)
From Self to Systems Readings - Week 2 - Leading Others
As we prepare for the April workshop From Self to Systems: Leadership for Collective Impact, we’ll be sharing materials and readings that will focus on the various aspects related to leading within collective impact.
Every Friday this month, we will share a few resources, curated by workshop faculty, that can help boost your capacity as well as provide a way to discuss these topics with workshop attendees and CI Forum members.
Leading Others Pre-Reads
Last week, our resources focused on mindfulness and looking within as a step to lead one self. This week, we’re using the lens of Leading Others to explore how to catalyze leadership among those around you.
- Workshop faculty member Paul Schmitz discusses how leaders can build a strong, inclusive and collaborative culture within their collective impact initiatives. Read the blog post The Culture of Collective Impact or listen to a podcast of his presentation.
- In the Stanford Social Innovation Review article "Community Engagement Matters (Now More Than Ever)," authors Melody Barnes and Paul Schmitz highlight the importance of engaging community when implementing data-driven, evidence-based approaches and provide a framework for how to do so effectively.
Hungry for more?
Community Engagement Matters (Now More than Ever) - Video of a panel discussion about the article with thought-leaders from philanthropy, policy, and advocacy organizations.
From Self to Systems Readings - Week 3 - Leading Systems
As we prepare for the April workshop From Self to Systems: Leadership for Collective Impact, we’ll be sharing materials and readings that will focus on the various aspects related to leading within collective impact.
Every Friday this month, we will share a few resources, curated by workshop faculty, that can help boost your capacity as well as provide a way to discuss these topics with workshop attendees and CI Forum members.
Leading Systems Pre-Reads
What does it mean to be a system leader? What does it take to catalyze collective leadership? These resources will provide some foundational background on how to begin thinking about system leadership.
- The Dawn of System Leadership – In this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, Peter Senge, Hal Hamilton, and John Kania write about what distinguishes a system leader.
- Catalyzing Collective Leadership – In this short video, a panel of leaders of Boston organizations reflect on what it takes to be a system leader and offer their perspectives on the importance of this thinking when working on critical social issues.
Hungry for more?
How System Leadership Applies to Collective Impact – In this video, Stacy Holland (The Lenfest Foundation) joins John Kania and Paul Schmitz in a thought-provoking (and often hilarious) discussion on the ins and outs of leading systems and what is needed from leaders to encourage system change.
From Self to Systems Readings - Week 4 - Racial Equity
As we prepare for the April workshop From Self to Systems: Leadership for Collective Impact, we’ll be sharing materials and readings that will focus on the various aspects related to leading within collective impact.
Now in our fourth and last week of pre-reads, we’re sharing a few resources, curated by workshop faculty, that can help boost your capacity as well as provide a way to discuss these topics with workshop attendees and CI Forum members.
Racial Equity Pre-Reads
Viewing collective impact work with an equity lens, especially racial equity, is a crucial and necessary step towards achieving population-level change through collective impact. Building in a “bias” towards equity can help deepen engagement, strengthen relationships, ease communications, and increase the effectiveness of your data-gathering and evaluations. Most important, having a deeper understanding of the inequity surrounding the social issue you are trying to change can help you better understand and work with the communities most affected. Below are a couple resources that can help explore how to bring an equity lens into your work.
Paying Attention to White Culture and Privilege: A Missing Link to Advancing Racial Equity - In this Foundation Review article, Gita Gulati-Parteein discusses that examining privilege and culture are necessary steps to take to work towards equity. .
Hungry for more?
White Supremacy Culture – This is a helpful list that discusses the different ways that white privilege can appear in organizations as well as shares some recommendations on how to increase inclusion.