2016: The Power of Network Leadership to Drive Social Change

As society grows more complex, and the interconnections between people and organizations around the globe grow, social sector leaders are increasingly questioning the efficacy of traditional top-down structures. In its place, nonprofit leaders are turning to a new approach, one that views leadership as a collective process that can catalyze the power of networks to create social change. The era of the networked nonprofit has arrived.

Social sector leaders increasingly recognize that it’s folly to work alone in tackling complex social or environmental problems. Network leaders are skilled at catalyzing networks to scale up the impact of their work far beyond what their own organization could accomplish on its own.

On September 13 and 14, 2016, Stanford Social Innovation Review, academics, practitioners, and other social sector leaders at Stanford University explored how to harness the tremendous potential and power of networks:

• Understand what network leadership is, why it is fundamentally different from top-down leadership approaches, and why it works particularly well in the social sector
• Develop a network leader mindset and discover entirely new ways of leading
• Learn how to capitalize on the four operating principles to catalyze people and organizations: Trust not control, humility not brand, node not hub, mission not organization
• Understand the power that networks can offer to create resilience
• Learn how developing talent within a network can fuel innovation

2015: Building Resiliency: Yourself, Your Organization, Your Society

2014: Scaling for Social Impact

2013: Pioneering Change in Our Networked World

2012: New Skills for a Complex World

2011: Partnering for Impact

2010: Leading During Times of Change

2009: Shaping Effective Organizations During Tough Times

2008: Third Annual Nonprofit Management Institute

2007: Second Annual Nonprofit Management Institute

2006: First Annual Nonprofit Management Institute