Three Collaborative Leadership Podcasts for Your Morning Commute
As of November 1, 2020, National Veterans Intermediary (NVI) is called the Local Partner Network. Older content may reference our original name.
You’re busy. Like, really busy. Squeezing professional development reading into your day is more or less impossible. So why not take advantage of your commute with a thoughtful podcast? We found three great podcasts about collaborative leadership that we think you’ll find educational and enjoyable. Trade out your power playlist one morning this week and let one of these interviews challenge and inspire you.
Podcast: FSM Network Podcast Series
Episode: Collective Impact featuring Bridget Jancarz
When to listen: Listen to this interview when you want practical wisdom from an expert who has been observing the pitfalls and successes of collaborative efforts where the rubber hits the road in the education space. Bridget Jancarz, Director of Network Advancement of StriveTogether, highlights the three main purposes of her collective impact work: influencing systems change, reducing discrepancies, and improving outcomes.
Deep thought: “[In] a lot of communities, folks are used to hearing proposals or invitations to collaborate, come together, which a lot of times feels like more meetings for folks and not a lot of action. So how you can align partners around a common goal or vision is incredibly critical. But we also see a challenge around shared accountability and differentiated responsibility. It’s around all partners being accountable for the same results…but there’s a differentiated responsibility to do that.”
Podcast: Leadership Space
Episode: Podcast with Kerry Graham: Collective impact
When to listen: Cue this when it’s time for some introspection about your role in your collaborative, your personal leadership style, and the unique leadership challenges presented by collaborative work. Kerry Graham, a 20-year social changemaker and non-profit sector leader from Australia, shares her personal leadership journey in the context of her collective impact work for teen mental health and justice.
Deep thought: “I had to learn what is needed in adaptive leadership and I didn’t have the language for that when I was learning it. Really, what it meant was: I had to be able to hold the discomfort I feel around not knowing the answers and hold that discomfort of ambiguity on behalf of others and to not want to always jump to solutions.”
Podcast: Collective Impact Forum Podcast
Episode: System Leadership and Collective Impact
When to listen: Tune in to this podcast when you need inspiration and actionable guidance to mobilize your collaborative’s stakeholders. John Kania, Managing Director of FSG, discusses the three core capabilities of system leadership: a clear understanding of the larger system, creating opportunities for reflective dialogue, and motivating them to aspire to “co-create the future” rather than just solve problems.
Deep thought: “Anybody involved in a collective impact effort knows that attempting to lead these efforts through hierarchical means does not work. In collective impact efforts, the charm and the challenge is that no one individual or organization is in charge. In that environment, collective leadership is essential. You can’t force anyone in a collective impact effort to do your bidding. The best you can hope for is to facilitate the conditions where others collectively come together to lead their organizations and constituencies in a process of working towards common goals in a mutually reinforcing way.”
