Becoming a Successful Community Weaver

PT Meeting ● Thursday, July 26

As a Network Weaver

• Help people SEE OPPORTUNITIES• Support initiation of COLLABORATIVE

projects, i.e. the Elul Project • Help DEEPEN THE QUALITY of relationships• Who is our audience?• What do they really want and need in

their lives?• How can we connect them to

other audiences?

Steps to Network Weaving

• Shift in leadership mindset• Know your network• Socialize• Listen and Engage• Connect

Traditional Mindset: Hub & Spokes

Synagogue

BAW BAM

B’neiMitzvahStudents

Adult Students

Young Adults

Seniors

Program TeamAdmin. StaffCommittees

Board Émigré

Teens

Families w/ Young Children

InterfaithCouples

New Members

Network Leadership Organizational Leadership

Few Leaders

Leader Broadcasts

Leader Controls

Top Down

Planning

Provides Service

Network Leadership

Everyone is a Leader

Leader Engages

Leader Facilitates and Supports

Bottom Up

Innovation & Experimentation

Supports Self-organization

Adapted from June Holley’s Network Weaving Handbook, pg. 29

http://ccc.georgkolb.com/

Mapping Networks

Mapping canilluminate key opportunities for action and

investment

Know the Net – see the map of how things really work Knit the Net – adjust the network for improvements

SOCIALIZE

Here’s an idea: Post questions to promote social culture, even if you know the answer.

Temple BethAbraham in

Tarrytown, NY

Build and Engage the Network• Develop more

relation-based rather than institutionally-based communications

• We tend to send out broadcast messages– OK, but good to activate

more social interactions

As You Socialize

BE YOUR TRUE SELF!

Listening & Engaging:You have to BE

IN the conversation

Rabbi Danny Burkeman on Twitter (@Rabbi_Danny) shares his professional activities, reflections, thought leadership, hobbies and more in conversation with his local community and beyond.

People Want to Hear From and Engage With Clergy

Beth Am FB Postings from

May 2-June 11, 2012

These are postings which went unanswered – lost opportunities for potential conversations.

Make Connections

Be Responsive!

Celebrate/Share Successes

Celebrate Successes & Grow

Beth Am Members who probably “Liked” our page after hearing about postings that they relate to, directly or indirectly.

Beth Kanter• Make it personal. Ask audience for stories,

input, thoughts! Emphasize theirimportance to the community and allow them to run with projects and to be creative.Everyone wants to contribute and to make something better/leave a lasting mark.

• Humanize your leaders. Make them available. If the members feel like the community is very hierarchical they may never feel like they belong on the “inside”. Use your position to energize your community.

• Play matchmaker. The leaders in the community should focus onputting people together with ideas, interests, etc. Help them bridge the social interaction gap.

Humanize Your Leaders

Some Ideas for Posts• It’s Friday! What have we learned this week?• What does the shofar

call you to do?• Comment/ask questions

about Parshah• Instagram/video postings• Sermon link to article on Facebook• Get creative

Facebook• It’s NOT interruption technology!– It’s a listserve without the interruption

• Fundraisers: For every event “Like” get a $• Where are you? Include location if taking place

“offsite”• Who are you with?• Schedule a post: set a posting to reveal itself on a

future date• Add “Like” button to footer/

signature of email

Demographics

• Check out demographics– Overviews / “Likes” / Reach / Talking About– Plan content and see what is effective

Social Sermon

Sweet Spot

What is a “Social Sermon”?

• Opportunities to engage in LEARNING and COMMUNITY BUILDING using online tools

• Weaving this content and these relationships back into the FACE TO FACE community in our local communities talk about what was discussed online

• Inviting ACTIVE participation, rather than passive attendance

Social Sermon• Assumption: There are audiences who are interested in Jewish learning, but

unable or unwilling to come to regular adult education classes.

• Objective: Torah study and community building don't have to happen in the building, at a set time, face to face.

• Strategy: Getting more people to participate in education and community more often doesn't mean market it more. Time to rethink our design.

Six-Word Story• Finding the words to capture our stories and reflect on our

legacies is a quintessential Jewish project. (Moses, apparently, did not get the memo about the six-word limit, since he spent all 34 chapters of the book of Devarim--the Book of Words--recalling his journey with the Jewish people.)

• At this season, in which we assess the year gone by and make promises for the year ahead, I'd like to invite each of us to share your own Six-Word Jewish Story.

• And then what? These stories, our stories, the words of our community, will shape a "Social Sermon" for Shabbat Shuvah. A "social sermon" is a deeply participatory experience, capturing and building on an online dialogue that begins here, now. New Year, fresh start, six words.

Shir Imagination: Rabbi Lisa Levenberg’s blog: http://shir-imagination.blogspot.com/

Creating a Social Sermon

Creating a Social Sermon

Allowing for emergence, surprises, experiments

Listening

Permeable boundaries

Sharing and giving

Transparency

Not putting people into boxes

Valuing diversity and inclusiveness

Value errors and mistakes

Risk Taking

Coming soon: 10-page Social media policy workbook from Darim Online

Novel Ideas

• Skype Forums• Google/virtual “handouts” • Twitter chat at an appointed

time each week• Streaming videos of

services/classes/lectures

Key Building Blocks for Success• Be social, not a bullhorn• Be helpful, and

people will help you• Find your voice, and

have personality• Be a good listener,

participate regularly• Thank people!

Action Steps

• Articles• URJ Webinar Archive• Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?