The classification scheme is intended to be helpful to those who fund, run, or participate in networks so that they can better understand how to strengthen and use their networks effectively. Some networks may fit neatly into one of these categories, and others may be hybrids. The goal of the framework is not to create an ideal towards which networks should strive, but rather to provide a tool for network analysis. The body of this paper explains how various SNA-based evaluative methods can be used to make visible various aspects of leadership networks, and how that information is useful to network members, weavers, and sponsors.
Peer Leadership Network: A peer leadership network is a system of social ties among leaders who are connected through shared interests and commitments, shared work, or shared experiences. Leaders in the network share information, provide advice and support, learn from one another, and occasionally collaborate together. Peer leadership networks provide leaders with access to resources that they can trust. Leadership programs often seek to catalyze peer leadership networks to expand the trusted ties that leaders have with one another.
Organizational Leadership Network: An organizational leadership network is a set of social ties that are structured to increase performance. Employees, for instance, develop informal leadership networks within their organizations (relationships not visible on the organizational chart) so that they can get the advice, ideas, or resources they need to solve problems more quickly and increase their individual and organizational performance. At the inter-organizational level, leadership networks enable different organizations with shared interests to produce a product or deliver a service more efficiently.
Field-Policy Leadership Network: A field-policy leadership network connects leaders who share common interests and who have a commitment to influencing a field of practice or policy. These networks seek to shape the environment (e.g., the framing of an issue, underlying assumptions, and standards for what is expected). Effective field-policy leadership networks make it easier for leaders to find common ground around the issues they care about, mobilize support, and influence policy and the allocation of resources.
Collective Leadership Network: A collective leadership network is a self-organized system of social ties among people attracted to a common cause or focused on a shared goal. Network members exercise leadership locally. As the number of local groupings grows and there is increasing interaction, these groups begin to align and connect to form larger networks. These networks are often rooted in a sense of community and purpose; they may be driven by a desire to achieve a specific goal, or simply by the desire of each member to belong to something larger than oneself.
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