Leading a collective impact initiative is different and more complex than leading a traditional organization.
Unlike a more hierarchical organization, a successful collective impact initiative is a more horizontal network that requires a distributed leadership model among various roles and groups—the steering committee members, workgroup co-chairs, implementation partners, and the backbone staff who facilitate, coordinate, and project manage the initiative.
Engaging and motivating diverse actors with sometimes competing interests and agendas to change in order to align their work and move measurable results together takes a different kind of leadership.
This new report, “Backbone Leadership is Different: The Skills and Mindset Shifts Needed for Collective Impact,” authored by Dominique Samari, JD and Paul Schmitz, draws from their observations partnering with and supporting dozens of collaboratives over the past 10 years. They share what they have seen practiced by successful backbone teams, including three critical mindset shifts and six skill sets that, when distributed across a backbone team, supports their work in guiding and facilitating their collaborative, ultimately helping the group reach their shared goals.
Download the full report at the link on the top right of this page. (You may be prompted to sign-in to download.)
Related Event
The Skills and Mindset Shifts Backbones Need for Collective Impact
Tuesday, September 24 @ 2pm – 3pm ET (US and Canada)
Join a free virtual office hour on September 24 and share your questions with report authors Dominique Samari and Paul Schmitz. Register now.
