Build a strong team
To make high-impact change, recruit people from different areas and levels of your organization.
The Change Network is a team experience.
You’ll assemble a core team of 2-10 people who will meet weekly, attend monthly Change Network video call workshops, and work together with your community to listen, learn, and make change. 1-2 of these team members will be the Team Champions. They will lead the team and act as the primary contacts with OF/BY/FOR ALL staff. Your team will focus on building relationships with one community that is critical to your future, and using those relationships as the basis for more inclusive, equitable, relevant work.
You can bring in new people at any time as new team members or as guest participants in a given workshop or activity at your discretion.
If you choose to renew after your first year in the program, at that time you can launch multiple teams to work with multiple communities (this often happens at large organizations).
The strongest Change Network teams are diagonal, with people from different departments or areas of work and different levels of authority.
If your organization has 5 or fewer staff, we recommend your team include:
All staff members
Board President
1 or 2 board members
1 or 2 key volunteers
If your organization has 5 to 30 staff, we recommend your team include:
Executive Director (or top staff leader)
1 or 2 board members
multiple staff members from different areas and levels
If your organization has 30 or more staff, we recommend your team include:
1 or 2 senior staff leaders
1 or 2 board members
multiple staff members from different areas and levels
The strongest Change Network Team Champions have enough time to focus on this work, and enough power to convene the team.
We’ve seen effective Team Champions at executive, senior, and mid-level positions in organizations. We have seen individual Team Champions and Co-Team Champions be successful in the program – but we encourage Co-Team Champions, as this role requires communication and delegation that can be difficult for one person to navigate on their own.So far, our research shows that it is not necessary for an Executive Director to serve as Team Champion (even in the smallest organizations). It is essential that the Executive Director is supportive and enthusiastic about the work, but they may not have the capacity to spend 3-6 hours per week leading the project. Many organizations use the Change Network as a leadership opportunity for a staff member who is energized about equity and ready to step up.
To be successful, Team Champions should be:
committed to driving change to make the organization more equitable, inclusive, and relevant.
confident leading and managing a team project, including running meetings.
comfortable using digital tools and helping colleagues use those tools.
reasonably well-networked within the organization, so you can spot other assets and people who could be helpful. If you are brand new to the organization, we encourage you to team up with a co-champion who has more connections.