1. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Social learning leadership in communities and networks State of the Art Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Professional BEtreat Grass Valley, California July 7-10, 2014

2. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Introduction

3. Origins in studies of apprenticeship Learning as trajectory into a community of practice legitimate peripheral participation

4. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Phase II: self-organized professional development in international settings English for Specific Purposes: genres in international settings Portuguese participation in international practices Communities of practice as learning contexts International networks of communities of practice

5. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Communities of practice across sectors Ontario leading municipalities provincial service organizations PEM PAL Transparency and accountability Initiative

6. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Communities of practice as a learning partnership In gangs… In gangs… they learn to survive on the streets In organizations… In organizations… they provide better service to clients A community of practice is... … a self-governed learning partnership among people, who share challenges, passion or interest interact regularly learn from and with each other improve their ability to do what they care about define in practice what competence means in their context

7. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Practitioners need a community to … … help each other solve problems … hear each other’s stories and avoid local blindness … reflect on their practice and improve it … build shared understanding … keep up with change … cooperate on innovation … find synergy across structures … find a voice and gain strategic influence When have you experienced this?

8. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner occasional transactional peripheral active coordinator core group lurkers leaders sponsors experts beginners support outsiders Levels of participation a common picture clients

9. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Community rhythm finding the heartbeat of a learning partnership

10. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner A community is a living entity … not unlike a couple It takes hard work and careful nurturing It depends on renewed passion It becomes an entity in its own right It takes initiative It is voluntary It involves responsibilities It is fun private and public common ground ongoing legacy recognized stewardship communal identity long-term viability Transforming Sustaining Maturing Coalescing Potential A learning partnership lifecycle and evolution

11. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Networks structures of social connections Professional networks … Social networks Personal networks … broad patterns of relationships all the people one has access to A network is... … a set of connections among people, who may or may not have much in common rely on these connections for their own purposes These connections enable social exchanges carry information flows provide access to learning resources

12. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Practitioners need a network to … … help each other solve problems … hear each other’s stories and avoid local blindness … reflect on their practice and improve it … build shared understanding … keep up with change … cooperate on innovation … find synergy across structures … find a voice and gain strategic influence When have you experienced this?

13. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Social learning … communities and networks

14. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Social learning horizontal learning partnership anchored in practice

15. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Phase III: Complex communities … … at the crossroads of multiple practices missed learning potential

16. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Etienne & Beverly Wenger-Trayner Landscape of practice

17. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Create slide for social learning spaces and leadership

18. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Social learning leadership living at the intersection

19. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Café conversation What is your journey into social learning? What challenges are you bringing? What would you like to achieve?

20. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Create slide What do SLLs do? The framework

21. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Learning-value framework Cycle 1 Immediate value: Cycle 2 Potential value: Cycle 3 Applied value: Cycle 4 Realized value: Ground narrative: community/network activities Aspirational narrative: framing success Document Relation- ships Collaboration Failure Useful case clinic Useful case clinic Exciting project Good meeting Promising advice Promising advice New approach New practice New practice Outcome Measure Insight Advice does not apply Challenging inquiry Perspective Reframing loops Conditions Improving loops (short or long) ProspectiveRetrospective Learning capability

22. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Information Informal Formal WithFrom Models of practice Project/ after-action reviews Case clinics Document sharing Collections Learning projects Hot topic discussions Stories Formal practice transfer Visits Invited speaker Mutual benchmark External benchmark Broadcast inquiry Reading group Problem solving News Joint response Boundary collaboration Training and workshops Pointers to resources Systematic scan Guests Joint events Documenting practice Field trips Exploring ideas Each other 1 2 7 4 3 6 5 Tips Practice fairs Warranting Help desk Outside sources 1.Exchanges 2.Productive inquiries 3.Building shared understanding 4.Shared memory 5.Creating standards 6.Formal access to knowledge 7.Visits a great variety Debates Q&A Role play Case studies Peer assist Polls Learning activities Follow practitioner Demos Challenge

23. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Facilitating group activities formats for engaging community members Mutual discovery q Fair/booths q Quick booth scan q Gallery walk q Social network mapping q Matrix of practice Networking q Ice breakers/intro q Speed dating q Geek dating q Knowledge market q Breaks Presentations and Q&A q Traditional q TED talks q Ignite presentation q Multimedia tools q Brown bag lunches Visioning q Appreciative Inquiry q Envisaging the future q Time line q Design templates Enactments q Forum theatre q Role play q Character archetypes Mutual learning q Apprenticeship q Peer mentoring q Buddying Working together q Open Space q Leadership groups q Discussion groups q Working groups Large conversations q World café q Discussion guides q Fishbowl q Panel/Round table q Debates q Talk show q Hot buttons q Conversation guides whole-groupsmall-groups one-to-many many-to-many one-to-one few-to-few

24. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Leadership roles and cultivation

25. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner A social discipline of learning key processes Community Domain Learning partnership Practice Bring practice in Reflect and self-design Push practice forward Create self- representation

26. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Success factors Learning agenda Social learning process Memory and messages TechnologyValue creation Internal leadership Engaged sponsorship Social learning team Identification with domain Personal passion Sense of ownership High expectations Practice-driven trajectory High value for time Horizontal interactions Generative activity design Attention to different voices Learning trumps power Candid inquiry In the service of learning Multiple tools and devices Integration, integration, integration Different entry points Persistence Driving community development Articulate value proposition Strategic relevance Continuity over time Continuity across boundaries Shared memory Awareness of stakeholders Intentional communication DynamicDistributed

27. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner A social discipline of learning key self-design processes Community Domain Learning partnership Practice Reflect on process Interface with organization Manage community memory Get the message out Bring voices in Drive the learning agenda

28. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner A social discipline of learning internal leadership Community Domain Learning partnership Practice Reflect on process Interface with organization Manage community memory Get the message out Bring voices in Drive the learning agenda Critical friends Institutional brokers Community keepers Agenda activists Social reporters External messengers

29. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Cultivating activities fostering high value for time Distribute leadership q Cultivate core group q Form leadership groups q Coach leaders Backchannel work q Keep in touch q Invite members to act q Send notes and newsletters Enabling participation q Convene meetings q Initiate activities q Facilitate interactions Self-care q Pursue own learning q Meet other leaders q Visit other communities Institutional brokering q Talking with sponsors q Making business case q Budgeting Learning agenda q Challenges of practice q Emerging issues q Hot topics Community cultivation Community cultivation Assessment q Health checks q Monitor indicators q Value-creation stories Community building q Manage boundaries q Welcome newcomers q Build identity and trust Enabling reification q Blogging, tweeting etc. q Creating summaries q Capturing insights Ensure quality q Model inquiry culture q Coach participation q Garden website

30. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Launch

31. q Involve and prepare internal leaders q Choose a launch approach q Plan launch activities q Prepare a follow-up q Do it 4. Launch design q Value to organization q Value to people q How could a community help? q What would success look like? q Why would people participate? 2. Value proposition q Potential members q What are your challenges? q Who do you talk to? q Is there a community? 1. Conversations How to get going … the first four steps q What do you think of the idea? q Are you willing to help make it happen? q What would that mean to you? q Who else could help? 3. Internal leaders

32. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner q Explore existing networks q Define overall approach q Locate potential members and leaders Discovery and preparation Action plan and follow-up Launch workshop design q Anticipate follow-up q Logistics and invitations q Action plan and next steps q Context setting and education q Exciting learning activities q Community self-design Designing a launch process key steps

33. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner What happened in Cape Town? Day 2: workingDay 3: planning Learning plansCommunity design In mixed and separate groups, we discussed what were the main challenges we needed to address together and we voted on the most pressing ones We formed several practice groups to start working on the issues we had prioritized and to explore how we can make progress on them together We formed new groups to bring the different work plans together into an overall community design, including activities for the coming year

34. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Online practices and tools

35. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

36. ● Use it for your own good ● Open it up for your team ● Support the early adopters ● Create a culture of experimentation ● Collect analytics ● Recognize technology stewards ● One size fits all ● New tools without practices ● IT department leads decisions ● Build it and … ● Underestimate the time ● Expect the tool to do it Warning signs Strategic advice

37. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Twitter/Yammer discussion board blog PDF google doc web conferencing wiki YouTube blending synch and asynch ramping up/down remixing modeling spotlighting integrating, tools coaching and hand-holding shared memory tagging email shared note-taking time zones language Online versions of selected activities

38. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner 3. Value creation

39. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner What meaningful activities did you participate in? What was your experience? What specific skills or insights did you gain? What access to useful information or material? How did this influence your practice? What difference did it make to your performance? What did it enable that would not have happened otherwise? How did this contribute to your success? - Personal, professional? - Organizational? Key metrics? How has this been fed back into the community’s learning: - improvement - reframing Community/date: Member/role: Value-creation stories concrete examples

40. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Organizational environment

41. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Newstructures Existing structures Advisory council Coordinator council Support team Strategic team R&D IT HR Portfolio sponsors Community coordinators Domain sponsors Individual sponsors Local sponsors Community members Support team leader Sponsorship and support structuring strategic conversations

42. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Value proposition

43. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner q Why should I care? q How will your community contribute to the strategy/mission of my organization? Making a business case questions from a sponsor Why How What q How will you operate? q What resources will you need? q What do you expect from me? What role do you want me to play? q What capabilities will your community develop? q What new connections will it enable? What boundaries/silos will it cross? q What will success look like and how will you know?

44. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Support: social learning team

45. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner q Be the voice of communities across agencies q Legitimize their work in terms of strategic priorities q Help develop a sponsorship structure and negotiate accountability around communities Social learning team how to lead and support an initiative Strategy Support Cultivation q Steward the use of technology for communities q Promote cross-structure knowledge exchange q Coordinate overall research, assessment, measurement, and reporting q Offer training about communities of practice q Provide coaching to community leaders q Help with community launch and renewal

46. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

47. ● Passion for domain ● Relevance to practice ● Ownership of agenda ● Internal leadership ● Energized core group ● Learning trumps power ● Community rhythm ● Trust ● High value for time ● High expectations ● Engaged sponsorship ● Skilled support ● Distributed leadership ● Lack of time ● Leader neglect ● Groupthink ● Build it and … ● Stuck in complaining ● De-energizing tasks ● Red tape ● HQ - field ● Command/control ● Cookie-cutter approach ● Fad or mandate ● Ideology ● Lack of strategic thinking Key success/failure factors

48. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Thank you! Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Email: be@wenger-trayner.com Website: http://wenger-trayner.com Workshops: http://wenger-trayner.com/betreat/

49. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Convening in complex systems

50. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner CoP Vertical and horizontal accountability the need for transversality Vertical accountability…  Hierarchy  Institutionalized accountability  Evidence-based prescription  Codification and regulation  Standards of qualification Horizontal accountability…  Communities and networks  Peer-to-peer learning  Personal meaning  Engagement and creativity  Individual identity/reputation Transversal accounts through…  People  Processes and practices  Objects

51. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Systems conveners: convening across complex landscapes

52. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Pioneering innovation balancing long and short term Getting buy-in brokering across boundaries Managing the intersection vertical and horizontal Sustaining coherence moving parameters personal mission passionate and strategic upbeat and persistent legitimacy across boundaries leverage personal networks Aspirational narrative: capturing imagination Meaningful engagement: cross-boundary encounters Strategic alignment: enabling significant results

53. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Leadership roles and cultivation

54. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner occasional transactional peripheral active coordinator core group lurkers leaders sponsors experts beginners support outsiders Levels of participation a common picture clients Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner

55. A social discipline of learning key self-design processes Community Domain Learning partnership Practice Reflect on process Interface with organization Manage community memory Get the message out Bring voices in Drive the learning agenda

56. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner A social discipline of learning internal leadership Community Domain Learning partnership Practice Reflect on process Interface with organization Manage community memory Get the message out Bring voices in Drive the learning agenda Critical friends Institutional brokers Community keepers Agenda activists Social reporters External messengers

57. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Cultivating activities fostering high value for time Distribute leadership q Cultivate core group q Form leadership groups q Coach leaders Backchannel work q Keep in touch q Invite members to act q Send notes and newsletters Enabling participation q Convene meetings q Initiate activities q Facilitate interactions Self-care q Pursue own learning q Meet other leaders q Visit other communities Institutional brokering q Talking with sponsors q Making business case q Budgeting Learning agenda q Challenges of practice q Emerging issues q Hot topics Community cultivation Community cultivation Assessment q Health checks q Monitor indicators q Value-creation stories Community building q Manage boundaries q Welcome newcomers q Build identity and trust Enabling reification q Blogging, tweeting etc. q Creating summaries q Capturing insights Ensure quality q Model inquiry culture q Coach participation q Garden website

58. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Systems conveners: convening across complex landscapes

59. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Launch

60. q Involve and prepare internal leaders q Choose a launch approach q Plan launch activities q Prepare a follow-up q Do it 4. Launch design q Value to organization q Value to people q How could a community help? q What would success look like? q Why would people participate? 2. Value proposition q Potential members q What are your challenges? q Who do you talk to? q Is there a community? 1. Conversations How to get going … the first four steps q What do you think of the idea? q Are you willing to help make it happen? q What would that mean to you? q Who else could help? 3. Internal leaders

61. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner What happened in Cape Town? Day 2: workingDay 3: planning Learning plansCommunity design In mixed and separate groups, we discussed what were the main challenges we needed to address together and we voted on the most pressing ones We formed several practice groups to start working on the issues we had prioritized and to explore how we can make progress on them together We formed new groups to bring the different work plans together into an overall community design, including activities for the coming year

62. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Learning activities and formats

63. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner “It was fantastic to see everyone digging their teeth into these issues we all struggle with individually...”

64. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Capturing the value creation of social learning is strategic, but subtle. To be both rigorous and helpful our framework is held to five disciplines:  Relevance - recognizing different kinds of value to members and multiple stakeholders  Attribution - creating plausible causal links between outcomes and activities  Mixed methods - integrating quantitative and qualitative sources of data  Ease of use – commonsense, hence usable by community members as well as professional evaluators  Learning orientation – not be purely evaluative, but a learning tool for members and stakeholders Toward a discipline of value creation

65. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Conditions Aspirations Conditions Aspirations Conditions Aspirations Conditions Reframing loops Improving loops Immediate valuePotential valueApplied valueRealized value Strategic value Enabling value AspirationsConditions AspirationsConditions Useful case clinic Exciting project Good meeting Challenging inquiry Promising advice Document Relationship Insight Advice does not apply New practice Collaboration Different approach Customer satisfaction Improved performance or outcome Personal success Failure Social learning team Secretariat Vision Sponsorship Transformative value Learning activities Value-creation cycles Technology Strategic conversations Good leadership Crossing boundaries Boundary Aspirations Conditions Criteria Institution Identity Practice Landscape orientation Alignment

66. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Value-creation stories: template What got you involved? What was the CoP-related activity? What was your experience of engaging with the CoP this way? What did you get out of it?How did you apply it? Did it transform your view? Did you feed this back into the CoP? Were there specific enablers that you think made this story possible?Was there a significant connection to strategy? Start here What was the result?

67. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Conditions Aspirations Conditions Aspirations Conditions Aspirations Conditions Reframing loops Improvement loops Immediate valuePotential valueApplied valueRealized value Strategic value Enabling value AspirationsConditions AspirationsConditions Useful case clinic Exciting project Good meeting Challenging inquiry Promising advice Document Relationship Insight Advice does not apply New practice Collaboration Different approach Customer satisfaction Improved performance or outcome Personal success Failure Social learning team HR recognition Vision Sponsorship Transformative value Learning activities Value-creation cycles Technology Strategic conversations Good leadership Crossing boundaries Boundary Aspirations Conditions Criteria Institution Identity Practice Landscape orientation Alignment Retrospective narratives Applications of the framework Aspirational narratives Feedback narratives Aspirational narratives Feedback narratives Retrospective narratives

68. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Conditions Aspirations Conditions Aspirations Conditions Aspirations Conditions Reframing loops Improving loops Immediate valuePotential valueApplied valueRealized value Strategic value Enabling value AspirationsConditions AspirationsConditions Useful case clinic Exciting project Good meeting Challenging inquiry Promising advice Document Relationship Insight Advice does not apply New practice Collaboration Different approach Customer satisfaction Improved performance or outcome Personal success Failure Social learning team Secretariat Vision Sponsorship Transformative value Learning activities Value-creation cycles Technology Strategic conversations Good leadership Crossing boundaries Boundary Aspirations Conditions Criteria Institution Identity Practice Landscape orientation Alignment Learning how to learn

69. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Support: social learning team

70. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner q Be the voice of communities across agencies q Legitimize their work in terms of strategic priorities q Help develop a sponsorship structure and negotiate accountability around communities Social learning team how to lead and support an initiative Strategy Support Cultivation q Steward the use of technology for communities q Promote cross-structure knowledge exchange q Coordinate overall research, assessment, measurement, and reporting q Offer training about communities of practice q Provide coaching to community leaders q Help with community launch and renewal

71. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner ● Passion for domain ● Relevance to practice ● Ownership of agenda ● Internal leadership ● Energized core group ● Learning trumps power ● Community rhythm ● Trust ● High value for time ● High expectations ● Engaged sponsorship ● Skilled support ● Distributed leadership ● Lack of time ● Leader neglect ● Groupthink ● Build it and … ● Stuck in complaining ● De-energizing tasks ● Red tape ● HQ - field ● Command/control ● Cookie-cutter approach ● Fad or mandate ● Ideology ● Lack of strategic thinking Key success/failure factors

72. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Value proposition

73. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner q Why should I care? q How will your community contribute to the strategy/mission of my organization? Making a business case questions from a sponsor Why How What q How will you operate? q What resources will you need? q What do you expect from me? What role do you want me to play? q What capabilities will your community develop? q What new connections will it enable? What boundaries/silos will it cross? q What will success look like and how will you know?

74. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Thank you! Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Email: be@wenger-trayner.com Website: http://wenger-trayner.com Workshops: http://wenger-trayner.com/BEtreat/

75. Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner Community Domain Practice Participation and Reification Imagination, engagement and alignment Identity Identification Sponsorship Social learning leadership Learning capability Landscapes of practice Systems convener Boundaries Brokering Competence Knowledgeability Vertical, horizontal and transversal accountability Technology stewarding Negotiation of meaning