Leading Together for Greater Impact

Building Successful Collaborations in Philanthropy

This morning, Council President and CEO Vikki Spruill helped launch a new platform on the Huffington Post that highlights important developments and leading thinkers on social innovation. The blog features thoughts from leaders such as Clara Miller of the F.B. Heron Foundation and Maria Rodale of the Rodale Institute. 

Vikki's piece, "Leading Together for Greater Impact," expands on thoughts originally given as remarks at the Council's 2015 Annual Meeting in San Francisco. 

The concept of Leading Together is meant to refresh our thinking on the importance of collaboration.

We all have our own ways of collaborating with others, but Vikki emphasizes four major principles for success:

1. Focus on Common Purpose -- Think about issues, not institutions. We must look past ourselves to the purpose of our work and always keep in mind the people that we are trying to support.
2. Share -- Share ideas, share the journey and share accountability. And when it's due, share credit.
3. Adopt an Ecosystem Mindset -- Shift your mindset to think of the wider context within which you work and acknowledge where your individual effort fits into a larger whole.
4. Leverage Partnerships -- Play to your strengths. Collaboration is more than a division of labor. It is a partnership where the whole truly can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Read the Piece on The Huffington Post