1. SYNAGOGUES
AS NETWORKS
(and your role as Rabbi to get from here to there)
Lisa Colton
Chief Learning Officer, See3 Communications
Founder and President, Darim Online
434.977.1170 x 301 lisa@see3.com
@darimonline @lisacolton

2. WHAT IS A SYNAGOGUE?
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY?

3. Martin Buber
“Collectivity is not a binding, but a bundling together;
individuals packed together, armed and equipped in
common, with only as much life from man to man as
will inflame the marching step … community… is the
being no longer side by side but with one another of a
multitude of persons… [While] collectivity is based on
an organized atrophy of personal existence,
community [is based] on its increase and confirmation
in life lived toward one another.
Between Man and Man, 2002

4. Max Weber
Traditional, where our being together seems
normative, as a given;
Charismatic, temporary experiences where
emotional bounds are at the center;
Instrumental Rational, where specific rules
and procedures guide how we interact; and
Value Rational, where shared values and
vision guide how we relate to one another.

5. Working Understanding
In community, people are bound together
primarily by a shared sense of mutual
responsibility toward one another (as
an intrinsic value), not because they have
to, not only during transitory liminal
moments in their life, and not based
primarily on a transactional relationship.

8. “Organizations no longer have
a monopoly on organizing.”
-Clay Shirky

10. Flying: Congregation
Beth Elohim, Brooklyn

11. Traditional Mindset: Hub & Spokes

12. Network Mindset
“connect and collaborate” rather than “command and control”

14. SO, HOW DO WE DO IT?
1. Open Yourself Up
2. Know & Knit the Network
3. Network Weavers and CEOs
4. Think Differently About
Measurement and Risk

15. Fortress: Insiders in, Outsiders out

16. Sponge: Constant flow in and out

17. • What is public or transparent information?
• Who is inside or outside of our community?
• What is „membership‟?
• Where do we need to hire expertise?
• How are we evaluating progress towards our
mission and goals?
Leadership: Questioning Assumptions

18. Improving the Health of Your Network

19. Know & Knit the Network
know the net -- see
the map of how
things really work
knit the net -- adjust
the network for
improvements
Mapping can
illuminate key
opportunities for
action and
investment
http://ccc.georgkolb.com/

20. LinkedIn Labs Network Visualizations

21. Listen.
Temple Israel, Memphis Facebook Page

22. Socialize.
Temple Israel, Memphis Facebook Page

23. NETWORK WEAVERS
June Holley‟s Definition: A Network
Weaver is someone who is aware of the
networks around them and explicitly
works to make them healthier (more
inclusive, bridging divides).
Network Weavers do this by connecting
people strategically where there‟s
potential for mutual benefit, helping
people identify their passions, and
serving as a catalyst for self-organizing
groups.

24. Network Weaver Roles
Connector Catalyst Network Guardian
Connects people. Helps put in place systems for
Gets network building started. networks: communications,
Build social culture. training, support, etc.
Self-Organized Network Facilitator
Project Coordinator
Helps convene people to set
Helps coordinate up a more explicit and
self-organized projects. focused network.
Every community needs all of these roles.
Which are you? What does your community need?

25. Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, Kavana Cooperative
“Many of Kavana‟s most successful programs have community
building as a core goal, and use some degree of social
engineering as a means to this end. Our home-hospitality
Shabbat program, for example, is deceptively simple in that is
requires no space, rental, (partners host small groups in their
own home for Shabbat dinner on designated dates), no
programming supplies or food (means are potluck), and no
formal curriculum (each host family is encourage to share how
it celebrates Shabbat). But behind the scenes, this is one of
the more complex (and administratively labor-intensive)
programs that Kavana runs... As the rabbi of the community,
nothing is more gratifying to me than knowing that the matches
we make sometimes lead to genuine friendships and a true
sense of social connection.”

26. YOU ARE THE CEO:
CHIEF
ENGAGEMENT
OFFICER

27. Questioning Assumptions
“Our congregation‟s leadership
engages in ongoing discussions
regarding how to best spend our
resources to fulfill our mission. I now
understand that we have been
acting in a bubble, often divorced
from the needs, desires, and
perspective of our membership.
—Rabbi Michael White,
Temple Sinai of Roslyn Heights

28. Meaningful Social Connections
“We had tried social programming in the past
Drivers for Overall but never got the turnout we hoped for, which
Satisfaction and Personal led us to conclude (wrongly) that people did
Growth not want to make social connections through
(in order of relative strength) the Religious School. Measuring Success
• Vision and values of helped us develop a targeted follow-up
synagogue resonate. survey to probe deeper about social
• Rabbi‟s vision of Jewish life connections. That led to an “aha moment”
resonates. when we learned that people do want to
• Meaningful social make social connections, they just do not
connections developed. want us to add new events to their
calendars. When we realized that, we took
steps to build socializing and community-
building into existing events.”
—Barri Waltcher, VP and Chair of Religious
School Committee, Temple Shaaray Tefila

29. WE NEED
TO THINK
DIFFERENTLY
ABOUT RISK

30. TILL THE SOIL
BEFORE YOU PLANT
• Institutional Values, Identity and
Boundaries
• Policies and Procedures
• Financial Considerations
• Culture Change
• What To Measure!

32. THIS IS AN ATTENTION ECONOMY

33. WHAT IS A SYNAGOGUE?
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY?

34. John Fitch‟s Steam Engine

35. John Fitch‟s Steam Engine

36. Source: Flickr user JYRO

37. Source: Flickr user Rick Neves

38. Source: Flickr user divemasterking2000