Latest / Fire That Gathers / What becomes possible when we listen from the balcony & ground? With Christine Tamara

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What becomes possible when we listen from the balcony & ground? With Christine Tamara · Fire That Gathers

• speaker-0: Welcome to Fire That Gathers, fuel for purpose-led leaders forwarding what's next. Leading in a way that meets this moment is a stretch, not just for what must be done, but for how you're called to lead. Fire That Gathers is a movement of leaders choosing to use this moment of breakdown and possibility as a catalyst for the systems you're creating and for who you're becoming. At this hearth, there is fuel for your movement. From the field, real conversations with purpose-led leaders forging what's next. Not the polished case study, the live questions they're walking, where the map runs out. At the edge, breakthrough moments for my coaching rooms and me walking my own developmental edge in real time. I'm gathering too. Come with me. Every episode anchored with an alchemical question, the kind that transforms what you see. Because shifting our paradigm is among the highest leverage points for systems transformation. How we see shapes what's possible. Welcome to Fire the Gathers. Welcome to Fire that Gathers. I'm so happy to have you here, and I'm so excited for you to listen and be a part of this conversation with Christine and I. Christine Tamara serves as the Chief of Networks at Hispanic Access Foundation, where she and her team lead the organization's Leadership Networks Leadership Institute, supporting leaders by removing barriers, connecting them to trusted partners, and delivering relevant bilingual training. On financial literacy, well-being, advocacy, and network development. Christine holds a bachelor's degree in modern languages from Vanguard University in Southern California, her certificate in faith, work, and economics. She's a recent member of our network leadership series cohort with We Being Futures. And I've seen her be a thoughtful, wise, and committed guide. For those in her community, as she stewards this multi-pronged network that she's bringing together. So I'm thrilled to have her here today. And in this conversation, we are sitting inside of, as always, an alchemical question. The one for here is: what becomes possible when we listen from the balcony and the ground at the same time? Before we dig into that. I'd love for you to say hello and also to share what do you mean by balcony? That's a word that came from you. So I'd love, you know, as we're just before we even dig into that, what do you mean by balcony? What do you mean by ground? speaker-1: Thank you, Janine. I am so excited to be here and for this conversation. So balcony has been a word that I have been using for the past couple of years. and it has been used for just pausing. You know, when I think of a balcony, I think of sometimes maybe at a home or you're at a hotel on vacation and you're just taking time to pause. You know, you look at the sky, you may drink coffee on the balcony or, you know, just spend some time out there. And it's just like this pause, where you have this space to just kind of reflect, get out of the weeds, you know, in a sense, where you're just up high and you're trying to see what's going on around you. what are some things that sometimes when we're on the ground, we can miss. Right. and so when we get on the balcony, we have this bigger view, and it's this opportunity to just kind of like step back, and so forth. And so in in the work that we do, use that a lot to you know to to talk to my team. We're gonna get on the balcony. Let's take some time to pause, let's observe what we are noticing, what are we hearing from our network, you know, what listening. has been taking place. And so it's it's just this opportunity just to kind of stop from working in the weeds from building, cultivating, and just trying to take time to reflect, time to to see from above what we may be missing when we're doing the work right on the ground. And so for me it just means a time for reflection, time for pause. a time to kind of regroup, with myself or with my team. speaker-0: What I hear in that is a little bit of that distant it also gives the distance to see maybe how the pieces of being in the weeds fit together, right? What are the patterns there? So it allows you to not just be deep in, but I think one of those core leadership skills is that ability to zoom in and zoom out. And so that capacity to zoom out and see the bigger picture. So I hear there's a bit of taking in more information, but also slowing down. speaker-1: Yes. Yeah. Sometimes I heard a phrase years ago that said that somebody said a leader, sometimes we need to slow down first to speed up. And we're all very passionate at Hispanic access with the work that we do and you know, we tend to be very quick and very fast. And so but sometimes and we've been doing this a lot more this this year where we've been kinda pausing a little bit and needing to slow down so then we could eventually speed up. speaker-0: Absolutely. Well, thank you for naming just what a balcony means to you. What is what does it look like for you and your seat and your organization to be on the ground? speaker-1: Yeah, on the ground is probably one of my favorite places to be in our organization. And for me, when I, you know, say on the ground, it means, you know, working in community, working with community, listening firsthand to community, to our partners, being able to witness what's going on in community, you know, what's what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing directly from the community. we have a national network and we do a lot of engagement online and and and we do, you know, fly in and and so we do fly ins as well. But when we're able to meet community where they're at, and to be able to listen and take time to see what's emerging in a region. I think for me being on the ground it's you know it's very personable because it's you know we we're listening directly from community and I just think in general, you know, being in person, there's so much value and richness that we can't always get virtually, right? And so we do our best and and we are great at that as an organization. We have a wonderful network that we have built where it has been mostly, you know, a lot of virtual engagement, but now we're moving into really wanting to engage regionally and be close to the community, listen to the community and let the community lead as well. what their your priorities are, what their needs are, what their shared purpose is, and we come alongside, we accompany, we support them. so being on the ground to me is something that I love and I know my team loves as well. We sometimes, you know, just always come back feeling more inspired to do balcony work after we've been on the ground to then report back. speaker-0: Absolutely. I appreciate that. And one of the questions I ask in every episode is kind of what's the fire you're tending. So tell us a little bit more about what Hispanic Access Foundation does. And when you say community, you're in many locations. So just share a little bit about both the geography and the intention, because you have more than more than one way that you're what more than one sort of focus or area of purpose that you're gathering around. speaker-1: Yes. I you know, we have a an amazing organization and we're all over the US and in Puerto Rico. and from day one, you know, our our CEO and president Maite Arce has just done an amazing job in building this organization from the ground up and wanting to prioritize supporting Latino leaders across the US and Puerto Rico. And so at Hispanic Access, you know, we realize that there's leadership in the Latino community. and so we're just coming alongside and being able to build their Latino leadership capacity in order to help communities thrive. And and of course the nation thrive, right? When all communities are thriving and have a seat at the table. And have a voice, then it we believe it will lead to a stronger nation. And so at Hispanic Access, we are all about leadership development. We believe that we can create change and we can move Latino leadership into action. And we do have pillars that are a part of our organization where we have seen the importance of Of these areas where Hispanic Access can come alongside and help catalyze Latino leadership into action. And so our first pillar at Hispanic Access is nature and environment. And we have our second pillar, which is economic mobility, our third is health and well-being, and then the fourth is the leadership institute. And so the leadership institute is kind of our our one shot for, you know, our leaders to get trained, to engage, to network, to have access to resources. and then they're able to address the issues in the community and and ultimately they're able to engage in, you know, these pillars where we're doing a lot we're seeing a lot of important work and addressing issues and opportunities for them to thrive and and their communities to thrive. speaker-0: Thank you for just sharing, just to give a little bit more context and about the organization and where it's working, what its focused is. why this work for you? Tell us a little bit just about your own background and why this is compelling, why you're choosing not just with this organization, but the role that you're choosing to play here. speaker-1: Yeah, that's a great question, Janine. You know, ever since I was young, I was always a person that just loved people and always was very intentional with wanting to make sure others felt that they belonged and they had a seat at the table. I recall, in you know, in all my school years, you know, seeing a new person come into school and and introducing myself. and just wanting to make sure that, you know, they felt accepted, you know, and that they had a s you know, they were able to join us and, you know, at lunchtime and felt that they could come and and have a place. And so, you know, at Hispanic Excess I had the opportunity to invite others at the table and and folks also that maybe normally wouldn't be sitting at the t at the same table. but making sure that there's that space where they feel that they belong and there's a place just for them. And so that's something that I really appreciate working in this role at Hispanic Access is just cultivating that sense of belonging. in the work that we do and making sure that everybody understands that they're valuable and that we need them and and we need each other and we could do a lot more together than we could by ourselves. speaker-0: Mm. I so appreciate that. I feel like at Weaving Futures, one of our lines is, you know, what can we do better together than we can do alone? And I hear that being the the framing that you bring and also the that desire to have people belong is like that weaving, the sense of there's there's a reason you're you're not only wanted, but you're needed. There's a reason why you're here at the table. so the moment that Hispanic accesses in, I know it's making a transition. in its own organization and how it's holding networks first and the organization at the same time. I'd love for you to share with our listeners just a little bit about that transition because I think it sets the context for some of the work that you're doing around listening in the balcony and listening on the ground. speaker-1: Yeah, so you know, we are in a exciting time right now as we're working to move to impact the impact networks model and wanting to really be and wanting to cultivate regional networks across the US and Puerto Rico and like I mentioned we have a a national network. but now we're moving into this direction where we're wanting to bring our network of leaders together regionally. And so we have leaders that, for example, are, you know, a part of our economic mobility pillar and they're participating and bringing community to workshops and learning about financial literacy and so forth. And then we have leaders that are involved in our mental health work and they're bringing their community to film screenings. to see our stories of hope that addresses the sigma of mental health in the Latino community. So we have leaders that that are a part of, you know, different areas of our work across the org. And so now we're moving to this regional network model where we can connect and bring together leaders that are participating in our nature and environment work. are participating in our economic mobility work and our mental health or are a part of one of our cohorts from the Leadership Institute. They're all in the region, but they're not connected. And so now we're moving forward to wanting to bring those leaders together, cultivate a regional network and bring all those different leaders from the different areas of our work. And then also see what collaboration we can spark, you know what sh Other, you know, a shared purpose can come about from that regional network. So all these different diverse leaders, but identify opportunity for them to connect, to collaborate, and see if there's something in that region that they could all come together and and have a greater impact together for a shared purpose that would benefit their community and their region. And so A lot of times in our work, you know, we have grants that we have and and a lot of times we you know we we kind of bring the the purpose sometimes, right? Bring the purpose to our network. This is something that we're working on, a new project, and present it. And so now with this new framework, we're we're in inviting them, this is something that we've identified. is this something that this region you would like to collaborate with us on, you know, co-design a project and implement it. And so the the network then is having that invitation to to collaborate, provide their input and implement it in the way that would be best for that region. So it's a little bit it's a shift. It's different, right? And so it's us directly listening to the ground. rather than us from the top saying, Hey, this is how we're gonna implement it. This is what's needed, these are the deliverables, you know, this is our timeline. So it's a different mindset now. speaker-0: Right, I hear a shift in mindset. I know you had some work kind of related to air quality in the past. Yes. That was particularly to me that was exciting. And it also the organization had a point of view. It had a perspective. Yeah. I I'd love to hear like how that came about and how you might approach that work if it's the same or different in this moment. 'Cause I think it's a really good example to talk about all right, how do you listen both to the balcony and and to the ground? speaker-1: Correct. Yeah, so so we have been doing a we've done a lot of listening from the balcony. And so now and I shared this with you, it was like this aha moment where we can listen both from the ground and we can listen from the balcony. And it's a both and where traditionally it's been a lot of balcony listening and now we're also wanting to listen for what's on the ground. But understanding that both Places require listening. So we're still following our proven process at Hispanic Access where we're listening. But from the balcony, what we discussed internally was that there's issues that are, you know, impacting the Latino community that perhaps sometimes it's not top of mind. But us as an org observing and identifying what is impacting. our Latino community from thriving. You know, we're able to then bring that education to the community and say, Hey, this is what we're hearing, this is what we're observing and it's a you know it's impacting the Latino community and specifically this region. speaker-0: of things what kind of things did you hear or see sort of from that place like more specifically I'm curious is there a particular like insight or study or awareness what what triggered what what made this top of mind for you? what were you what were you listening for from your balcony? speaker-1: Yeah, so we you know, for our work with nature and environment, you know, we ha we saw a lot of reports and about air quality and this one region where it had the the poorest air quality in the state. and it's a region that I have visited a lot, so I got to personally see, you know, the the impacts of of air of poor air quality, a region where there's no curfews for semi trucks to be on the road and delivering and traveling or maximum number of of warehouses in a region where you go to other regions and you don't see one warehouse and it's the same state, right? And so the air quality is was really poor We we knew that and we were able to educate the community about this issue, something that wasn't top of mind. You know, folks are not always thinking about air quality, right? And so, but we saw that there was this need to educate our community, and so we were able to educate our leaders, build their capacity, and they also grew into becoming citizen scientists. where they were trained and had the technology, the tools to monitor air quality in their region and were able to help provide the data. and were even invited to go to the state capitol and were able to talk to their elected officials and share about their work on the ground and and the need for better air quality and more restrictions and so forth. and so that was something where we saw we don't want to stop this, you know, we we saw this from the balcony, right? and this was something that's impacting our Latino community and and we desire for them to thrive. And so there could be some instances like this one where we have that listening on the balcony and then we're able to take it to the community. and then see them, you know, really get involved and collaborate and lead the work and and make a difference. speaker-0: I I appreciate hearing the story about how you heard kind of you your sensing was that there was a an air problem, air quality problem. it's sounds like you were there. So is it something that you actually noticed and felt when you were on when you were literally on the ground there? speaker-1: Yes, definitely. yeah. speaker-0: Yeah. and now it seems like as the as you're holding both an organization and a network, there's like a new new intention about how you bring how you roll that work out. How what's what's changed? Right. Are you still going for national grants for something like this? Are you just bubbling up and working? Is the funding only coming for projects that you're, you know, helping the local community? Fundraise for kind of how is it how are you holding how are you holding both? speaker-1: So yeah, so we are we are still learning and and you know we're working on putting this all together. But one thing that has really helped ground us and as we're navigating this new these new waters at Hispanic Access is is you know our org ha is trust is a trusted national organization and you know we have trusted national partners. And so we're looking at how we have the opportunity now to be a back this backbone where we can go for these, you know, large, you know, funding opportunities or and and grants and then you know be able to move that work you know through the regional networks and and in and work with our our network. but be able to be that that backbone that can provide infrastructure. We are able to support with that capacity and and even developing the leaders. but also at the same time wanting to to empower them to also apply for you know regional funding. that you know that they could also tap into right as well and and and doing the work with them there could be opportunities where a region feels they you know they have the the expertise the the experience the bandwidth where they can themselves you know apply for some regional funding but there may be regions where hey they see a a bigger opportunity and they and we want to do it collaboratively and and Hispanic Access is able to help with the the infrastructure and and so forth and and the regional network can really take the lead on the implementation and and we can support them with project design. But letting them definitely lead, right? And us be that servant leader that we're supporting. And so we're learning the importance, Janine, to also be flexible, right? Every and even every j regional network, it could be in different stages, have different capacities. the the local core team could have, you know, different strengths and and so forth. And so also wanting to be mindful on how we can support each regional network, you know, what will be mindful of their needs. challenges their pace, the growth as well. but but that's something that we're learning that we need to be flexible and and move at at the pace of the regional network. speaker-0: Right. I mean, I hear that flexibility and that what I what is surprising in some ways to me most about that is the way you attuning to it. Just actually tracking. You're tracking how ready, how organized, how much how much initiative do they have? How much capacity do they have? And so it seems like backbone doesn't mean just one thing. It sounds like it's actually it f it will flex based on the capacity in your regions. And yet still as you as you learn about something like the air quality, as you pay attention, you track that, there's there's an invitation for regions to do something that's different than an having an agenda you're pushing. Is that is that accurate? So if a region said no, like we wanna we wanna put our attention on something else, is there space for that? speaker-1: Yes, definitely. And that's you know, following our proven process of listening. You know, if we're bringing an issue and maybe that region is has other priorities and so we want to be respectful and and mindful of that. And and then we would look at an opportunity to go to another region that maybe is also, you know, that might be ready and interested in that work, right? And so We definitely, yes, it's gonna be putting our proven process into action and letting the regional network, you know, lead and guide, and and so forth. And so it's an invitation. and it could be that one region maybe will say, Not now we have other priorities, but can you circle back if you're continuing, you know, with this work, you know, in a year or or so forth. But we'll have the opportunity to go to other regions as well and ask them, are you interested, you know, in collaborating with us and and working on this together? speaker-0: There's something about the genuine open handed offer that it's not right, it's not that the end that that I appreciate about the people can a region can say yes or no, it can have capacity or not, can have its own priorities. And so some of what I hear you saying about being able to hold both the the balcony and the ground is the willingness to put it out as a as an offer, as a possibility. What's bubbling up from the ground that maybe you didn't see that like you only you were only learning about because of letting the regions lead in a way that maybe is new. I'm kind of curious about that. speaker-1: Yeah, I think the you the diversity of the regions, you know, really being on the ground. This past quarter I had the opportunity to visit quite a few regions that were, you know, looking to cultivate and to and to grow. And we had an opportunity to provide various regions with a mini grant to implement mental health and well-being, education and even community events in their in their community. And one thing that was really neat is that when we provided the leaders with the mini grants, we You know, we had gone through the Impact Networks book, I had gone through the Weaving Futures cohort. And so there was this desire to just really give them the freedom to implement the this mini grant in their community the way they thought it would be best. and so we had leaders from California, from Texas, Puerto Rico, and the East Coast, all received, you know, a mini grant and they all implemented it was this for the same grant but every region implemented it very differently. And so speaker-0: An example or two. I'd love, yeah, I'd love to hear an example or two of like, okay, right. So you had similar grants. Maybe you can share. I'm curious what what is the size of a mini grant? Just to know. And then maybe a couple examples of like, what happens? What what was the innovation or the insight from letting them drive it on the ground? speaker-1: The they each received about fifteen thousand dollars to participate. So like I said, it was a mini grant. and every region I noticed that with the regions that were more in suburbs, they really wanted to have a, you know, community mental health Summit where they wanted to bring in experts, they wanted to have a panel, they wanted training, they wanted resources shared, and they wanted to kind of equip the leaders in their community that were interested in becoming more prepared on how to address mental health in their community. Whereas I noticed that our communities that are in more rural Areas that have less access to resources, maybe there's more barriers, distances between services to get you know help and services. They were wanting to actually not train their community, but they were wanting to walk alongside their community that was in need for healing and The community was directly being impacted with mental health. And they wanted to create a safe space to bring the community where participants could share about their mental health struggles. And so it was very interesting to see that dynamic with the suburbs that they were wanting to be trained to address it in the community. And then in our more rural regions, they were saying, no, we are personally. seeing that our community is having challenges with their well-being and mental health. So it was a more intimate project implementation where they were having an affinity group and meeting regularly over a series of months in this small group. And so very n not asking to bring in experts, but our leaders that were trained and we certified them in mental health first aid. which was amazing and they were implementing the curriculum and holding these sessions and just being that liaison to their community to promote healing and an a safe space. so that was really unique and even with the community you know health summits and the panel discussions and And with the more intimate approach to addressing mental health in the community in a very personal way. Even that, even every community did it very different. None of them did it the same. So it was really neat to see how every community did it different. And it was a very unique way, but it was beautiful to see how the projects were implemented in their community. And the leaders were also listening. as well and and wanting to do what they thought would be best and then there's that trust component right so we trust the leaders to do what we trusted them to do what was best rather than us saying this is these are the deliverables this is the project design this is how you need to this is how you need to implement to receive this mini grant right no it was here are the tools And here are some trusted partners that we can recommend if you do want to do any type of panel discussion or or summit and leadership development in your community and so forth. But they each did it in their own way. And we were there just to support with the with that infrastructure, right? and so for me it was really beautiful to see how each community did it very differently, but a appropriately, you know, to what the community needed. speaker-0: Yeah. I mean it's interesting you use the word appropriately, but what I hear is that the depth of the listening. Like at the organizational level, that listening said mental health is important. We need to put resources, right? There's a, you know, what was the I'm curious, what was the catalyst what did you know at the at the organization side from the balcony? And how did you kind of conceive of these mini grants? Because there was a knowing there. There was a listening and a knowing there. And then there was a what I hear in that is almost like a letting go or a a tr a trust and support, rather than a trust and verify, model trust and support at the local level. But what yeah, what what sparked the knowing of the need? speaker-1: There was a lot of listening before we began this project of mental health and our film stories of hope. It happened during COVID. We were noticing our leaders were experiencing secondary trauma as they were seeing, you know, loved ones affected by COVID, losing loved ones. The Latino community was hit really hard during the pandemic. and so we noticed in our network, in our network of faith leaders especially that there was a need to educate them on self on well being, self care, and mental health. And they were sharing directly with us. You know, we were working on other projects, but we were hearing them when you know, share when we would ask, How are you doing? or just calling and checking in on them, hearing reports of this is happening in my community, and and so forth. And so there was a lot of listening that took place. And so when the opportunity came for us as a trusted national organization to apply to to risk you know, have the opportunity to have a a large grant to address to help communities thrive, we said, we should have this project be around mental health because we've been up from the balcony and on the ground, we've been seeing there's a need for this. and and so that was something that we we noticed and we went for and and then we brought it to our leaders and invited them to be a part of it and it's It's been amazing being able to see the fruit of that work where we were able to listen to the need. We were able to leverage our trusted reputation as a national organization and go for that large funding and then being able to now, you know, offer these micro grants. to our network leaders to then implement the work to address mental health in their communities as they see, you know, best. speaker-0: Yeah. I I'm just appreciating the list you know, when you and I talked, originally I thought there was an agenda at the start and a and a listening at at the tail end. And what I just really hear from you all throughout is the level of listening. Right. That that the balcony isn't about coming up and having your own agenda. It's it's attuned to community. It's watching the signals and then it's continuous. cycle with that. I'm curious, you know, we talked some about the possibility of moving into this more network mindset and this network way of operating. and and I see right see them how nuanced the programming can be so that it can actually be localized and can the regions can have their own decisions. But my guess is there's also been some resistance to this shift. And so I'm curious about whether that's, you know, the questions that have come up around fundraising or governance or from your board, what kind of what kind of pushback have you seen to be able to really push back against listening at the balcony on the ground? And how have you how have you moved through that resistance? speaker-1: Yeah, so you know, anytime there's change, you know, change can cause a lot of insecurity and fear of the unknown, right? So we're wanting to to move in this direction of the impact networks model, but also make it our our own model, right? And in our context as well, and having that both and that we've talked we've talked about previously. And so One thing that, you know, we've always done it Hispanic access you know, listening. But now it's this shift to really starting the work with community, doing the work in community. So whether it's like I talked about the fundraising, you know, that could be something that, you know, we discuss and we do it together. and listening to them in that way. when it comes to the governance, you know. that also being collaborative where our network leaders and Hispanic access staff, you know, were at the table and we're talking together. And I almost see us as well as this network with our, you know, our our team and the network leaders. Like we're all s we're a network together too, right? And and we have a shared purpose to see Latinos thrive and Latino leadership grow in in the US. and so I think having that mindset and our theory of change is very centered on on our our desire to to catapult our leaders, you know, and and then be driving the change and and us being that supportive servant leader, you know, that backbone that can bend and and and be flexible. So it is a mind shift change, right? And so there's been questions, well then How how am I gonna lead my program? So wait a second, I'm not leading it or I'm not in charge of the you know project management or the design. But and so there's been questions about that. and then questions about well, how do we do the fundraising, you know, and how do we allocate? And and so there were questions about well, if there's backbone, you know. There can definitely be allocations to help for us to be that support that the region needs, you know, to pr provide that infrastructure and help with a lot of the adamant pieces that are super important. and then and then also just understanding that regional networks, impact networks, this model is is very collaborative. And so it it there's this need to now break down a lot of silos. And even within our organization, right? Because now it's like we're all gonna move towards working regionally. So we need to bring all of the leaders from our different pillars, from our different areas of work. And so even internally there's this need for working very close together as an org and being very collaborative so that we as a whole org are able to support a regional network. And it's not just the networks department or, you know, helping a regional network. But now it's we're all on board with this mindset of of cultivating these regional networks and our leaders. and so it's a mind shift and I think it takes time. You know, some folks you know, grab it quickly and others have questions because there is that uncertainty. We're still learning, right, as we're building this and we're still we may need to make some adjustments down the road and and sometimes the unknown can be scary as well. And so, but we do have our theory of change. We have our North Star, which is our our network. And so that also helps that whatever we're doing, we're doing it to support our our Latino leaders, our network. And and so I think that helps. but it has taken some time, you know, because it is a huge mind shift. It's a huge mind shift of now doing the listening from the balcony and from the ground for the work that we do in regards to fundraising, project management. and also the governance, you know, of the regional network as well. speaker-0: Right, I heard you speak to this this kind of this mind shift, this mindset shift that's needed to make the change. I'm curious, maybe it's there somewhere else, but how one of one of the perspectives I hold and we talk about on the podcast is how the work that we're called to do is needed in the world. Certainly your work is needed. And it's also if we're really called, there's some there's some edge for our own growth in it. There's some invitation to grow us as leaders. So I'm curious, how is it how is it growing you? speaker-1: Yeah, I think, you know, it's it's definitely been engrowing me in regards to wanting to help provide that space for making sure there's connection. it's growing my communication and also causing me to be more intentional about Connecting the dots and facilitating differences in diverse networks, diverse team members, diverse programs and diverse partners, wanting to be that facilitator that creates space and opportunity to spark collaboration, to start connection in our net in our national network. so that's definitely an area that's growing me to think outside the box, you know, when we're doing some work to not just think of one area of our network or one pillar, but wanting to have that intentionality to bring folks together that normally may n that normally would have not been in the same room because they're in different places in the work that we do. you know, internally as staff or you know, in our network and so forth. And that takes a lot of intentionality. It takes a lot of time to also bring folks together and to create that space and to also you know sh cast that vision of of the importance of having this interconnected network, interconnected ecosystem Ecosystem. Did I say that right? What did I say? speaker-0: Ecosystem. Yeah, you got it. speaker-1: Ecosystem. Yeah. Ecosystem. Yeah, ecosystem. And I think a lot of times when we have done work, especially in one area of our pillar, you know, we tend to think of okay, this part of our network, right? But now moving in this mindset of having this interconnected collaborative ecosystem internally as staff and then also as a network. And so one thing that we've started to do is kind of create like the Impact Networks calls it the core team, like having these core teams where we're collaborating on a certain project or initiative, but it's it's diverse it and it's cross departmental. and that's building the foundation for us to then do this work in our network. So we have the opportunity now to model what this looks like, right? Everybody has a place, everybody has their strengths that they can offer to support the work. speaker-0: I mean, it feels like in some ways our conversation just came full circle. So I have this image of you as the as a student inviting saying hello to the new new classmate and making them feel like they belong. and now playing that role here, but also holding the bigger picture of the ecosystem that it's interesting as you as you tend to the work outside, like the impact you wanna make as an ecosystem. it's been a catalyst for your own organization shifting to being able to work as work as an ecosystem, that it you can't tend to the ecosystem from a silo. It didn't work well. And so what I hear is that it's been it's been a catalyst for an internal shift. speaker-1: Yes, definitely. speaker-0: Yeah. And so what I want to leave the w listeners with today is that is the question of like what are you learning? You know, the system that you're tending, the the ecosystem that you're looking to shift. What are you learning from the balcony? What what from as Christine said, what are you listening? What are you hearing? And then how are you also holding that learning from the ground in a way that's informing your next step? And with that. Thank you for joining us today. Did you have one last piece you wanted to share? Okay. speaker-1: No, that was perfect. speaker-0: Thank you for joining us today for Fire The Gathers. If you love this episode, you might be a leader who's interested in joining me for the Collective Council. The Collective Council is a curated circle of purpose-led founders, funders, and executives who gather twice monthly for 90 minutes. Together we slow down enough for you to sense into your most alive strategic questions and to be able to not only receive your own insight, but to have pure counsel and my coaching on what's next. You bring your questions, your opportunities, the tensions and challenges that you're walking, what you're really wrestling with. And we work them here together. This isn't another course. There aren't any modules. It's time for your real work of leadership. Clients who've worked with me include a funder who came in to move a million dollars fast for immigrants from refugees. We're able to pause long enough for her to see what was truly needed. And to shift what from what she could deploy with her team to what she could move with an ecosystem, moving $3.5 million within weeks and funding an additional 80 organizations. There was an executive who stepped into the largest role of her career, feeling the edge of imposter syndrome, moving out of being the expert and stepping into bold delegation. And even more possibility as she gathered leaders who could challenge and invite her bigger vision. All of this made possible because of exactly the way we're moving inside of collective council. If you're curious, let's have a conversation. You can schedule directly at www.onpurpose together.com slash call. You'll see the link in the show notes too. On purpose together.