Network Weaving: A Missing Link for Systemic Change

Picture this:

You’re standing in a large room with people from different communities, organizations, and sectors.

They’ve gathered, but most don’t know each other.

At first, the room feels fragmented.

Conversations happen in familiar circles, but there are some opportunities to connect.

Then, a group of weavers starts moving through the room.

They listen deeply, ask thoughtful questions, bridge connections, and challenge power dynamics.

Suddenly, the room comes alive with new energy and ideas.

People discover shared goals, form unexpected collaborations, and work together in ways they hadn’t imagined.

So, network weaving is the process of building meaningful connections and trust across boundaries.

Now, imagine that room as a microcosm of our world.

In one corner, activists tirelessly work to address climate change. Across the room, community leaders are focused on fighting systemic inequality. Near the entrance, educators brainstorm solutions to social fragmentation.

Each group is doing essential work—but they’re not talking to each other.

The biggest challenges we face—climate breakdown, systemic inequality, social fragmentation—are too complex for any group to solve alone.

Yet, too often, we stay in our familiar circles and miss opportunities to collaborate across boundaries.

This is why the weavers are so essential:

So that as we collaborate, we can collectively transform the systems, institutions, and power dynamics that have brought us to the brink of collapse.

A Weaving Story: How One Network Shifted an Entire System

Let’s bring this concept to life with an inspiring real-world example: the RE-Amp Network.

In the early 2000s, environmental organizations in the Midwest United States worked in isolation to address climate, energy, and social justice issues.

Despite their efforts, progress was slow.

Then, they decided to try something different.

They created a space for shared learning and collaboration using network weaving practices.

They bridged connections between nonprofits, businesses, and funders, aligning their efforts around a collective goal: reducing carbon emissions.

As a result, the RE-Amp Network achieved impressive systemic impacts:

• They successfully closed dozens of coal plants, significantly reducing regional emissions.
• They passed state-level clean energy policies that supported the transition to renewable energy.
• They built lasting partnerships that continue to drive climate action today.

What made this possible?

Trust, alignment, and collective action.

Without network weaving, these isolated efforts would have remained fragmented.

However, by building relationships and trust, the RE-Amp Network amplified its collective impact and achieved transformative change that no organization could have accomplished alone.

The RE-AMP network is an excellent example of what June Holley calls a system-shifting network:

The Relevance, Evolution, and Potential of Impact Networks

But, you may ask: What exactly are weavers creating exactly?

Impact networks.

Impact networks are collaborative alliances that unite diverse stakeholders—nonprofits, businesses, communities, and governments—to address complex challenges (1).

They are not traditional organizations with rigid hierarchies but rather dynamic ecosystems.

They adapt and evolve to meet the needs of their members and the larger systems they seek to transform.

Networks thrive on trust, shared purpose, and adaptive structures, enabling them to respond dynamically to changing conditions.

Unlike formal institutions, impact networks operate with a decentralized and distributed leadership model.

This makes them more resilient to uncertainty and more equitable in their decision-making processes.

June Holley visualizes the process in the room as she describes how an impact network with a strong core and broad periphery emerges from scattered relationships (2):

Honoring the Roots. Shifting the Power: Weaving Is Relational — And Political

The practice of weaving is far from new.

For centuries, Indigenous communities worldwide have embodied relational worldviews — ways of living emphasizing interconnectedness, reciprocity, and care for the Earth and all living beings (3).

These cultures remind us that everything is connected:

Our relationships, the land, and the systems we’re part of.

However, weaving practices in today’s networks don’t exist in isolation. They’re deeply intertwined with histories of colonialism, extraction, and exploitation.

We cannot separate network weaving from its Indigenous roots, nor can we ignore that the systems we seek to change have often harmed the communities that hold this wisdom.

These communities and many others have also been systematically oppressed and marginalized by colonial systems that prioritize extraction, fragmentation, and control (4).

When engaging in weaving practices today, it’s vital to:

• Honor the roots of these relational ways of being.
• Acknowledge and address power dynamics within our networks.
• Stand in solidarity with ongoing struggles for decolonization and liberation.

Network weaving is not a neutral practice.

It’s a political act of reclamation and care — a process of repairing what’s been broken by systems of harm.

It’s about restoring trust, accountability, and solidarity through relational work.

When we weave, we challenge the systems that seek to divide and control.

We move toward systems of care, equity, and collective liberation.

Weavers Balance Relationships, Systems, Learning, and Care

Weaving is an ongoing practice that requires specific weaving capacities – skills, knowledge, and mindsets.

There are many ways to make sense of weaving capacities.

Here are four areas we co-created in the Weaving Lab over eight years of action research:

🌱 Cultivating Relationships: Build trust and belonging across boundaries.

🤝 Collaborating Systemically: Bridge silos to create collective impact.

📚 Learning Together: Foster spaces of shared reflection and learning.

💛 Embodying Well-being: Balance personal, societal, and planetary thriving.

Weaving is both an art and a discipline.

So, becoming a weaver includes tending to your strengths and building your weaving capacities.

Conclusion: Becoming a Network Weaver

If you’ve read this far, you might wonder: Am I already a weaver?

The answer is: Maybe you are.

• Do you introduce people to each other because you sense they’d benefit from connecting?
• Do you bring groups together to solve problems or share ideas?
• Do you hold space for conversations where people feel seen, heard, and valued?

If so, you’re already practicing some core weaving capacities.

Weaving isn’t about having all the answers or knowing exactly what to do.

It’s about showing up with curiosity and care, building trust, and inviting new patterns to emerge.

So, ask yourself:

• Who in your network might benefit from meeting each other?
• Where are there gaps or silos that need to be bridged?
• What small act of weaving can you take today?

The journey of weaving is ongoing.

The weave holds you, too.

Let’s keep weaving—together.