Community of Practice: Weaving Lab evolution

Chaired by Nick Graham 1 July 2022

Image Created by Weaving Lab

A conversation about “weaving the weaving lab” — applying the community’s own principles of connection and systemic change to its internal structure. The session covered the evolution of the Lab’s values, its current organizational structure, and explored how to move from a “service-delivery” model to a truly decentralized, co-owned community.

Key Learnings

Evolution of Values: Since 2018, the Lab’s core values (openness, collaboration, playfulness, impact) have evolved to include empathy, community, and integrity. These are not just words but are meant to be “embodied” ways of being together.

The “Customer” Trap: A key reflection was that the Lab often operates like a service provider (suppliers of “quality experiences” to member-customers). For the Lab to thrive, it needs to shift toward shared ownership where every member feels responsible for the mission.

Quality vs. Connection: While “useful” content is important, the primary value members find is in the “synaptic” learning and deep emotional connections that happen during sessions. The quality of the network is seen as more important than the quality of any single session.

Internal vs. External Focus: Most current activities are internally focused (mapping, storytelling, governance). There is a significant opportunity for the Lab to practice weaving “in service to things beyond the Lab,” such as taking a cohort of weavers into a specific global conflict or project.

Key Actions

Deepen One-to-One Relationships: Move beyond large sessions to focus on smaller, intentional “outreach” conversations to build the trust needed for collective ownership.

Pilot the “Six Conversations” Methodology: Use specific conversational frameworks (like those proposed by Ben) to generate commitment and identify new possibilities within the community.

Focus on High-Leverage Activities: Instead of maintaining a long list of 50 tasks, the community should focus on 1–2 crucial areas (like relationship deepening) to build momentum.

Encourage “Small Step” Commitments: For new members, the best way to start is by facilitating stories or simply engaging in active conversations on platforms like Mighty Networks.

Create “Weaving Hubs”: Shift from centrally facilitated events to allowing smaller groups to self-organize and weave in their own contexts.

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References

Methodologies: The Six Conversations: A framework for building community and commitment (proposed by Ben). Holacracy & Decentralized Models: Potential governance structures for the Lab.

Platforms: Mighty Networks: The Lab’s primary internal community platform. *(Until 2024) *The Weaving Map:A tool for visualizing the relationships and skills within the network.

Knowledge Bank Categories: 1) WL COP 2) Future Of Weaving