Networking Decalogue from Fe y Alegría

“From our identity and mission essence of Fe y Alegría, we feel called to work in a network among ourselves and in a network with others. Our Movement and our way of networking will be more solid and at the same time more flexible the more the mission and identity are shared and rooted in each and every member of the Movement. After 60 years of fruitful history, we are challenged to reinvent ourselves in our ways of doing things by moving towards simpler and more open structures, which, while accommodating the complexity of the Movement, prepare us for new challenges. We recognize that in the diversity of the Fe y Alegría network lies part of our richness.”

On this occasion we look at Fe y Alegría, one of the oldest and largest networks led by the Society of Jesus, to try to understand the essence of its networking. This Popular Education movement has published an interesting document summarizing its intentions for change in the management and networking models, titled Fe y Alegría in Movement: Changing ways of proceeding in management, leadership, and structures for networking.

In this document you can find essential orientations in management and organizational development that allow us to understand the last years of Fe y Alegría’s work. In particular, today we were interested in focusing on how the different leaderships understand their commitment to networking, strongly linked to their own identity of being a network and working in network with others.

For this reason, the movement has a DECALOGUE OF THE NETWORKS IN FE Y ALEGRÍA with which the leaders at different levels make public their commitment to this way of working:

1. We feel called by our identity to be a network and to network with others.
2. The current context urges us to network. Simpler and more open structures.
3. Networks are based on the commitment and involvement of all.
4. Networks are a way of working, not a fad, which requires us to change towards a culture that promotes collaboration, subsidiarity, co-responsibility, …
5. Networks require horizontal collaboration, clear objectives, real participation, transparency and innovation.
6. We think that the combination of hierarchy and network is suggestive for Fe y Alegría.
7. We want to face networking from the fidelity to the mission and vision, the care and accompaniment of processes, learning from others, the context as a starting point and the strategic look.
8. We need new communication systems.
9. Networks require new modes of leadership: inspiring, consensus-building, based on trust, persuasion, connecting nodes.
10. We need to prepare ourselves for change management in networking: learning to work in diversity; taking care of the formation and accompaniment of teams; promoting initiative and creativity.

Hopefully this Decalogue will serve as an inspiration for other networks and works that work in networks. We would love to know if you know of others or have some of your own that you would like to share with the Jesuit network. If so, please write to us at [email protected]. Thank you.