Impact networks don’t fail by accident.

They break down when key mistakes go unaddressed.

I’ve seen it happen:

• Burnout sets in.

• Momentum stalls.

• Visions begin to fade.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

By addressing five common mistakes, networks can build resilience, equity, and lasting impact.

Let’s get into it.

1. Scaling Too Fast

Many networks rush to expand.

They assume more activity + members + projects = more impact.

But rapid expansion without strong relationships and trust creates fragmentation.

• Engagement becomes transactional.

• Coordination breaks down.

• Core members burn out.

The key?

Scale at the speed of trust.

Instead of chasing numbers, focus on depth, alignment, and sustainability.

What to do instead:

Scaling - in my view - is about growing wisely across three dimensions:

• Scaling Deep means strengthening trust, relationships, and shared purpose. It’s about investing in the network’s internal fabric—ensuring alignment, psychological safety, and deep collaboration.

• Scaling Wide expands the network’s reach, partnerships, and influence—without losing coherence. It requires strategic onboarding, clear roles, and mechanisms to integrate new members meaningfully.

• Scaling Long focuses on sustainability—ensuring that the network’s structures, resources, and energy flows are built for the long haul. This includes securing funding, distributing leadership, and designing for adaptability.

Applying all three dimensions creates resilient, adaptive networks that expand their impact without collapsing under pressure.

2. Bypassing Power & Privilege

Networks aren’t neutral.

Even those committed to systemic change can unintentionally reproduce the systems they seek to dismantle.

It shows up in more or less subtle ways:

• Certain voices dominate.

• Power stays concentrated.

• Inequities go unchallenged.

These aren’t just oversights—they’re reflections of deeper systems at play.

Without intentional action, networks risk mirroring colonial patterns of power, knowledge, and being.

It requires rethinking how decisions are made, how resources flow, and who is heard.

To build truly transformative networks, it’s vital to confront three forms of coloniality, developed by Aníbal Quijano and expanded by scholars like Walter Mignolo and Sylvia Wynter.

• Coloniality of Power: Even well-intentioned networks often concentrate power among those with institutional privilege. Decentralizing leadership, amplifying excluded voices, and enabling participatory decisions redistribute power and foster accountability.

• Coloniality of Knowledge: Western models often sideline indigenous wisdom, relational intelligence, and lived experience. Elevating multiple ways of knowing and fostering reciprocal learning moves networks from extractive to co-creative.

• Coloniality of Being: Colonial systems sever us from emotions, bodies, and interdependence—fueling burnout and disembodied leadership. Centering rest, relational care, and trauma-informed practices helps sustain deep, systemic change.

To create truly transformative networks, it is vital to unlearn colonial dynamics.

3. Over-Structuring & Constricting Emergence

Too much structure kills creativity.

Many networks try to control outcomes with rigid plans and predefined strategies.

But real transformation?

It’s emergent.

Over-structuring leads to:

• Less member agency.

• Limited adaptability.

• Stifled innovation.

The alternative?

Hold structure lightly:

• Design structures that adapt and evolve: Networks thrive when frameworks allow for iteration, role fluidity, and responsiveness to changing needs.

• Foster self-organization with intentional scaffolding: True decentralization isn’t about removing structure but creating just enough support for members to step into leadership organically.

• Trust the network’s collective intelligence: Instead of controlling outcomes, create conditions where people can experiment, take ownership, and co-create the network’s direction.

Networks need just enough scaffolding for clarity—without suffocating organic collaboration.

4. Trying to Engage Everyone

Engagement is fluid.

People’s availability, energy, and capacity shift over time.

Yet, many networks expect equal participation from everyone, all the time.

The result?

• Wasted energy.

• Disengagement.

• Misaligned priorities.

Here is a simple shift in strategy.

In most networks there are three circles of members:

Instead of pushing everyone to stay involved, focus on making participation flexible, meaningful, and voluntary.

• Match Engagement to Capacity: Designing multiple levels of participation allows members to engage meaningfully without overextending.

• Cultivate Invitation, Not Obligation: People engage most when they feel drawn in, not pressured. Foster a culture of choice, curiosity, and genuine connection.

• Honor All Contributions: From deep involvement to light-touch support, every contribution matters. Recognizing all forms of engagement strengthens trust and belonging.

A resilient network doesn’t demand constant participation. It creates pathways for people to engage when and how they can.

5. Lack of Resourcing Strategies

Passion isn’t enough.

Many networks rely on unpaid labor, goodwill, and informal contributions—without a clear plan to resource and fund the work.

Over time, this leads to:

• Financial instability.

• Resentment of endless volunteering.

• Inability to implement activities.

Resourcing isn’t just about funding.

It’s about creating regenerative flows of support—financial, relational, and strategic.

Networks that last plan for sustainability rather than rely on scarcity-driven, ad-hoc funding.

What to do instead:

• Map Existing Resourcing Models: Identify how time, money, skills, and other assets are currently utilized and sourced. This mapping provides a clear picture of existing strengths and gaps, serving as a foundation for strategic planning.

• Create a Hybrid Strategy: Combine multiple resource streams, such as grants, membership fees, or shared services. A hybrid strategy reduces dependency on a single source and enhances resilience.

• Operationalize Collaboratively: Engage network members in the implementation of the resourcing strategy. This fosters a sense of ownership and ensures that the approach aligns with the network's values and capacities.

Key Takeaways

Impact networks don’t just struggle because of external challenges.

They break down when internal dynamics weaken trust, engagement, and sustainability.

The most resilient networks:

1. Scale intentionally instead of rushing to grow.

2. Interrogate power and actively redistribute leadership.

3. Hold structure lightly to allow for emergence.

4. Engage fluidly rather than expecting constant participation.

5. Resource sustainably to avoid burnout and instability.

In this way networks can realize their potential to catalyze transformative & systemic change.

That’s it!

Warm wishes,

Adrian Röbke
Building the capacity of regenerative leaders & impact networks to create systems change.

P.S. Are struggling with any of these obstacles in your network or do you have a question? Just hit reply to this email—I’d love to hear from you.

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About the Systemic Shift Newsletter

This weekly newsletter is dedicated to exploring practices, mindsets, and strategies that make networks effective in driving systemic change. Each issue offers practical tools, real-world lessons, and curated opportunities to help you build impactful, collaborative networks & communities.

Stay tuned next Tuesday for more!