Organizations work a certain way. Organizations home in on their mission. They focus on what they know. That means a great deal is left outside.

So, there is huge opportunity in the space between them.

However, the way we manage our organizations is not the way to host the space between them. Hosting a collaborative ecology requires the ability to lead by convening, comfort with ambiguity, power-with dynamics, and practices that suit an emergent rather than a deterministic way of working. Alberta Social Economy Ecosystem Development (AB Seed) is discovering how.

Christine Spottiswood serves as project lead. She shares her journey with the messiness of learning how to work with organizations while leading something that is a little different, something a bit beyond the norm.

AB Seed is not a legal entity. It has the financial support of 15 organizations. It is in light and right relationship with supportive provincial government departments. It ticks all the partnership boxes. It tends to the spaces in between and is catalyzing new and natural synergies.

Follow the Axiom News Podcast with Peter Pula on Spotify.