Build something you want to be part of
I am a serial community builder. Ask anyone who knows me — I’m happiest when I’m gathering and connecting people. I’ve been asked a couple of times about the communities I’ve helped build, and why I built them. And it always comes back to the same reason — what I needed or wanted to be part of didn’t exist. I believe that if what you need to be part of (and proud of) doesn’t exist, then create it.
I turned The Ground into a collective of creative weirdos because I wanted to meet people with crazy big ideas. I built a waterpolo team because I wanted to play and there was no girls team. I built a female entrepreneur network because I wasn’t finding other women in the tech/startup community.
The community I’m now spending most of my time with — Studio Hallonet — has me thinking a lot about what we are building, and how to build a studio that I want to be part of. Reflecting on this, I’ve boiled down a few core elements that matter to me when building community.
People matter most
I want to be part of a community that values people and evolves, grows and learns as they do. I want to be able to bring my whole self, to feel safe to learn and try new things and feel supported if I fail. I want to know that if I’m having a bad day someone will care, and if I’m having a good day someone will celebrate with me. I want to be valued for everything I can bring to the table — so that is the space I am trying to build for others.
People choose to be part of community to connect, to feel included and important. They are there because they believe in the collective mission, but what you are reaching for together is not the point. Community is made of people, not the activity you’re centred around, or the metrics it generates. Metrics can be great motivators, but at the end of the day it’s people who matter. So can you build a community in a workplace, where objectively the purpose is to generate money, metrics or achieve a goal? I believe you can — I know I prefer being part of workplaces that have a strong community around their work, where you feel like a person not just a cog in a money-making machine. In 2020 we have an even greater need for community at work, to have a place of psychological safety amongst the chaos.
A community is organic, living, breathing, growing, changing, taking in new ideas and people all the time. Trying to keep people who have outgrown their time in the community, or hold on to ideas that don’t evolve with the community, stagnates growth. Staying connected to people, evolving with them and putting humans first makes communities stronger and last longer.
Values are fuel for action
I want to be part of a community that makes decisions based on their values. I want to be part of a community that uses their values daily when making important or difficult decisions. All of the communities I have thrived in have been so connected to their values that they can use them in times of crisis, when explaining important issues or making big decisions. They used them to help steer focus onto what is important, where people should invest their time, energy and resources.
Values help me know who I’m supposed to be, and how others will act and react to me. I thrive when the values are clear, repeated and woven into everyday moments — when they are the lived and breathed experience of the community. . Values help me give words to big concepts that matter, explain why I do what I do, why I say yes to some things and no to others.
Just like a community, values are both consistent and constantly evolving. Shared values emerge naturally, and are reinforced daily through our language and actions. It’s important every now and then to sift through any written collection of values, update their language and expression to fit the current needs of the community. Taking the time to put words to shared values, to create understanding through common language and using them to explain and drive your decision making makes them stronger. Embracing how they shift over time, and not fighting the change means your community can grow and develop as the people do. I want to build communities that use their values to empower people, not constrain them.
Build with a team
No man is an island, and no sustainable community rests on one person (I think that’s called a cult…). I want to be part of a community that is consistent over time. Community building is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s hard work. It means doing what needs to be done even when it’s not glamorous or fun.It’s being the place that people can turn to and return to. All of this is so much easier, rewarding and sustainable when you do it with others.
Your own values, actions, initiatives and ideas will only get you so far. Talking openly about your needs and what you want to be part of, you will find pretty quickly that there are others who want to build the same thing. Find your people — online, in person, next door, in your team — and support each other along the way. I want to be part of a community where people feel like they are growing, developing and getting better over time. I want to feel a shared experience and history, to be part of something bigger than just my inputs. There’s no way I can build that kind of experience by myself. Finding people to help carry the work is crucial.
I value ‘stickyness’, people who commit, develop and think long term about what they are building and why. People who have half an eye on how their actions will build a future reality they want to still be part of. They are the people I want to partner with, build with and invest in. They are the people who I want to invite into my team, to see every day and build something together.
The magic is in the moment
At the end of the day, remember that community is built in the in-between. People don’t remember exactly what you did, but how you made them feel. The real magic is not events or talks or finals or projects completed. It’s late nights and road trips gone wrong, it’s fixing shelves and just making a deadline for an event. It’s coffee conversations, inside jokes and the shared mundanity of daily life. There is no finish line or moment where you’ve ‘made it’. The magic is in every moment — the good, the bad and the ugly.
Build something you want to be part of. Help invest in your communities, and make them something to be proud of. If what you need doesn’t exist, start talking about it and find those people who can help you create it. And most importantly remember that the process where real community is found.
