Open Letter to Community Leaders
Dear Community Leaders,
Holy fuck; what a time!
We hope you’re taking care of yourself.
We know these are unique times (to say the least) and we know not everyone is in the same boat. The pandemic has affected each of us in different ways, our context is an individual one, and there’s no need to compare. Your shit is not better or worse than my shit. It’s just your shit that you need to deal with. This shift in our community has been an awakening for all — both good and bad; in work, life, love, family, friends, habits, schedules and ecosystems all together.
(From) Response to Recovery
Community Leaders, at our core, are people-connectors, relationships facilitators, and instigators of unexpected collaborations. We bring magic and engineered serendipity into groups, everywhere.
In this period of crisis many of us have done what we do best, respond by caring for others and by always looking for ways to create value for those around us. These are often selfless actions driven by passion for a larger purpose. While our agility and speed are essential to the way we work, and has given birth to lots of great online content and new ways of interacting with our communities virtually, this blog post is about (the often slower process of) recovery — it is about re-investing in us, and our communities.
In these times of uncertainty and isolation, we could all use authentic connection. Below are some small actionable things we have been doing individually and together that are helping us on a day-to-day:
1. Schedule Time (with your best friends and also not)
Schedule time with the people! Quantity is the first filter here. Keep connecting with those you’re already close to, but also build time to connect with those you haven’t had a chance to see, speak or interact with in a while. From our experience, we can tell you that authentic community leaders differ from others because of their appreciation for human connections.
Quantity is the first filter here. ~ Oko Davaasuren
Do the things that don’t scale, talk to individuals — not groups. I’m sure we all have our fair share of group calls and conferences, and the Zoom fatigue is real. What we are talking about is the willingness to show up, care, listen and connect. Understand very very well where people are at and what they are going through. We are not looking for aggregates and averages here, but rather real stories, real people.
See the activities beyond the short term transactional value and for the long term impact they have for growing the community, each other, and serendipity will follow.
2. Communicate (and then communicate some more!)
Being a good community member, the number one thing you want to invest your time and energy into is being a better communicator. If both words look strangely alike, it is because they are. A well functioning community requires good communication from all its members. Share with people what you’re doing — whether it’s baking bread or taking time to be unproductive or whether it’s a call-to-action to bring folks together for something cool — sharing helps! Being isolated from each other really exaggerates everyone’s perception of what everyone else is doing. By sharing the good bits and the not-so good bits (where you can), you’re helping your community more than you know.
3. Prioritize You (as much as you can!)
Whether that’s redecorating your space to find some zen or blocking time out in the day to run or investing in plants, finding time outside of work to bring some normalcy to this increased isolation is more important that you realise. You don’t have to go into overdrive with hustle-culture or bake so much banana bread you can feed a school or build 30 businesses in 30 days — unless that’s what brings you sanity. It’s really not about how much you do, but about what you do. Find the thing that brings you peace, hold on to that and slowly build a little more of it into your days.
Above all people are people; we need more human connections, listening and consoling than most. If you have the capacity to be there for people, it can literally change someone’s world. And, always remember, that if you need someone to do the same for you — there are more people that you realise in your community who will do the same for you.
Larger than the sum of the elements, yes sure, but right now let’s not neglect the elements. It’s about you and the small things you can do.
Reach out.
Talk. Scream. Laugh. Brainstorm. Share. Do whatever you need to do to be okay.
But remember, it’s also okay to not be okay sometimes.
You’ve built incredible communities. They are always going to be there for you. And so are we.
If you need time with any one of us — just reach out. Schedule the time. Communicate. Prioritize You!
Stay golden (and safe).
ACollective.
(Oko, Lalitha, Aim, Phil, Enke, Ben, Jess, Farah & Songyi)
P/S: Aim’s shared a little bit more about his journey through this fog — you can read it here.
