Embrace a community builder mindset

Business benefits

Prepare for community management by shifting from a focus on growth to notice, recognize, and reward existing work.

Fill out the Define your community worksheet.

Identify previous community building experience in your team that you can draw on.

Everyone has at least some experience in being a part of or building a community. Instead of focusing on the gaps and what you don’t yet know about brand community, draw on your team’s existing knowledge as you begin the project.

Ask for help and resources from stakeholders and your professional contacts to help the community thrive.

Communities cannot be built in isolation. Don’t assume that others in the organization will say no to a request. Keep in mind that you’re not asking for yourself but on behalf of a bigger purpose related to the community.

Establish a decision making framework for balancing the needs of the community with organizational principles and values.

Know when to stand your ground on a decision or direction based on organizational principles and values. While it’s essential to remain flexible to accommodate the needs of the community, it’s just as important to stay firm when you strongly believe you know what decision is right for the community. Members don’t always want what’s best for the organization, and the community leader’s task is to make the call on which direction to move towards.

Focus on building relationships with and between people.

Track qualitative metrics that focus on the experiences and emotions of members to keep an eye on community health.

Suspend your discomfort at not having clear, quantitative answers at all times.

Identify triggers that can take you back into a growth over relationships mindset.

For example, comparing your community to others is a common trigger for community builders to enter a more competitive mode in which the goal becomes fast membership growth, not the long term health of the community.

Last edited by @hesh_fekry 2023-11-14T10:08:03Z