The Heart of Communities
Over the years, I have had the privilege to engage and co-create multiple communities. In the process, I have also spoken to many others who wish to weave communities. Many begin with questions around the ‘how’. However, I have realised that a more important question is “Who forms our community?”
Setting the Context
Communities emerge at the intersection of networks and groups, where shared values and beliefs bring members together, and trusted relationships exist. Here is the definition I feel comes closest to my current understanding:
“Sense of community is a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together” (McMillan, 1976)*
I wanted to share this to separate the networks and groups we see on social media, and how the word community is thrown around lightly in many of them. Whilst they could be expertly facilitated to build a sense of community, they aren’t one by default. The communities I am speaking about are not just echo chambers, but a space of care, accountability and shared growth, even in the face of difficulty and disagreements.
Who forms our community?
Now that this context is set, we can return to the core question: Who forms our community? I see two sub-questions within this question:
- Who are the members of the community?
- Who are the community weavers?
Who are the members of the community?
The weavers must know their members to instil the “sense of community” I refer to above. The weavers must empathise with members to understand their needs. They must recognise and uphold the values that the group shares in common. All the ‘hows’ depend on it — how you communicate (tone, voice, etc), how you gather, how you decide, how you solve problems, etc. A community designed for everyone serves no one and gradually loses the critical energy needed to sustain itself.
A clearer understanding of members does not mean you set multiple rigid boundaries. It means you enable a more informed opt-in process for members so that they come for the right reasons and find value in the community. Moreover, as you understand your members better, you can become more mindful of the people who need to be a part of the conversation that the community is excluding, intentionally or otherwise, and explore ways to integrate those voices.
Who are the community weavers?
I have also come to realise the importance of the group of community weavers themselves. The weavers are the people who operate in service of the whole they bring together. They are not leaders who operate in a top-down hierarchical fashion. They sense the whole and make it visible to the members from time to time so that they can guide the evolution of the community. And, they offer “ecosystem services” that allow the community to thrive — much like the soil and the mycelium in a forest.
The weaving group is the smallest fractal that embodies the essence of the community. At the bare minimum, the weavers must have shared values and identity with the members, credibility to gather people around their intention and the ability to engage with them meaningfully.
To truly realise the potential of the community, the weavers must also embody what they wish to see emerge. The community is as strong or weak as the internal process followed amongst the weavers because this process seeps into their actions and words with the larger group.
Members receive signals and messages through interacting with weavers and the spaces they hold, which are far more powerful than a manifesto or agreements written together. They become a source of how people experience the community itself.
It is important to focus on who forms the community. At the same time, it doesn’t mean the purpose and process don’t matter. The purpose and the process should flow from the members, without which we create an audience to be engaged, instead of members who have skin in the game.
What have you observed about the communities that make you feel more engaged and connected? How much attention do they pay to the who?
Notes:
If you want to learn more about community weaving, check out https://www.community-weaving.org/about
While I have not written this article using this framework, the writings of Fabian Pfortmüller and Michel Bachmann, its co-authors have inspired my process over the years. This new framework, created with Sita Magnuson and Erin Dixon, may resonate with many building wholesome communities.
Michel also wrote a post many years ago on the same theme Start with the Who that you can read to explore a different take on the topic.
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