Imagine the Possibilities
Bring your community vision to life
There’s joy and fulfillment on the other side of a launch – but it takes some bravery to get there.
It’s scary to put your ideas out into the world. You get hung up on imagining the worst: what if no one comes? What if people come and they don’t like it? What if I fail?
I challenge you to flip the script.
Imagine the best case scenario. Imagine the satisfaction of seeing people not only show up, but post, comment, and interact. Imagine the fulfillment of seeing members reach those milestones they longed for.
Before your community can start changing lives, you need to build it.
You need to get that vision out of your head and into reality. And believe it or not, that’s not as hard as it sounds.
You don’t need a massive number of people to get started. Most likely, that grandiose plan you’re concocting could (should???) be scaled way back. Just start and then build alongside the members you bring into the room.
Create your community with your members, not just for your members. They’re as much a part of what you’re building as you are.
In fact, that’s how your mission takes off and starts to take on the characteristics of a movement.
It will forever be stuck as “your” idea if you don’t bring others along on the ride.
In a groundbreaking article in 1986, McMillan and Chavis said a sense of belonging and of “mattering” is a key part of what makes a community a community. Here’s an excerpt:
“Our proposed definition has four elements. The first element is membership. Membership is the feeling of belonging or of sharing a sense of personal relatedness.
The second element is influence, a sense of mattering, of making a difference to a group and of the group mattering to its members.
The third element is reinforcement: integration and fulfillment of needs. This is the feeling that members’ needs will be met by the resources received through their membership in the group.
The last element is shared emotional connection, the commitment and belief that members have shared and will share history, common places, time together, and similar experiences.”
If you’re worried that you don’t have what it takes to lead a movement, please remember there’s no one way to lead.
Look at how you’ve been successful at leading people offline and in other parts of your life – as a parent, teacher, manager, organizer, even the host of a book club.
The best communities have leaders who make space for others to shine – the “guide on the side” rather than the “sage on the stage.”
Your role is to connect Member A to Member B in meaningful ways, building bonds of friendship and connection – not to have the answer to any question under the sun. The best learning happens when ideas build on one another and members develop into leaders themselves.
That should take off some of the pressure.
You shouldn’t be the sole source of advice or the last word.
Instead…
Architect a space that makes learning and connection possible.
Craft events that members want to attend on repeat.
Give agency to members so that they can become leaders in their own right.
Watch, listen, and be responsive, and you will see your community take on a life of its own.
Your guide on the side,
We talk about all the aspects of building communities inside The Hive. 🐝
If you’re a curious, kindhearted leader, we’d love to welcome you inside.