Taking Community For Granted

We long for a place where everybody knows our name.  We seek community. While there continue to be discussions over what actually defines a community, for many, it is a sense of cohesiveness among a group of people.

Let's go with that.

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Sometimes communities are organized like Women of HR or Tribewriters. Sometimes communities are organic. Bottom line - people join a community because the community offers something they want or need. Victorio Milian recently posted that community, "may simply come down to supporting and interacting positively with other individuals who share a vested interest. Your community helps you succeed, even when success isn't evident." 

He nailed it.

In a 2012 Forbes article, The 4 Pillars of Community Management, the author wrote that community managers are pivotal in getting people not only to your community, but actively involved in it; connecting with people; listening to feedback and evolving the community based on member needs. Good community managers build communities that last.

She nailed it.

Communities are in constant motion. It's not a question of if members will leave a community, it's a question of when. If you are establishing a community or currently managing one, here are a few points to remember:

• You don't own the people in your community.
• People have a choice. If they chose you, treat them well.
• Know your niche. You can't be everything to everybody.
• Members are looking for a reason to stay. Give them 10.

Don't take your community or its members for granted. Life happens and things change. When a member chooses to leave your community don't be dismissive. Or an ass.

Taking Community for Granted by Lisa Rosendahl first appeared on lisarosendahl.com.

Email and Employee Engagement

When we discuss factors impacting employee engagement, the manager-employee relationship always makes the list. Originally published in 2008, this post from the archives addresses an often overlooked element of day to day interactions.

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Managers can be a major source of dissatisfaction for employees. One thing a manager can do is make sure you're as nice in email as you are in person (click for link). 

• Respect the impact an email can have on an employee. When an employee sees an email from their boss, their blood pressure actually goes up (click for link), no matter what the content of the mail is. But, understandably, blood pressure went up even more when employees got angry emails from the boss, or emails from a boss they perceived to be unfair. If you get in the habit of sending little bombs throughout the day, you will create a truly deadly workplace.

• Be consistent. People read a lot into emails because the emails are devoid of the nonverbal cues we use to judge a message delivered in person. If you usually send very cordial ones, and then send a cold one, people who depend on you will spend hours analyzing it. The more consistent you are, the more people will focus on your content and stop wasting time trying to figure out subtext.

Managers, are you ready to fire off a strongly worded email, tip the balance of power in your favor and enjoy the illusion while it lasts?  Don't. Step away from the computer. I expect more from a leader in my organization and you should too.