There are many analogies about community building. Some say it’s like gardening. Planting seeds in fertile ground, then providing the seedlings with the things they need to flourish. As the garden grows it continually needs maintenance and ongoing support (water & fertilizer). Another is that a community is like a party where the community manager is the host.
I think that the community manager role is like parenting. Parenting has it’s challenges and there are no specific instructions. Each family has it’s own culture, routines, traditions and expectations. As a parent you wonder about things. My daughter is 20 and I’ve went thru many phases.
Here are the parallels that I see.
- a continual worry – are you doing the right thing by everyone?
- are you treating everyone fairly & not showing favoritism?
- are you encouraging everyone to spend time together & participate?
- are you giving the community space to grow independently?
- are you empowering them to be individuals? yet encouraging them to learn together?
- are you ensuring a happy, safe environment for everyone to participate in?
- are you introducing new ideas and encouraging the community to grow, thrive and contribute to it’s own success?
And I view my colleagues as my work family. And that’s just as important as the community/customers.
- are you encouraging your team to learn new things about social media?
- do you encourage them to work cross functionally and build on each other’s knowledge, share new ideas & grow the company together?
- are you sensitive to to other’s needs and support your colleagues when they need it?
- do you work to identify & break down barriers in a constructive way?
- are you introducing innovative ideas that better your workplace?
I’m sure that you can think of more! And if it sounds like the position is part social worker, psychologist and parent there’s probably a reason for that! Those of us that thrive on this type of work enjoy the challenges of working with people, leading, teaching and empowering others.
Do you agree with my analogy?
Hi Connie,
I can’t really say I have the experience of a parent, but I can see the similarities. I would like to point out there are many, many books written about parenting than there are about community management. Right? =)
I love this analogy and I actually have similar abstracted thoughts about women in leadership – http://www.thesocialorganization.com/2009/04/what-women-know-and-how-it-drives-profitability.html – Good parenting skills are in very close alignment with nurturing any endeavor. And, it doesn’t just apply to women.
I think some will disagree arguing that a CM should be part of the community as an equal.
However as a community manager of a parenting website, and a mother, I feel I’m in a perfect position to wholeheartedly agree Connie.
And when things do go “wrong” and there are fights or disagreements in your community you need to assess the safe & happy environment you should be nurturing.
Ask questions – is there a trend happening here? Why did this happen in x forum? Do the rules address this? Were they reinforced? Are the rules too strict? Did I communicate with the people involved?
This ties in nicely with your post – do women make better community managers!
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[…] not the first, nor will I be the last to equate community management to parenting. Connie Bensen made the analogy and recently Simon Phillips wrote a post You Teach What You Accept that got at a similar behavior […]
[…] Leading a Community is Like Parenting – Connie Bensen […]