The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging

If it’s successful, then your communities will do at least four things better. First, it’ll help members grow in the ways they hope to. This growth can be technical, social, or internal. Second, it’ll cause members to feel more connected, welcome, proud, and excited to be a part of the group. Third, it’ll help members work together toward making th

Gatekeepers are important for helping visitors across the boundary. They’re the people who can give newcomers access to the community.

One of the great pleasures of being part of a community is that we don’t have to explain ourselves. We want to feel seen and understood without explaining the parts that outsiders don’t get.

personal letter or telephone call that welcomes a new member can be powerful.

“the only individuals who can really meet and master the problems of life . . . are those who show in their striving a tendency to enrich everyone else.”

It’s important to identify the diaconate, even an informal one, because new and maturing members will want to know what the values are and what’s permitted (that is, what allows one to stay in the group).

Gatekeepers are important for helping visitors across the boundary. They’re the people who can give newcomers access to the community. Whether officially or unofficially, gatekeepers evaluate whether an interested newcomer should be welcomed across the boundary and into the community. They may be the same as or different from those who can exclude.

Your success in growing a community will depend on how well you can understand and articulate the following features: Shared values Membership identity Moral proscriptions Insider understanding

There are at least three ways people seek success: Relative, Personal Maximization, and Community Maximization. In our own lives, we may default to one of these orientations at different times and areas in our lives. How we each seek success at work, in our family, or through philanthropy may look very different.