{"id":12341,"date":"2021-04-20T08:55:27","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T07:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/?p=12341"},"modified":"2023-02-13T16:47:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T16:47:30","slug":"how-to-identify-the-key-members-of-your-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/how-to-identify-the-key-members-of-your-community\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Identify the Key Members of Your Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Individuals Within a Community: Understanding diverse roles, mindsets, needs, and skills of community members.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Community-based actions and innovations have literally brought our species into existence (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/communities-throughout-history-how-and-why-community-formation-led-to-success\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">check out our last post)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and they have continued to be responsible for notable successes throughout history and in the present day. But communities, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/alumni-management-platform\/\">corporate alumni networks<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/aluminate-for-education-alumni-engagement-software\/\">alumni engagement networks for education<\/a>, are, in fact, composed of multiple diverse individuals. This post steps away from the macro to the micro and examines some of the ways that the individuals within communities operate, including what role\/s they fulfil, what needs they have, and what skills they offer within the larger community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to receive updates when we publish new and interesting content.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-overflow:visible;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"width:calc( 100% + 0px ) !important;max-width:calc( 100% + 0px ) !important;margin-left: calc(-0px \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-0px \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column fusion-flex-align-self-flex-start fusion-column-no-min-height\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:0px;--awb-margin-bottom-large:0px;--awb-spacing-left-large:0px;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-spacing-right-medium:0px;--awb-spacing-left-medium:0px;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-spacing-right-small:0px;--awb-spacing-left-small:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div style=\"text-align:left;\"><a class=\"fusion-button button-flat fusion-button-default-size button-default fusion-button-default button-1 fusion-button-default-span fusion-button-default-type\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Sign up to our blog and get updates when we publich new and interesting content.\" href=\"https:\/\/em1.aluminati.net\/subscription?f=Y9763IqTdXLSunXJOKOQGB938N892k763y1WtpPG2tfsVpbdMORE2WFqgYW763gLLEU2RsY3\"><span class=\"fusion-button-text\">Subscribe to our Blog<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12342\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/estevao-gedraite-yC_3c0v-iks-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/estevao-gedraite-yC_3c0v-iks-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/estevao-gedraite-yC_3c0v-iks-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/estevao-gedraite-yC_3c0v-iks-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever heard the story of the blind men and the elephant? It\u2019s an Indian philosophical tale about how we all experience the world differently. The story goes like this: there are several blind men (&#8212;&#8212;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hmmm&#8230;wait a second. Do I really want to start this post with yet another story about a group of men? Let\u2019s try this again\u2026)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*Take two*.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are several blind people who were told that an elephant had come to their village. Being blind, they\u2019d never <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seen <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an elephant before, and they began to ask each other what an elephant is. They all agreed that the best way to find out would be to reach out and touch it. So that\u2019s what they did.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One, who was touching the elephant\u2019s trunk, said that the elephant is like a pipe. Another, touching the leg, said that an elephant is like a tree trunk. Another, touching the ear, said that an elephant is like a sheet of fabric. Still, another, touching the tail, said that an elephant is like a piece of rope. And so forth.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you can probably imagine, they had various disagreements when they voiced their experience-based conclusions, and all of them claimed that they were right and everyone else was wrong. It wasn\u2019t until they realised that they were touching different parts of the same elephant that they came to understand that they were, in fact, all equally (albeit differently) correct.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/gabriella-clare-marino-Hx8HaI4ERkA-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/gabriella-clare-marino-Hx8HaI4ERkA-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/gabriella-clare-marino-Hx8HaI4ERkA-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/gabriella-clare-marino-Hx8HaI4ERkA-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>What does an elephant tale have to do with my community?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian philosophy uses this story to teach something called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anekantavada\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anekantavada<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which essentially means a willingness to hold on to multiple seemingly contradictory viewpoints. (Intrigued? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theinterfaithobserver.org\/journal-articles\/2015\/7\/2\/anekantavada-moving-beyond-exclusivist-religious-claims.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read more here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there\u2019s another, less-emphasised, teaching from this tale: collaboration and community-based (rather than individualised) problem solving can yield remarkably better outcomes. This is because when we \u201cput our heads together,\u201d as the saying goes, we are not just tackling the same problem with amplified brainpower. Rather, community-based approaches tackle a singular problem by strategically utilising every member\u2019s diverse viewpoint to achieve maximum output.\u00a0 I<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcg.com\/publications\/2017\/people-organization-leadership-talent-innovation-through-diversity-mix-that-matters\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t\u2019s been clearly proven<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that we get <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/rocio_lorenzo_how_diversity_makes_teams_more_innovative\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">better ideas and better results<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when we have a diverse group working together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the past year, you\u2019ve probably seen multiple webinars, articles, and social media posts about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatplacetowork.com\/resources\/blog\/why-is-diversity-inclusion-in-the-workplace-important\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">diversity and inclusion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. So we probably don\u2019t have to convince you that diversity within a community should be more than just a tokenistic item on our company checklists. Diversity is an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcg.com\/en-ca\/publications\/2018\/how-diverse-leadership-teams-boost-innovation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">influential asset <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that we should all eagerly and actively welcome into our workplaces. But, importantly, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s an easy thing to accomplish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/variation-69470_1280-1024x935.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/variation-69470_1280-300x274.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/variation-69470_1280-768x701.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/variation-69470_1280-1024x935.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/variation-69470_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>What does diversity in a workplace look like?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When people talk about diversity in the workplace, they mean one of two things:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Diverse members.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A diverse community should be filled with individual members who come from different backgrounds, walks of life, and who thus see the world in different ways. Here, it\u2019s important to think not only about \u201chard\u201d skill sets that individuals offer (software engineers vs. finance gurus vs. salespeople, etc.) but also about aspects of identity such as: gender, age, language, culture, interests, and life experience. All of these aspects of identity&#8211;the visible\/physical as well as the more abstract aspects&#8211;deeply matter. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02. Diverse roles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A diverse community will consist of individual members who occupy different roles within the community. It\u2019s these different roles that allow it to function smoothly. Here, we\u2019re less focused on which skills or even life experiences people bring to the table (though, often, those play a role here, too!) and more focused on what personality and communication traits they naturally possess in order to engage with others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A lot of discussions about diversity focus on diverse members&#8211;and for good reason! Many individuals from minority communities have been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.talentlyft.com\/en\/resources\/what-is-systemic-discrimination\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">systematically discriminated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against for centuries, and it\u2019s high time to change the norm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, because we know that many communities sometimes <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">neglect to consider the second type of diversity, we are going to focus on that type in this post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12345\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/s-o-c-i-a-l-c-u-t-r0saAQNjEjQ-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/s-o-c-i-a-l-c-u-t-r0saAQNjEjQ-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/s-o-c-i-a-l-c-u-t-r0saAQNjEjQ-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/s-o-c-i-a-l-c-u-t-r0saAQNjEjQ-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Firstly, remember: \u201cCommunities\u201d are far more than \u201cgroups.\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The word \u201ccommunity\u201d shares its etymological origins with \u201ccommunal\u201d and \u201ccommon\u201d, meaning that the people who form a community have to have something in common with each other. So, if you\u2019re a community builder, you\u2019ve probably spent some time honing in on what precisely ties your community together. But, as we explored <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/what-actually-is-community-and-why-should-it-matter-to-me\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in our first post in this series<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a community isn\u2019t magically formed just through possessing a common identity thread. Rather, a community is a group of people who <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">intentionally engage and interact with each other for a purpose beyond their own self-interest. And that\u2019s precisely where the diversity of roles matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">community<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you want to create an environment where the people within that group become more than a mere group. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(A group where the individuals do not engage with each other sounds a lot more like a \u201clump\u201d rather than even a \u201cgroup\u201d&#8230;but I digress.)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Thriving communities are not static. You want to create an environment where people can reach out, interact, join each other, and collaborate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, if you want to successfully create that kind of engagement infrastructure, you have to know and understand the different ways that your members interact with each other. (And with you!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12346\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/xavi-cabrera-kn-UmDZQDjM-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/xavi-cabrera-kn-UmDZQDjM-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/xavi-cabrera-kn-UmDZQDjM-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/xavi-cabrera-kn-UmDZQDjM-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Who\u2019s Who!? Are you a Maven, a Connector, or a Salesperson?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To understand how community members interact means understanding both your own interaction habits as well as those of others. These habits are the building blocks of forming connections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most common methods to understand the various ways of interacting (or \u201croles\u201d) within a community is laid out by Malcolm Gladwell in his book <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.googleadservices.com\/pagead\/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChcSEwiCyL3D-8zvAhVbGK0GHeJgB0wYABADGgJwdg&amp;ae=2&amp;ohost=www.google.ca&amp;cid=CAESQeD2Far12CH4j40ikcXFk3Zy1e9LhNSqWFJSwK-yawZXH-z4Kf_9WOj3nqFcAX_XQvvRxS8E9Fp8b9Cdj37Z46Iq&amp;sig=AOD64_297ZcbjyD0BFjyF2aNjokKiUE0pQ&amp;q&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi277TD-8zvAhVlMX0KHVaUC58Q0Qx6BAgDEAE&amp;dct=1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tipping Point.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gladwell divides people up into 3 different archetypes: mavens, connectors, and salespeople. You could take a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proprofs.com\/quiz-school\/story.php?title=are-you-maven-salesman-connector\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quick online test <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to determine which type suits your habits and personality the most, but we\u2019ll summarise them quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Mavens <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are the people who know incredulous amounts of facts about (seemingly) every topic imaginable. They are the ones you want to go to when you\u2019re looking for information. They accumulate knowledge and are eager to share it with others. Gladwell cites <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markalpert.com\/author.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark Alpert<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; I, for my part, think of my awe-inspiring PhD supervisor. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Connectors <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are superb networkers. They\u2019ve managed to develop and maintain an immense number of connections with people across different industries and sectors. They\u2019re the ones you want to go to when you\u2019re ready to spread your wings and connect. Gladwell cites <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lois_Weisberg\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lois Weisberg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; I think of my social butterfly friend from undergrad.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Salespeople <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are the ones who are able to pitch the idea to others. They can persuade, charm, and help others see the value of a proposition that they might otherwise have neglected. They\u2019re the ones you want to have on your team when you\u2019re ready to hit the market with your ideas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each of these types operates differently within a community, and they bring different skills as well as different ways of engaging with others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Learning Who is Who in your Workplace Community<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most people will not transition too much between Gladwell\u2019s three archetypes, because the types reflect the way we intuitively interact with the world. It\u2019s about our instincts and mannerisms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And because everyone will, more or less, remain in the same \u201crole-type\u201d it\u2019s fairly important that each of these three archetypes are present in your workplace communities. After all, different viewpoints are needed in order to drive a project into success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thinking of your community, do you know who your mavens, connectors, and salespeople are? If you don\u2019t yet know, now might be a good time to ask yourself how you, as the community builder and caretaker, can find out this information. In the future, we\u2019ll be writing more about managing communities and giving you practical tips for how to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hands-2847508_1280-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hands-2847508_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hands-2847508_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hands-2847508_1280-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hands-2847508_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Mentors, mentees, and facilitating multi-directional help<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gladwell\u2019s three archetypes are helpful, but there\u2019s a second way of understanding the diverse roles within a community. This second way breaks it down in terms of who is helping who. In other words, who is the one <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">giving\/offering <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">help to others, and who is the one <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">receiving\/taking <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">help?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These giving\/taking roles should be a lot more fluid than Gladwell\u2019s archetypes. No one is born and raised to be permanently a giver or a taker. Even those of us who <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonade.com\/blog\/psychology-givers-takers-matchers-2\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lean more towards either giving or taking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0are still inclined to be reciprocal; it\u2019s a part of human nature. Communities deteriorate rapidly when people are exclusively fixed into either of these roles.\u00a0 In a healthy community, we all naturally oscillate between sharing our strengths with others and simultaneously leaning onto others in the areas where we\u2019re lacking.\u00a0 A healthy workplace community is therefore one that enables its members to move between these two identities of \u201cstrength\u201d and \u201cweakness\u201d depending on the context.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wondering how this works in the real world? Shortly after I finished my PhD, I attended <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/2020.epicpeople.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a work conference for applied anthropologists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Despite the fact that I was presenting <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an original paper<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I felt palpably out of my league. I was surrounded by anthropologists and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Human-centered_design\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">human-centered design practitioners<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who had worked in business settings for decades. What on earth could I offer to well-established practitioners and scholars in terms of mentorship?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-VpcgTEKerEQ-unsplash-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-VpcgTEKerEQ-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-VpcgTEKerEQ-unsplash-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-VpcgTEKerEQ-unsplash-1024x684.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Multi-directional mentorship in action\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference organisers, however, had stipulated that EVERY attendee should consider offering their expertise as a \u201c15-minute mentor\u201d. By doing this, they emphasised the value of not only \u201creceiving\u201d but also \u201cgiving\u201d mentorship. Of course, as human-centered design experts, they were well aware of the interpersonal value that comes from these kinds of interactions being multi-directional. So they created the necessary infrastructure and brought the rest of us on board.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was relatively easy for me to think of the ways that I wanted to be mentored. (\u201cHow do I get a job?\u201d for example.) But it took some effort to come up with what I could offer; I would not have naturally thought in that way unless the structure of the conference had prompted me to reflect on my own strengths and skills. My experiences, at first glance, may not have seemed like they qualified me to be a mentor, rather than a mentee, but it turns out that I did, in fact, have something to offer: I gave reality checks about what it was like to be an emerging employee in today\u2019s world; I walked others through how I navigated multiple short contracts rather than a steady job demand, and I gave other experience-based expertise that I didn\u2019t originally think would be of interest to others. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In other words: I was able to be a giver, as well as a taker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the end, the result of the conference intentionally setting up a multi-directional mentorship was two-fold:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. More types of mentorship were offered, thus allowing more individuals to receive mentorship<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Individuals who received mentorship were not pigeon-holed into the role of helpless mentee. Instead, they felt like bona fide community members; not just someone who breezed through, passively taking what others offered out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-HG9M8M29Ig4-unsplash-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-HG9M8M29Ig4-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-HG9M8M29Ig4-unsplash-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/christina-wocintechchat-com-HG9M8M29Ig4-unsplash-1024x684.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Multi-directional mentorship in your community\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now\u2019s a good time to think about your particular community and the roles of individuals who partake in mentorship. Probably, in some way shape or form, some kind of mentorship occurs. But which way does it flow? I am guessing that the vast majority of mentorship still occurs only from senior employees down to junior ones. And while this is good, mentorship can be much much better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order for mentorship to level up, workplaces need to create the workplace infrastructure that allows for mentorship to be multidirectional. This means that employees who are in more \u201cjunior\u201d positions need to be encouraged to think creatively about what they can offer to their more \u201csenior\u201d colleagues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For our readers who run communities in the education space, is it only your students who are benefiting from alumni? How about thinking how alumni can benefit from students? Wouldn&#8217;t it be great for students to start feeling like they can provide value in the &#8216;real world&#8217;?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, if mentorship isn\u2019t front and centre in your community, what other structures have you created which allow for individual members to live out their diversity? Creating that structure has to start with understanding your members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-12350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heather-mount-TakmtqT6qU8-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heather-mount-TakmtqT6qU8-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heather-mount-TakmtqT6qU8-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heather-mount-TakmtqT6qU8-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Building A Thriving Community Infrastructure Starts with Understanding Individual Members<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, the communities that flourish are the one<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s where their members are understood such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/\">online community platforms.<\/a> Reflect: Who are the mavens, connectors, and salespeople? Who are the givers and takers?\u00a0 For this understanding to take place, the community manager needs to steward, either actively or by cleverly designed environmental influences, those diverse individuals into positions matching their strengths and natural propensities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, lest we fall into the trap of thinking that all of these communities need to be in close proximity to each other, our next article in this series is going to examine how communities can be formed not just through physical proximity, but also remotely and across geographical regions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to receive updates when we publish new and interesting content.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:left;\"><a class=\"fusion-button button-flat fusion-button-default-size button-default fusion-button-default button-2 fusion-button-default-span fusion-button-default-type\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Sign up to our blog and get updates when we publich new and interesting content.\" href=\"https:\/\/em1.aluminati.net\/subscription?f=Y9763IqTdXLSunXJOKOQGB938N892k763y1WtpPG2tfsVpbdMORE2WFqgYW763gLLEU2RsY3\"><span class=\"fusion-button-text\">Subscribe to our Blog<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Individuals Within a Community: Understanding diverse roles, mindsets, needs, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":12384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-news","category-community"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - 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