The New Face of Community

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Permalink Reply by Ria Baeck on July 28, 2009 at 6:03am

As a quick reply to this: What would be the question that Dialogue, Leadership and Community would be the answer for?
And what would be the question that brings Dialogue, Leadership and Community to a new synergy?

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Permalink Reply by Ulrich Soeder on July 29, 2009 at 1:59am

Wonderful questions, Ria!

I'd like to invite everyone again to join in this mutual procerss of thinking and inquiry.

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Permalink Reply by Amy Lenzo on July 30, 2009 at 2:40pm

Ria,

Just to weigh in on your direct request for a "calling" question, or set if them - you'll see some of my thoughts about why I like this idea of a "New Face of Community" earlier in this thread, but let me try again with the frame you've offered and see what comes this time ... I know I am focusing on one part of your question and there is much more to explore in the other two topics being suggested, but perhaps this will be a start:

I'm drawn to a conversation that explores how community is formed and sustained, and how it functions today ("How is community formed in today's world and what is its function?" "How is community strengthened and sustained?").

I find that many of the groups of people I feel part of, feel "in community" with, are not in my immediate geographic area, and I wonder how that changes the very idea of community ("Does the meaning of community change when it is no longer applied to the historical Agricultural model? And if so, how?").

In response to the challenges I see before us as a species I look to how I might stretch to an experience of community that encompasses the whole of humanity ("What might a community made up of all humanity look like?").

I find it fascinating that I am part of so many overlapping communities, so I find myself wondering how these communities might relate to each other and whether they might aggregate their impact and work together in some way (How might communities, and our communities in particular, deepen our connections and how might we work together in ways that can leverage our strengths?")

Thanks for asking, Ria. I think this is a very valuable question you've raised.

I haven't explored the other two concepts as fully, but for me they go together - and the kinds of "calling" questions I associate with them, personally, are:

"What supports the cultural transition from the old Command and Control hierarchical model of Leadership to a model that is based on conversation and collaboration?"

"What does Leadership mean in an atmosphere of shared responsibility and initiative?"

I'd love you to be there as you would be a wonderful partner to engage these questions with. Will it be possible?

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Permalink Reply by Charles M. Savage on July 30, 2009 at 1:00pm

Ulrich, have a look at this wonderful note about Henry Mintzberg's thinking. He's focusing on the same things as we are for the conference. Charles


Rebuilding companies as communities
Blog: Dark Matter Matters – by Chris Grams - Published July 3, 2009

Source: http://darkmattermatters.com/2009/07/03/rebuilding-companies-as-com...

The brilliant Henry Mintzberg. I've got to meet this guy some day.
Holy smokes, Henry Mintzberg is at it again! The guy who predicted the economic collapse in 2006 (why is he not more famous, I don’t get it?) has an article in the July/August issue of the Harvard Business Review suggesting that the cultural framework of the corporation is completely broken.
And, according to Mintzberg, the way to fix it is not by thinking like a corporation, but instead by thinking like a community. From the article:
Beneath the current economic crisis lies another crisis of far greater proportions: the depreciation in companies of community– people’s sense of belonging to and caring for something larger than themselves. Decades of short-term management, in the United States especially, have inflated the importance of CEOs and reduced others in the corporation to fungible commodities…
And it’s is a two way street… When a corporation treats its employees like simple assets to be hired and fired as the share price rises or falls, the employees treat the corporation like… a corporation.
The end result? Disengaged employees who don’t care about the business, and the business (and the shareholders) suffer for it. So for heaven’s sake, Henry, tell us how to fix it!
The corporation must view as a priority the idea of building a vibrant community of employees where everyone feels like they are part of something bigger than themselves and everyone is passionate and energized. Mintzberg points out that young companies (probably in many cases started by people with a shared vision) usually have this community, but tend to lose it as they grow up.
Mintzberg coins a new term “communityship” which is kind of a mashup of leadership and shared vision. He says the ideal state is where there is “just enough” traditional leadership to set the direction, but once people get and internalize the vision, the great ideas to support it can come from anywhere in the company.
Hey, that sounds a bit like the way open source works. In fact, Mintzberg calls out “Linux, and other open source operations” as examples of where “communityship” is already happening today. Definitely… we’ve been in the community-building business at Red Hat for a long time, and we’ve built an internal culture based on similar ideas. What’s more, we’ve proven this practice doesn’t only just make happy, engaged employees. It can also be the core of a profitable, successful business model as well.
I’ve explored some of the Red Hat / Fedora thinking around communities in other posts in this blog including the one entitled Red Hat Nation, which still seems to get clicked on a lot.
Oh, and there’s a lot more in the Mintzberg article, so rather than spoil it, I’d suggest that you support the great ideas in the Harvard Business Review by picking up a copy.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
• Mintzberg on Communityship
• Community vs. Company
• Director – Law Definition

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Permalink Reply by Ulrich Soeder on July 31, 2009 at 3:46am

Hi Charles,

thank you for this link. If we could get this kind of minds together for our thinking and acting towards the future ...

Ulrich

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Permalink Reply by Charles M. Savage on July 31, 2009 at 4:50am

Ulrich,
You are amazing in your responses from a camping tent in Austria. You are right, but this is also our opportunity to open new frontiers of thinking for us all. Thanks for all your inspiring thoughts. Charles

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Permalink Reply by Ellia Ryan on August 2, 2009 at 6:15pm

Hello Everyone,

I've recently joined the community. I've just discovered this conversation, and have been greatly interested in what's been written so far. It is excellent timing to consider some of the questions posted here since I am hosting my first conversation on Aug 12 in Seattle on the topic: "Where does 'sense of community' come from?", with the intention of focusing on geographic community. It will be interesting to see how quickly and to what extent the notion of virtual community will appear (as I'm certain it will).

I look forward to following this conversation further, and will contribute any relevant outcomes from my neighborhood salon.

Rgds,
Ellia

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Permalink Reply by Ulrich Soeder on August 4, 2009 at 7:39am

Hi Ellia,

all the best for your nighborhood salon!
If you find out where the sense of community comes from, please let us know! Once you have this sense of community, how do you grow and nurture it?
I wish you have inspiring inquiries!

Cheers, Ulrich

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Permalink Reply by Ellia Ryan on August 4, 2009 at 8:05am

Many thanks Ulrich!

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Permalink Reply by Amy Lenzo on August 4, 2009 at 12:21pm

Ellia,

I'd love to hear the stories from your conversation! Please share what happens in the StoryNet here, will you?

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Permalink Reply by Ellia Ryan on August 4, 2009 at 12:32pm

I'll be delighted to!

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Permalink Reply by diane nancekivell on August 3, 2009 at 2:57am

Hi im back in Australia having lived for 4 years in scotland in the findhorn eco village community and then 2 years in and out of morocco living in the old Medina in Fez and experiencing a closely knit urban society.

I contemplated on this question of what makes a community come together and act as a unit
I thought it was sharing a space then sharing ideas and dreams together however each time i thought i had isolated the governing principles another example would defy the definition or perceived requirements

I can comment on the success of the Findhorn community which is the size of a large village and still growing and its growth and Change??
What i most appreciated was the care and support of each other and tolerance of differences. Definately being open in communication and trying many models of leadership out together!Anyway nice to connect and looking forward to sharing thoughts with you

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