There's a line I keep seeing being repeated, and I don't like it. "We don't build community, we create the conditions for it." You've probably said some version of this yourself. I probably have muttered these words too. It sounds humble, generous even, handing all the credit back to your people.
There's a reason so many of us community people are exhausted. Pushed to the side and under appreciated. Well actually, of course there are many reasons, but the one I am focusing on today is the myth that we don't build communities, we create the conditions for it.
Simon and I had a little discussion on this on our This Week in Community show (link is available at the end).
Creating conditions is building. But really, just nope. I'm here to take a stance against it. And before I go forward, let me just be clear, of course people and their contributions matter, but saying that we simply create the conditions of community, and then the people do the work...it's quite simply de-motivating, and disrepectful to the work we put in.
I build community. And I will shout it from the rooftop. I graft every single day. I show up. We build infrastructure. Create spaces. Invest in connection. We listen. We research. We create processes. Figure out the legal and financial pillars. Then we build some more. I am a builder. And the communities I've helped build over the years would have not grown without the builder mindset.
Personally, we've (re)invested so much of our time and money (in the millions!) into the building. Just because a good chunk of it is digital, doesn't mean it isn't infrastructure. Just because part of the process requires people, it doesn't mean we shouldn't make the invisible work visible.
The myth sticks because, on the surface, it isn't wrong. Community really can't exist without people choosing to show up and participate. And most community people are humble by nature, we don't like to take credit. Saying "it's not about us" feels like the gracious thing to say.
Think about your own town. Roads, water, housing, schools. None of that built itself, and none of it exists just because people wanted to live there. Someone designed it, funded it, maintained it, kept it joined up. Calling that "conditions" undersells what it actually is: a system, with real decisions behind every part of it and every part connected to the next.
The deeper and hidden problems. When we don't make it clear that community requires infrastruture and investment, then people won't understand the challenges we have of building a community of value. If we keep saying that it's all about the people, then it becomes devalued. Anyone and everyone starts believing they can create community.
I believe we are now seeing the symptoms of that.
Whether it's X coming in buying something out and thinking they can just keep going as they were.
Or your average Joe, or Josephine, spinning up a community with the belief that all they need to do is gather a few people and magic will happen.
Or your members showing up, without giving and expecting the world from the community. This is a sense of entitlement is somewhat rooted in the problem of saying that it's all about the people. I feel like it has gotten to the point that people have forgotten how to give.
It also leads us to the classic situation where a community manager comes in and honestly doesn't know what to do next. All they think about is engagement, rather than the bigger picture and the reality of the costly infrastructure (which, tbf, is normally outside of their control).
All of this makes people think community is easy, but the reality is that what we are now left with are so many communities that quite frankly never come close to reaching their potential. There's a real mismatch in expectations and it's a doom spiral that doesn't help our industry.
Is this all down to saying that it's the people that create the conditions? No, of course not. But the more I think about it, and literally as I put words down, the more I see how this mindset has a knock on effect on community successes and failures.
Stop saying you just create conditions. Please. Stop saying it's all about the people. You build the systems, the platforms, the decisions that let people show up and do the good stuff. You (need to) invest a sh*t ton of money, resources and investment into what you are building. You are creating infrastructure that requires building, one that is core and a necessity to building a community.
Yes, we build communities! Say it loud and proud! We need to help people see how a community is a real service that can't be replicated easily. We need to show people that the infrastructure we build has real value, even when we can't measure it all. We need people to realise that there is real graft going on behind the scenes to build the community.
Don't undersell yourself or your community. Your work matters more than ever now. Your members deserve to know they're not carrying the whole thing. You and your org are too.
And below, the episode where Simon and I dive into this topic.
