Let's Talk About Sub-Communities

In my earlier days, the street-dance group I was in would break us up into smaller groups based on our dance styles; my dragonboat team have different micro-groups formed organically based on our personal interest; a big company would have different departments based on function; a group of 10 friends would also have times where only 3-5 people are able to actively meetup due to schedules.

These examples show that smaller groups always exist within a large group; mostly organically or could be steered towards. Let's look deeper.

Importance of Sub-Communities

A common identity is important and crucial to a community at large, but not every individuals fit into the "shared identity" as much as others. Thus, sub-communities exist to further break down, group & organise community members into different areas of focus. Within sub-communities, you can share knowledge and collaborate with a more targeted selection of people who understands and resonates more with what you do, and are even closer to the journey you are going through.

However, it is important to maintain the goals and objectives of the community at large. This is to ensure that the sub-communities are the key to the growth of the community and not a way to derail and break the community apart because of "other different interests". To simply put it, sub-communities give everyone another reason to want to stay in the community. It provides stickiness, promotes ownership and showcase diversity amongst the community. It is a useful way to bring community members closer together.

Simple Steps to Start

Sub-communities should be self-run by community members after all. But someone has to start the ball rolling. Here are some simple ways you can get started.

1. Identify the top 3-5 potential sub-communities within the community. We want to start small and slowly scale up
2. Identify who are the members that can be group within these sub-communities (overlapping is allowed)
3. Kickstart simple meetup groups to gather each sub-community
4. Allow everyone to introduce themselves, discuss their challenges & how they would like to take the group forward
5. Schedule for the next few meetups at the end of the first gathering. Commitment & Consistency is important for sub-communities to survive in a long run. Make sure you get the buy-in from the sub-communities members. They should take ownership of the group and plan their own agenda
6. Empower the sub-communities with resources, and as much as possible, transfer the power to the “leaders” within the group
7. Organise town-hall sessions to gather all sub-communities together, probably once every 6 months. Mainly to allow sharing and celebrate success

Remember, it is easy to kickstart sub-communities, but the key is how to sustain it in a long run. My advise is to give each sub-community time & space to grow, and provide sufficient support and help when needed. At the end of the day, it is important to stay connected as a central node but also be aware of not taking too much control over the operations and growth of the sub-communities.

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Share your thoughts below. I'm always open for a discussion! And feel free to share this article. #communityfirst #subcommunties #givefirst