Tuesday 27th October 2009 by Peter Furtado

As always, the best way to answer the question is to think about real life. Personally I find joining an existing community (like a sports club) a fairly stressful business. I introduce myself, look for a friend or mentor to show me the ropes, engage in the core activities and hope to attract the attention of more established members, until something happens – maybe the arrival of someone newer than me, maybe an invitation to join a committee – which means that suddenly I feel like a new boy no longer.

Exactly how stressful all that is depends very much on whether I am welcomed on arrival, and how genuinely helpful that welcome is. But it also depends on my feeling, somewhere down the line, that I have somehow managed the transition from ‘new-boy’ status to that of established and valued member of the group. This transition can involve some treacherous ground, and it’s not uncommon either for myself or for the rest of the group unconsciously to put a foot wrong. The upshot can be that I never properly settle, and sooner or later will go away.

Temporary groups are easier to join

In fact, though, I don’t join established groups all that often, which is maybe why (or because) I find it such a stressful thing to do. Much more common for me and, I guess, for most of us, is participating in the creation of new ones, some of which – like those at seminars or conferences - might have a life-span of no more than a few hours. Here it’s a lot easier as the expected level of commitment is far lower, there are no established hierarchies and patterns of behaviour to penetrate, and everyone is joining at the same time.

In both cases, though, our very first step is the same one. We announce ourselves, give our names and perhaps a suitable indication of our status. We might follow this up with some sort of comment: how we came to be here, what we thought of the last speaker, even – if we’re all British – how depressing the weather is. We may do it in the hopes of putting each other at our ease, or possibly to provide a bit of context for the real business that has brought us into the same room.  Only after that so we get down to playing squash, discussing Jane Austen or learning programming.

The welcomer and the welcomed

Whether it’s an established community or a new or temporary one, and whether it’s a community that demands serious commitment from its members or is very casual, there always are the same two sets of process going on. One set is for the group management (the club committee, the conference organiser), the other for the new community member. If it wants to attract and retain new blood, the management has to think about greeting, induction, and ongoing encouragement of pretty much whoever walks through the door; while the new member goes through the process of  feeling at home first by profiling him- or herself, then meeting others by chatting  and commenting, and finally collaborating with the ones whose interests coincide most closely, in order to gain value out of the investment of time.

If we can help clients set up their communities in a manner that emulates this familiar procedure, we can give them a chance of succeeding. Begin by encouraging potential members to announce themselves, to the organisation and give them a reason to announce themselves to others; then get them commenting or conversing. Finally, they will find their own reasons and opportunities to collaborate.