We all know that the UK population voted on its view of community on Thursday, about which I am not going to comment, except for noting that whatever the size of 'community', there are certain things that identify a group of people as being a community:
- Feelings of membership: feelings of belonging to, and identifying with, the community.
- Feelings of influence: feelings of having influence on, and being influenced by, the community.
- Integration and fulfilment of needs: feelings of being supported by others in the community while also supporting them.
- Shared emotional connection: feelings of relationships, shared history, and a "spirit" of community.
But as two people contacted me last week with questions about 'community' I thought I'd be topical – and give them a response. They asked:
1. 'What I am looking for is anything that would stimulate the debate about is there a transformation leadership community, if there is who are they and what distinguishes them as a community and how do we create that?'
2. 'We are keen to start a conversation with the wider organisation design community about next steps in building our community and developing our collective capacity – can you give us your views on this?'
