Community in the Time of Coronavirus
Here’s what we’re recommending to clients and friends in this unprecedented time
Hello world!
Bailey of People & Company here. I’m writing you from Santa Cruz, CA. The P&C team is currently scattered — Kevin in Brooklyn, Kai in Singapore, and I’m camping out near my parents (and the ocean). We hope you and your families are well and navigating this unique, transformative time.
When we published Get Together, we had no clue we’d be staring at a pandemic six months down the road that’d necessitate us to keep our physical distance from one another in the interest of public health.
That said, we’re about to need consistent, purposeful, engaging communities in our lives more than ever. And the rules for what we can do together have shifted.
So, how can we bring our people together meaningfully if in-person is out of the question?
Here’s what we’re encouraging our clients and community leaders to consider:
1. Revisit your purpose.
The ground has shifted. Communities that used to come together for skill development, shared hobbies, or fun, may now be craving a dash more emotional support given our state of isolation. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to pick up on these new needs and design what your community does together to support them.
Take inspiration from: our re-released episode with Carly Ayres of “100s Under 100,” a thriving Slack group for designers that has become much more.
2. Adjust your shared activities.
The weekly shared hobbies and monthly dinners, book clubs, fundraisers, are no longer possible IRL. How can you take them online compellingly and creatively?
Remember: No matter if they’re hosted online or off, a great shared activity is purposeful (serves your community in the nuances of how it’s designed), is repeatable (allows that group of people to keep getting together, e.g. it’s scheduled for every Tuesday), and is participatory (members don’t just tune in or attend, their contributions are integral).
Take inspiration from:
- How Choir!Choir!Choir! is taking their singalongs online
- How InstantPot “Potheads” swap and share recipes across geographies
- How IndieHackers invites community members to call-in to interviews with founders
(Have rad examples of digital shared activities? We want to hear about them. Drop them in this collaborative Google Document.)
3. Modify your leadership roles.
Nearly every challenge of building a community can be met by asking yourself, “How do I achieve this by working with my people, not doing it for them?”
Breaking leadership up into manageable chunks and distributing those nuggets of ownership effectively is part of being a creative, inspiring leader in trying times.
So ask yourself: What do you need support with now that the world has shifted? Are there genuine and qualified people who you can ask to step in and help you with those responsibilities in this transitional moment?
Finally, we’ve been hosting pro-bono Office Hours for the last year and a half. (We’ve coached 100 communities and counting!)
If you’re organizing a community that’s helping folks at the most risk/most hurt by the pandemic, we’d love to offer our time to you. Reach out here.
Onward!
Bailey, Kevin and Kai of People & Company
This post is part of the People & Company team’s ongoing research into exceptional communities that are bridging the gaps between us. People & Company works with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities.
We’ve also published a community-building handbook called Get Together: How to build a community with your people. Order your copy here, and subscribe to our podcast “Get Together” for more stories from extraordinary communities.
