Photo Credit: Stevendepolo @Flickr

Demographic prejudice

When market or business leaders ignore a community, it’s not just simple ignorance (or arrogance). These decisions center on what makes the most money, is the the best time investment and demonstrates rational sense.

Since these strategies are painstakingly developed, businesses may initially investigate a community via the most superficial means.

Here, loads of missed connections occur. Communities suffer and businesses lose out on new opportunities. Relationship-building is fraught with crossed (or missed) signals. Don’t allow them to be further compounded by not adequately framing what your community has to offer.

Neighborhoods, communities, and special groups come with pre-developed sets of habits, ideas and idiosyncrasies. These points (even the less than glamorous ones) are established by its members and emphasized by its leaders. Additionally, regional, cultural and societal expectations and values solidify their presence even more.

Nevertheless, the statistical characteristics of a group only provides a general frame. These frames can work for or against the community. If you are willing to use these details to your advantage, such prejudice can negotiate opportunities, reduce disadvantages and expand your community.

A disengaged body

Communities are not just a voice.

They are a centralized and coherent voice.

The needs of a community are articulated by its members and filtered by an engaged leader. Yet, leadership within the community is a two-way street.

Communities don’t just need active participation, but genuine, uninhibited and empowering participation as well. Members need access to resources, support, open communication, and a culture of pride. These conditions create an empowering construct that leads to a greater sense of community commitment.

Empowered communities are powerful communities.

Poor leadership

Leadership is not about doing what works or what people expect. Doing what works guarantees that you’ll become boring, a yes-man (or a no-man), and someone who doesn’t care. If you aren’t caring – you aren’t a leader. And, good leaders care.

Expectations, on the other hand, are sometimes useless for leaders. These elements are merely a set of qualities (or hopes, beliefs, anticipations and so on) that derive from what is already known.

In other words, expectations don’t account for anything because they’re based on the limited information of what people know about the world (and community) around them.

Good leaders know expectations are limited. They don’t rely on them as the sole metric for a community’s success – if at all.

Instead, a good leader will challenge expectations, incite transformation and move towards revolution.

Ego*

Ego can boost or break a community. They are matters of complexity – and this is the wild card. It is hard to predict where ego can take a community. In simpler terms, ego can destroy or keep communities stagnant. It can also alienate and isolate.

In contrast, egos also provide refuge, foster identity or initiate healing. This is where groups can find their power.

Secondly, people tend to define their community ego by a series of justs - just Midwestern blue collar workers, just working single Moms or just middle-class African Americans.

In doing so, communities allow their circumstances, census descriptions or whatever else to cast the definitive gaps between remaining  just a community or evolving into a force of influence.

*Hat tip to @CarlosMic for the last entry