New trend for “Communities” or what is it?
Where did it all start?
What is a community? A community is an informal grouping of people around a common interest with horizontal communication that uses weak ties.
Weak ties are those connections that can easily be destroyed (subscribers on Telegram, Negram and other social networks), as a rule, people they know little or not at all. Such connections can help solve problems or issues.
That is, a community is any group of people, but what does that give us? At a minimum, an understanding that all communities can be divided into species, which are characterized by their own criteria. And this already makes us aware of a simple thing: if we know what kind of group or community it is, then we know how to work with it, therefore, we know what this or that group can achieve (the result of the work), as well as how to manage it.
This is why all popular and large companies (X5 Group, Sber, etc.) are beginning to be interested in this area in order to retain people (the new generation, which needs to be written about separately) and increase results.
We all go through this, sometimes more than once.
How are groups formed? There are some phases that every person goes through:
Adaptation (acquaintance with the team, norms and foundations). Let me give you an example of a train compartment into which an 18-year-old boy enters. First of all, the young man will go in and see who is in it. These people can be his peers or older people. From this information we can draw a conclusion about the foundations and rules that may exist. After all, if these are the same young people, then various games, songs and conversations are possible all night long. Another situation is when the neighbors in the compartment are older people who will obviously go to bed earlier.
In this phase, a person adapts to the conditions that will arise before them. And most importantly, everyone will undergo adaptation, regardless of who came first.
Grouping (formation of micro groups depending on attitude to norms). In the same example, it will happen that if there are two teenagers and two pensioners in the compartment (and all of them do not know each other), then the teenagers are more likely to communicate with each other and the pensioners too. This will happen due to the fact that their norms, foundations and worldviews will be similar.
Unity (team formation, activities are carried out jointly). For example, on the train the lights were turned off in the compartment where our passengers were. After such an event, they will all begin to be indignant, because how can it be that everything has been paid for, but there is no light. Having gone through such a test, they will become closer, as they will solve one problem together, regardless of their norms and foundations. As a rule, after a unifying event (this is team building), the team is formed into:
The counter group is a group that is trying to return to the stage of unity, acting unitedly within the circle, and enjoying the result.
An informal group is a group that is focused on creating things, aimed at developing the outer circle, and enjoys the process of working together.
I would like to note that this sequence can be repeated (a new person arrives, tasks change, etc.) and the beginning will be at the adaptation stage. The most productive group is informal, since it is focused not only on the result, but also on the process, therefore, there will not be much fatigue.
What will this give us?
Everything is very simple, knowing the phases of development of the group, an understanding is formed of what you as a leader should do so that the team works: efficiently, cohesively and efficiently. And also, what activities need to be carried out so that the team goes through the phases faster and becomes more effective in their work.
