The community in which we all live, work, and play is the most important element of our success. I am talking about the sense of belonging that is created whether it is the town you live in, your family, the job you have or the business that you own. Our human nature thrives on feeling that we “belong”. If you create this since of community in your life and in your business you will be able to see a huge difference in what you are able to accomplish.
Webster’s definition of “Community” is a widely defined word that we will explore in a little more detail to show you how important community is in your business.
1. a unified body of individuals: as a group linked by a common policy
The Wall Street Journal published an article that included a survey conducted by the Conference Board, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping businesses rebuild their community culture. This survey studied the satisfaction level of employees with the jobs they held. The results showed that a majority of employees were satisfied with their jobs because of the co-worker relationships they had developed. They key word here is RELATIONSHIPS. These employees will work together because they have relationships with their coworkers. If given a common purpose, they will work together to achieve it.
2. joint ownership or participation <community of goods> (Mission, Values, Purpose)
Joint ownership would indicate that more than one person has adopted this as their own and is participating to achieve the outcome with others.
Your company has a mission statement, a purpose and values. This is your employee’s guide to answering any question that they have about conducting your business. If it is clear to them what you are trying to achieve, they will get there.
3. common character : likeness (Goals)
Common character is the goal that they are working to achieve. People naturally want to help and will do more when they know what needs to be done but more importantly WHY it needs to be done.
4. social activity : fellowship (Meeting)
Fellowship is the interaction of a group of people (a meeting) sharing mutually beneficial thoughts, ideas, opinions, achievements, failures, feelings, information. The more often you meet, the more common the goals become and the more unified your team will become.
5. a social state or condition (Tracking)
The social state or condition is everything that is done to track where you are. These are the measures or reports that you use to track your progress.
There are many different parts of a community but as you review them all you see that there needs to be a group of people with a common purpose or goal, a plan that directs the actions to take in order to reach the goal, meetings to talk about it, and a reason to reach the goal.
Zig Ziglar said “What you get by achieving your goals is not nearly as important as what you become by achieving them.” Achieving a goal is satisfying, it builds confidence, character, and knowledge. Those who are a part of this achievement receive those benefits as well.
Build a dedicated community of employees who will achieve your goals and we will see you at the top!