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roxymaybe's review
3.0
Some interesting points, but the insistence that the reader is going to apply this knowledge to be a (better) community leader feels like a PowerPoint presentation at an assistant managers' conference.
jwsg's review
4.0
In The Art of Building Community, Vogl lays out what it takes to make a successful community. He notes that a community "might look successful on the outside….[with] lots of members, events and funding. But communities that look strong and healthy are sometimes poorly organised. Many do not have a clear vision about what they do or where they're headed. They don't know how to make their activities more sophisticated, effective or rewarding. They may not know how to connect newer members in a meaningful way with current members. And they may have trouble finding the right prospective members and helping them get involved".
Vogl defines a community as "a group of individuals who share a mutual concern for one another's welfare". This makes it distinct from a group of individuals connected by shared ideas, interests, proximity etc but who lack concern for one another (e.g. museum members, the Goodreads "community"). Communities are therefore bound not only by shared values and shared identity, but also by shared connections and moral proscriptions on how members should behave and treat others. Understanding what the core values of the community are is important, because only then can you figure out what initiatives might resonate with members and help to grow and strengthen the community. Vogl cites the example of a company running an online community. If they were to start a programme to help gamers improve their skills, this might be a wasted investment if the community's core value is connecting gamers with one another. The converse is true.
Vogl lays out 7 principles to help grow and strengthen communities.
#1: Boundary: There has to be a recognised demarcation between insiders (members) and outsiders to make insiders feel safe and "confident that they share values and that they understand one another better than outsiders". This boundary must be regulated and maintained, whether by a formal or informal authority, based on the community's values. Gatekeepers are important for helping visitors across the boundary, giving them access to the community and explore whether there is a good fit.
#2: Initiation: The initiation is an activity that provides official recognition and welcome into the community. It helps members understand clearly who is part of the community and can be as simple as a telephone call or providing a badge, to elaborate processions and dances.
#3: Rituals: Rituals are practices that make a time or event as special or important; they are tools to bring meaning into our lives. Think family rituals or rites of passage, for instance. We can create new rituals for our community that reflect our current time and context. Vogl outlines the foundational form elements of a ritual: Opening (welcome, intention, reference a tradition, explain events and instructions); Body (share wisdom and invite participation); Closing (acknowledgement and sending)
#4: Temple: A temple is a place where people with shared values enact their community's rituals. Places of worship are clear examples but a CrossFit gym could also be regarded as minor temples. But we can create temporary sacred spaces by establishing spatial boundaries, inviting people important to the ritual into the space, wearing special clothing to the temple, creating specific lighting to draw attention to areas where it is wanted; raising up objects/people that are important, etc.
#5: Stories: Stories are how members, future members and outsiders learn the values and the value of the community. These include origin stories, stories about how the community's values are expressed and how they affect people, personal stories and vulnerable stories to build connection and trust.
#6: Symbols: By quickly reminding us of our community's values, identity and commitment, symbols are powerful tools in building community. We can offer tokens (a kind of symbol given to a person as a keepsake to remember an idea, event or set of values) to remind people of their belonging to a community. We increase the power of tokens through intention (telling the receiver why we are giving it to them); symbolism (explaining what it represents); connecting to the future (explaining how you hope it will support, change or serve them).
#7: Inner Rings: Vogl describes the journey from the periphery of a community to its inner rings as such: visitors - novices - members - elders or senior members - principal elders and skilled masters. Vogl warns that "the endless striving for the next ring can be a dangerous trap. In mature and formal communities, there is a much more satisfying and healthy way to relate to inner rings. Mature and strong communities create different levels of inner rings that members can enter (not to be superior snobs but to serve differently). At each level, members gain some benefits related to their maturation or formation.
Vogl notes that "strong communities offer a progression into successive inner rings. While some members may choose to stay at a particular level, mature communities provide opportunities to progress in their series of inner rings. In the best examples, the progression reflects a journey of growth or maturation….One type of growth can simply be a level of skill or competitive achievement…Evaluating improving skill is one way to evaluate the journey across levels. But skill improvement….is a superficial measure that may usefully organise a group, but not a community. The most powerful journey reflects "maturation" of growing concern for others…The irony is that the smaller and the more exclusive the ring to which we belong, the broader our concern for others." So while a visitor or novice is primarily concerns about their individual self, whether they are having a fun or meaningful time, whether they are securing personal legitimacy, the principal elder may be seeking to help the community fit within and serve the larger community it sits within. Vogl adds that mature and strong communities offer opportunities for external and internal growth.
A useful read for anyone interested in community-building work.
Vogl defines a community as "a group of individuals who share a mutual concern for one another's welfare". This makes it distinct from a group of individuals connected by shared ideas, interests, proximity etc but who lack concern for one another (e.g. museum members, the Goodreads "community"). Communities are therefore bound not only by shared values and shared identity, but also by shared connections and moral proscriptions on how members should behave and treat others. Understanding what the core values of the community are is important, because only then can you figure out what initiatives might resonate with members and help to grow and strengthen the community. Vogl cites the example of a company running an online community. If they were to start a programme to help gamers improve their skills, this might be a wasted investment if the community's core value is connecting gamers with one another. The converse is true.
Vogl lays out 7 principles to help grow and strengthen communities.
#1: Boundary: There has to be a recognised demarcation between insiders (members) and outsiders to make insiders feel safe and "confident that they share values and that they understand one another better than outsiders". This boundary must be regulated and maintained, whether by a formal or informal authority, based on the community's values. Gatekeepers are important for helping visitors across the boundary, giving them access to the community and explore whether there is a good fit.
#2: Initiation: The initiation is an activity that provides official recognition and welcome into the community. It helps members understand clearly who is part of the community and can be as simple as a telephone call or providing a badge, to elaborate processions and dances.
#3: Rituals: Rituals are practices that make a time or event as special or important; they are tools to bring meaning into our lives. Think family rituals or rites of passage, for instance. We can create new rituals for our community that reflect our current time and context. Vogl outlines the foundational form elements of a ritual: Opening (welcome, intention, reference a tradition, explain events and instructions); Body (share wisdom and invite participation); Closing (acknowledgement and sending)
#4: Temple: A temple is a place where people with shared values enact their community's rituals. Places of worship are clear examples but a CrossFit gym could also be regarded as minor temples. But we can create temporary sacred spaces by establishing spatial boundaries, inviting people important to the ritual into the space, wearing special clothing to the temple, creating specific lighting to draw attention to areas where it is wanted; raising up objects/people that are important, etc.
#5: Stories: Stories are how members, future members and outsiders learn the values and the value of the community. These include origin stories, stories about how the community's values are expressed and how they affect people, personal stories and vulnerable stories to build connection and trust.
#6: Symbols: By quickly reminding us of our community's values, identity and commitment, symbols are powerful tools in building community. We can offer tokens (a kind of symbol given to a person as a keepsake to remember an idea, event or set of values) to remind people of their belonging to a community. We increase the power of tokens through intention (telling the receiver why we are giving it to them); symbolism (explaining what it represents); connecting to the future (explaining how you hope it will support, change or serve them).
#7: Inner Rings: Vogl describes the journey from the periphery of a community to its inner rings as such: visitors - novices - members - elders or senior members - principal elders and skilled masters. Vogl warns that "the endless striving for the next ring can be a dangerous trap. In mature and formal communities, there is a much more satisfying and healthy way to relate to inner rings. Mature and strong communities create different levels of inner rings that members can enter (not to be superior snobs but to serve differently). At each level, members gain some benefits related to their maturation or formation.
Vogl notes that "strong communities offer a progression into successive inner rings. While some members may choose to stay at a particular level, mature communities provide opportunities to progress in their series of inner rings. In the best examples, the progression reflects a journey of growth or maturation….One type of growth can simply be a level of skill or competitive achievement…Evaluating improving skill is one way to evaluate the journey across levels. But skill improvement….is a superficial measure that may usefully organise a group, but not a community. The most powerful journey reflects "maturation" of growing concern for others…The irony is that the smaller and the more exclusive the ring to which we belong, the broader our concern for others." So while a visitor or novice is primarily concerns about their individual self, whether they are having a fun or meaningful time, whether they are securing personal legitimacy, the principal elder may be seeking to help the community fit within and serve the larger community it sits within. Vogl adds that mature and strong communities offer opportunities for external and internal growth.
A useful read for anyone interested in community-building work.
jzipperer's review
3.0
While the topic of this book is interesting, I found many of the examples to be redundant and overused, such as the repeated references to the CrossFit community. A wider breadth of examples would have more effectively driven home the principles of this book.
blackandbookish's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars
Straight forward and easy to digest. This book gave language for concepts I knew instinctively. I listened on audio book and would have preferred a more engaging narrator, but overall I would recommend for someone building or growing a small community.
Straight forward and easy to digest. This book gave language for concepts I knew instinctively. I listened on audio book and would have preferred a more engaging narrator, but overall I would recommend for someone building or growing a small community.