Nurturing your community is the single most important task a community leader does. There are six key areas which you need to pay special attention to, 1. New members, 2. Acknowledging contributors, 3. Feedback, 4. Transparency, 5. Motivations, 6. Leaders.
Making it easy for new members
New comers are most susceptible to first impressions, and hence it’s most important to make sure they are acknowledged, heard and responded to. Remember the first time you joined a new company or a new team. Wouldn’t it have been easier if there was someone to guide you and get you to be part of the organization or team? Make it a point to encourage existing members to connect with new members. Maybe older members get credit points for every new person they connect with or mentor. In addition, create a guidance document or a web page to specifically help new members get familiar with your community and key personnel. One thing you could do is help them connect with people of similar interests and background. It would be a great idea to have one or more people in your community dedicated to reaching out and engaging with new members. Remember a community is all about relationships. The stronger the relationship between the members, the stronger the community.
Acknowledging and rewarding contributors
You can never say “Thank You” enough to the various contributors who help your community grow. Whether it’s the people, who reply to questions, speak at your meetings, share articles or introduce new members, make sure you acknowledge each contribution. The best way would be to design an award system which recognizes and rewards such contributors. It could be as simple as giving them a top contributor, or top solution provider or such badge or certificate, or it could be simply listing them prominently on your community web site. In fact this practice alone would go towards encouraging more contributors and ensure a thriving community.
Feedback
Feedback is the lifeblood of any community. However, different people provide feedback in different ways. Some people are comfortable in providing feedback in a discussion, some people prefer to provide feedback anonymously and some are comfortable providing feedback online via a survey. You need to consider all of these in your feedback programs. The most important thing is to listen without being defensive or reactive. This will encourage more people to provide feedback. Your critics are your best friends. They provide valuable feedback. Ensure that feedback provided and actions taken on feedback are publically announced and display them prominently. If you don’t have a solution for a particular query, allow your members to contribute their solutions.
Transparency
Someone always knows what someone is doing. It is best to publically explain what your and your group’s motivations, objectives and plans are. This ensures clarity and confidence. If a vendor is sponsoring your group meeting or website etc. make sure the community is aware of it. Ensure that there is an open policy on how sponsors can get involved. Similarly, if you have a reward program or a contest make sure that the criteria are publicly displayed. Everybody loves a mystery but no one likes a person who hides things.
Evaluating and enabling motivations
People’s motivations will change as they and the group grows. You need to periodically evaluate your member’s motivations if you need to serve the community better. You should do this at least once a year. Reference my earlier blog post regarding member motivations.
Enabling new leaders and influencers
Great leaders are most interested in nurturing the next level of leadership and influencers. This ensures that the community grows and thrives beyond the leaders time and in directions not originally envisioned. The pride and satisfaction associated with this is immeasurable.
Summary
If you need an acronym to remember the above six, try Liftman 
If you’re overwhelmed by the above six keys, then remember it’s all about relationships, always. If you look at your community and its members from the point of view of cultivating relationships, you will automatically utilize the above keys.
