Red Flags in Community Management: Are some of us just not cut out for it?

[Cedric]

Over the past couple of months, I've been in and out of various online community forums, and I hate to break it to you but - owning, administrating, or even moderating a forum is not for everyone. Just like any other role, it has its unique challenges and demands that might not fit all personalities or skill sets.

So, I wanted to throw out a discussion for all of you: What are the signs that someone (or maybe even we ourselves) might not be cut out for the challenging world of forum management? Here's a few points to get the ball rolling:

1. Inconsistent Presence: One day they're all in, the next they're gone for weeks. Can an inconsistent presence affect the health and activity of a forum?
2. Lack of Patience: We've seen it. Some people have high hopes thinking on instant success. They don't want to dedicate the time into developing a community.
3. Inability to Take Feedback: How many times have we seen updates or changes that the community despises, but the person in charge won't budge or consider the feedback?
4. Over-promising and Under-delivering: They've got grand plans, and they tell everyone about them. But months pass, and none of it comes to reality.
5. Emotion-driven Decisions: Decisions driven more by personal feelings than what's best for the community as a whole.

What do you think? What are other obvious signs that someone might not be suited for the pressures and responsibilities of forum management? And let's be honest, have you ever doubted yourself in this role?

Looking forward to some insightful discussions!

 

[Al]

Consistency is key for me. As in, as you say, turning up every day. I sometimes get my head turned by the 'next big project' and end up biting off more than I can chew; forgetting about the demands of my real world commitments. I need to remain focused on what I am working on and stop looking at the next project; at least, that is, until that project is at least a little bit off the ground.

 

[kensonplays]

1. Inability to Take Feedback: How many times have we seen updates or changes that the community despises, but the person in charge won't budge or consider the feedback?

I almost always ask for my communities input first. I will put up a poll for even small things like what should I stream the next day? for example. My site is small enough that there is really nobody on at the moment though. Once it starts getting more active regular users, I will still be putting out community polls on the website for major changes.

1. Inconsistent Presence: One day they're all in, the next they're gone for weeks. Can an inconsistent presence affect the health and activity of a forum?

This one can be tough, especially if your website gets very little to no traffic, essentially. I would love my community to start getting a lot more traffic, and at that point I will be able to be a lot more active. I do not want it to feel one-sided, with me being the only person that is posting LOL.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Honestly if you're a person that has a hard time focusing on a project, you might be better off just being staff on a forum rather than owning one. Chances are you might be impatient if you're one who's known to give up on a project if it's not going the way you want it to, but haven't put in the effort to make it better. If you don't have the time to login at least once a day and make a post here and there, you're also better off giving the community to someone else who has the time to run the place. Life can get busy we all know that, and it's absolutely fine to admit when you don't have the time to run a community. If anything comes up it's also best to communicate with everyone if you're not going to be online for a certain period of time, rather than just ghosting everyone.

 

[joelr]

This is a discussion that isn't talked about enough, especially at the hobbyist level.

 

[Cedric]

This is a discussion that isn't talked about enough, especially at the hobbyist level.

Well yes, thank you for that insight, hence why this is posted — feel free to pitch in your thoughts.

 

[joelr]

Well yes, thank you for that insight, hence why this is posted — feel free to pitch in your thoughts.

My thoughts are ... many, many people aren't meant to be community owners LOL.

On a serious note, I think there's a strong link between your professional success and your ability to lead your community. There are several areas of overlap: the ability to coordinate, project manage, and lead groups of people; a basic understanding of systems, marketing, accounting, and strategy; emotional intelligence in dealing with conflicts or groups of people; personal responsibility and accountability in completing tasks on time, etc. All of these are the same hallmarks of success for both real world and online.

I also think people don't reflect enough on their own personal weaknesses or areas of disinterest. For example, some people are amazing at coming up with questions after question; they might hate long form writing. Some people are very sarcastic and funny; but might be weak in inspiration and camaraderie. Some people really care about building systems but maybe not care as much about building personal relationships, etc. It's important to map out your areas of strength and interests and to figure out where you might be most blind. This requires a certain level of personal maturity.

I personally think it's a very high bar of standards for a great community leader. You need vision, strategy, and execution. On the other hand, it's literally never been easier to start an online community or online group on Amino Apps, Facebook Groups, Discord or MeWe so everyone can jump in.

 

[Cedric]

My thoughts are ... many, many people aren't meant to be community owners LOL.

On a serious note, I think there's a strong link between your professional success and your ability to lead your community. There are several areas of overlap: the ability to coordinate, project manage, and lead groups of people; a basic understanding of systems, marketing, accounting, and strategy; emotional intelligence in dealing with conflicts or groups of people; personal responsibility and accountability in completing tasks on time, etc. All of these are the same hallmarks of success for both real world and online.

I also think people don't reflect enough on their own personal weaknesses or areas of disinterest. For example, some people are amazing at coming up with questions after question; they might hate long form writing. Some people are very sarcastic and funny; but might be weak in inspiration and camaraderie. Some people really care about building systems but maybe not care as much about building personal relationships, etc. It's important to map out your areas of strength and interests and to figure out where you might be most blind. This requires a certain level of personal maturity.

I personally think it's a very high bar of standards for a great community leader. You need vision, strategy, and execution. On the other hand, it's literally never been easier to start an online community or online group on Amino Apps, Facebook Groups, Discord or MeWe so everyone can jump in.

Thank you. Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more with your insights! It’s clear that managing a community does mirror managing a professional team in many ways, and the overlap in skills needed for both is quite significant.

You made a brilliant point about self-reflection. Understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial in any leadership role, and it becomes particularly significant when managing a diverse group of people online. It’s indeed crucial to map out areas of strength and be acutely aware of areas where one may lack. Do you think that having a diverse team of moderators with varying strengths and interests could help in covering the various areas needed for effective community management? How crucial do you think it is for a community leader to surround themselves with the right team? We can't possibly all posses the needed skills, hence we we need to surround ourselves with people who have strengths that we may not posses.

You also highlighted the accessibility of community creation platforms, and it’s true; the barrier to entry has never been lower. While this accessibility is fantastic in many ways, it also brings forth the challenge of maintaining quality and purpose amidst a sea of communities. How do you think a community leader can ensure the uniqueness and relevance of their community in such a saturated environment? And how significant is the role of innovation in ensuring the longevity and success of an online community?

And to circle back to your point about emotional intelligence, I believe it’s one of the key components in dealing with conflicts and leading groups. It’s not just about understanding one’s emotions but also being empathetic and responsive to the emotions of the community members. You need to be emotionally stable yourself in order to maintain a community. If you don't have peace with yourself, how do you expect to treath your community when something bad happens?

Lastly, I’m curious, given the high standards and set of skills needed to be a great community leader, do you think there’s a learning curve involved? Or is it something given, where one either has these skills or doesn’t? Have you ever felt a significant improvement in your leadership skills over time, and if so, what helped you the most in gaining those skills?

Looking forward to your thoughts on these, and thank you for contributing such valuable insights to this discussion!