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The mind of a Community Manager

February 8th, 2010 Posted in Building Community

During a recent hotel stay at the wonderful Hotel Zaza in Dallas, I noticed two quotes written on the wall of my room. Both struck me as being particularly relevant to explaining the mindset a successful community manager has to own in order to do their job.

The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’ve talked about how the Community Manager role is the “loneliest job in business” – it’s a job caught between customers and colleagues, where both expect that you’re on “the other side”. But the truth is, great community managers are great because they don’t choose a side, they understand, advocate, explain, and support both.

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.

- Antoine de Saint Exupery

A good Community Manager supports the activities a group of fans/customers are already doing. A great Community Manager has an ability to look at a situation and see below the surface. They find the people who are true leaders, not just talkers. They offer support that is more or different from what is being asked of them because it’s what matters. They constantly look at groups and social engagements and people who, to the execs on the 24th floor just look like “unwashed masses” and see something revolutionary.

Viva la Community Managers!


This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Building Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
  • Dan Latendre
    Great Post!!! At IGLOO Software we encourage companies who purchase our online communities to hire a Community Manager. We believe a Community Manager can be the difference between success and failure. A primary function of this role is Community Facilitation - best described as a combination of customer support and marketing. It is a service that offers a human connection to your online community. For more information on this role - check out our free online community playbook at http://bit.ly/bNokUI.
  • Yst
    Great post.
    What do you think is the appropriate balance between customer and colleague? Where do you spend the most time?
  • Jake, this quote is so true:
    "[Community Managers] don’t choose a side, they understand, advocate, explain, and support both."

    In many ways, we create the bridges to helping people, customers, and businesses achieve more than they would have without our help. Great post!
  • Jake,

    Wow, this post rings so true with me, especially of late. I think the biggest thing that community managers who do consulting (as I do) face is the challenge of not 'going native' (which I've been accused of in the past).

    This is especially challenging if one group (your colleagues/company) are advocating a position that is potentially harmful to your other constituency (community members). The only way I've really found to combat this is to intentionally identify what 'hat' I'm wearing when I speak with either group (and sometimes the hat changes even in mid-sentence!)

    It doesn't always solve the problem, but at least being up front with folks about who you are 'representing' with a statement or statements keeps the trust quotient up, which I believe is the most important capital you have as a community manager.

    Thanks for your insightful post.
  • Love this! I absolutely agree with these statements and think these frames of thought are vital to successful community management. You hit the nail on the head! Kudos!
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