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Small Groups to Build a Community
If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done.
Small local groups and groups made from within existing societies work, like local aquarium clubs, conservation clubs, neighborhood enrichment groups, etc.
Vision: Reason why we are here? Everyone informed and connected.
Mission: What we DO. Conservation, the hobby, help others, support the neighborhood, etc.
Groups must have a clear purpose and focus! If not then it will not grow. What is the purpose of the group? It must be clear to everyone from potential members up to top-level organizers.
5 points: Commitment, experience, growth, discovery, and sharing. Being part of the community and growing alongside other members is important. Practicing what the vision of the group is is also important whether it be a hobby, a vision, or principles. Supporting other members, and having other members support you is a role the whole group should practice. Participating in the group and participating in activities the group focuses on is important.
Define the group’s purpose as well and balance it.
1 Interest and not proficiency
2 Purpose Driven groups, not special interest groups.
3 effective even if they are not perfect.
4 Intentional direct and not random whims.
5 Leadership potential is important not necessarily proven leaders.
6 Simple systems, not complex structures.
7 Organizational-wide alignment so everyone is on the same page.
8 Grow by campaigns and members not by splitting up groups.
9 Empower group members don’t create passive spectators.
10 Master the curriculum not leaders as Masters.
Five Pillars of Community. Commitment, experience, growth, discovery, and sharing.
1 Interest is key, not being a master. Learn and Grow! The best time to start is now.
2 Small healthy groups are important. Support the purpose of the Five Pillars.
3 Be effective at what you can. Don’t wait until perfection arrives.
4 Groups support the purpose and stay focused on the purpose.
5 All that are interested are not experienced, we bring experience to the interested.
6 Teach systems first to make it easy! Technical knowledge is okay but simple practices more.
7 Everyone needs to be on the same page. Videos and lessons? All going in the same direction.
8 Keep groups together no matter the size. Don’t split up groups and take away people for size.
9 Tomorrow’s leaders are today’s members.
10 Providing prepackaged material makes it easier for group leaders and members.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead
Home Groups
1 Fellowship. Do members have fun? Does everyone get along? A fellowship is hanging out and having fun in a community environment.
2 Dedication. Members learn and grow. As they learn and grow they are able to teach others. They can contribute their success and can help others succeed.
3 Membership. Groups are more than just meetings. Members need engagement. They need an outlet for support, growth, sharing, and community. Members need this all in a group environment. Members can help with a crisis, or receive help from other group members. Groups are a community, and community is a network of support.
4 Networking. If only big meetings happen, like those on a website or at a national level, you won’t get as much support. Small groups and individuals have a broader interaction and reach. This broader reach can teach more members and get more new members.
5 Practice. Members all have something in common. Share projects and experiences that you have in common. Help others with projects. Continue making projects and working on other people’s projects. There is success in practice. Do it.
Commitment, experience, growth, discovery and sharing. If you don’t know the target you cannot hit it.
Why small groups?
1 Humans are social creatures.
2 Convenient and local is better. Compact works.
3 Economical. No high overhead
4 Size! Growth is easy. Just add more groups.
5 Reach. Where there is a group there is reach.
6 Accountability. Members have closeby support systems.
7 Environment. Members can explore and share more easily with support.
8 Focus. Small groups have a common goal and can more easily focus on that goal.
Organization is structure, forms, and groups
Small group leadership can organize group health and purpose in a small group.
Small group individuals create environment.
Individuals balance all purpose and support all of the group.
Members are more than an influence on their own group. They can influence the world. Individuals are no stronger than leaders. Leaders will not be any stronger than you.
Guidelines
1 Meet in homes and coffee shops. Build a community.
2 Frequent or regular meetings are important. weekly is ideal but can be a bit much. Miss a monthly meeting and two months pass. Miss a weekly meeting and you haven’t missed a lot.
3 Make the group so that it has some daily purpose or action. A passive group is not a dedicated group.
4 Shared-ownership. Shared-ownership helps drive attendance. Bring or add something to each meeting. Otherwise, attendance drops.
5 Rotate leaders. One person is the official leader of each group. Encourage small groups to rotate meeting leaders. Suggest a new leader for each meeting. This helps create new leadership.
6 Attend big events. Non-local meetings, visiting talks, webinars, speeches, Etc.
7 Grow by resolving conflict quickly. Talk it out. Do not let it manifest.
8 Help one another at all levels if possible.
9 Community. You are community. Be a part of it.
10 Meet outside of group meetings. Be social with each other.
11 Share experience. Share tools, information, success, and even your failures.
12 Follow and connect with each other. Use social media. Network.
What do Group Leaders Need to Give New Members in Small Groups?
1 New members need community, wisdom, information, attention, personal relationship, and teaching.
2 Help group members understand their roles.
3 Small group leaders need to know their role clearly.
4 Experienced members learn how to teach newcomers.
5 Members and leaders don’t have to know it all. They guide and coach.
6 Small groups and leaders are creating members. All individuals grow as does the group.
Learning a discipline, not just information is important. Knowing the facts are great. Know how to use those facts. Put those facts into something tangible and apply them.
Leaders gain leadership. “I don’t know it all,” isn’t good as an answer. What is good is that small groups don’t need a know-it-all. They need practice and application. Leaders can help do that.
Teachers do all the talking, but small groups have everyone’s voice heard. Leaders don’t teach per se but develop individuals by encouragement. Leaders develop by engaging members with low-risk growth and how to apply knowledge into practice.
Opportunity, Risk, and Fear
Risk is always part of growth. Money, time, resources, or stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Do or do not. Start small, grow, and develop.
Pace risk in stages. Crawl. Walk. Run. Learn and grow.
Small groups accomplish more because they do things together. Your support structure is right there.
Individual growth. Encourage every member to receive help, give help, create, and share.
Encourage all members to make plans and to do what they have planned out.
Encourage pairing up to create and finish projects. This promotes accountabilities as does making deadlines.
Encourage group growth. Find a common niche and interests. Meet common goals, together!
1 Start small groups if all you have is a small group.
2 Start small projects to begin with. Gain momentum and trust within the small group.
3 Teach group leaders to start small. Ask only one or two members for help or support in a group meeting. This helps build more confidence in members and makes them more likely to interact.
4 Check interest. No one wants to be boring, or bored. Fun topics that are of interest will be received well.
Mobilize small groups.
Members often feel they cannot contribute, especially new members. Give them opportunities to take part in meetings. The steps are: know, grow, go, show .
Groups are made up of all kinds of parts in order to function.
Every member is an example.
Members also form a support network.
Every member has his or her strength.
Gifts
Passions
Abilities
Personality
Experience
When you ask someone what are they good at there’s a good chance they will say nothing, or I don’t know. Everyone has gifts and abilities. Personality influences abilities and experience. Everyone can contribute in some way.
Group Leaders and Explaining Progression of Members
101 This is a basic introduction to the group or higher structure. Mission and purpose are explained here.
201 Members are assisted in developing growth. Fellowship, sharing, contributing, Etc.
301 Helps each member figure out what their strengths are and what their contributions can be.
401 Building personal perspectives and confidence in the hobby or field.
In order to encourage small group members to become and stay active, they must be engaged. All members must have a part in participation and development. Leaders need to share the workload of maintaining the small group. A healthy small group is not a classroom where you sit and learn. Everyone contributes and everyone learns.
Personally, locally, and globally.
Member Empowerment.
Give authority with responsibility. Give members a task and let them do it
Utilize the power of asking. Ask members to do tasks.
Motivate and encourage others to be productive
Incrementally. Crawl, walk, run: Incremental stages. Get members to complete small steps and get bigger as they become more proficient.
Use the group to encourage others to be productive together. Complete campaigns.
Show gratitude to each other and to the group and others that help
What Group Meetings Can Do
Unite people under the same focus.
Cast vision repeatedly.
Reaffirm why you do what you do.
Honor and appreciate each other. Show value in each other.
Align people with a common vision and goal.
Help each member see what part they play in the vision.
Gives people a chance to see their leaders up close and personal.
Build a community and a sense of shared ownership in success.
Recruit new members.
Empower your leaders. Allow new members to see leaders take control of the vision
Instill motivation in members and leadership.
Promote excitement and enthusiasm.
Show authenticity and integrity in leadership.
Teach members and leaders how to think outside the box
What to Do in Group Meetings
1 Set a date. We all need a deadline. Be mindful of holidays and other widespread events.
2 Make sure the date works for the leadership.
3 Make sure the date chosen provides maximum impact. Saturday or Sunday? Tuesday evening?
4 Make sure the meeting has good flow and energy. Make a strong topic
5 Provide refreshments. Do not make a potluck.
6 If you have a budget make sure you stick to it. Save receipts.
7 Emphasize group leaders contribution. Set aside X amount of hours for preparation and study per meeting. If you don’t set aside the time it can’t get planned.
8 Use word-of-mouth advertising, forums, email, social media, Etc. The best invitation is a personal invitation.
9 Stay creative and bring fresh new ideas but stay on theme. Building a theme keeps your message in front of the members.
10 Include personal recognition. Recognize people. Recognize the best at this or that. Learning how to do that. Highlight members and their contributions and accomplishments. Don’t take anyone for granted.
11 Personalized the community. Create lowkey and high spirited events and keep your group meetings authentic.
12 Have members take action steps. What do you want them to do with what they hear at the meeting.
13 Follow up with members and see if they performed their action steps.
14 Give participants a thank you for coming.
15 Gather the team that planned the event and have a short meeting to find out what worked and didn’t work. Find what you could do better next time and what went great this time.
Groups should last indefinitely as long as there is interest. It is best not to split groups up into smaller groups but it is often necessary to take volunteer leaders and have them either go into a new group or work on the campaign elsewhere. Sometimes it is their time to leave the group.
Small groups are the most interactive amongst themselves. A group of 8 people is a perfect size group. Groups of 30 people can become difficult for everyone to engage in the group openly and evenly. When groups get too large they can be split up into subgroups to discuss niches amongst themselves during group meetings or parts of group meetings.
Encourage the growth of small groups and individuals in those groups. Help get members into the small groups and help them grow. Help small group leaders grow and they will help grow members and membership. Continue to encourage growth and goals within the vision.
Remove the barriers.
“I don’t have anyone to watch the kids.” This is the biggest setback to building a group. There are a few ways around it. Older children who can sit still and listen can participate. If there are a lot of young children perhaps holding a meeting at a playground would be sufficient. Rotate parents to watch children if there are a lot of kids where two alternate parents/people watch the kids for 10 minutes and then rotate.
“I don’t have enough time.” How are you going to spend your time? We only have so much time and we have even less free time than ever. How do you want to spend your time?
“I don’t know enough about the subject matter.” Just because you don’t know everything doesn’t mean you’re going to feel out of place. The purpose of a small group is to learn. No one knows everything.
People group themselves by several factors. Some have a common culture such as language. Some have common neighborhoods or cities. Some people keep a common calendar where they may work Monday through Friday. Others may have common concerns. others may have a time and commitment to a particular Niche or a common crisis. Find them and take advantage of them.
Leadership
It is not the group leaders purpose to be responsible for the vision and direction of the small group. It is the group leaders responsibilities to organize group meetings. Recruiting group leaders is the hardest part and they often find it intimidating or overwhelming. Make it easy for group leaders. it may be easier to use the word host. It is easier to host a meeting than it is to lead one even though they are both the same thing.
Set the bar low and supply organization. People invite friends over to their home all the time. People meet up for coffee all the time. It’s not a big deal to host a small group if they have all of it already organized and planned out.
Small group leaders can be asked to host a meeting for a set amount of time. Keep it short maybe six meetings. Maybe three meetings. if you set the bar low there will be more people that will participate initially. Since everything is planned out and relatively easy they’re more likely to continue but would not commit to a two-year agreement blindly from the start.
No one wants to fail. Don’t set up your group leaders to fail. Make training an expectation and supply material. keep it simple. Supply material in several formats such as video and podcast, websites, and printed material.
Each host should get several things, a welcome letter and a FAQ sheet with answers to the most common questions they might have about leading a group. They should be okay with inviting friends, be okay with people not showing up, and be okay with not knowing all the answers. A host should be okay with taking a few moments to get to know everybody and be okay with not getting to answer every question.
Enlist. Equip. Encourage. Empower. Evaluate.
Small Groups Benefits
Small groups have no time constraints other than those set by the leader and members. It’s a relaxed atmosphere. Small groups are infinitely expandable. Small groups are good stewards.
Personal connection is important within small groups. If people don’t get along they don’t come. If they don’t like other people in the group they won’t come. It’s important to promote personal connections. Small groups are an excellent way to develop your skill sets and to accomplish your own personal goals. Members will grow and expand their interests and abilities. Small groups promote personal growth and accomplish larger goals.
