Whoever named our sector “community” has a lot to answer for. All too often, when we practitioners trot out the word, we’re met with blank stares. Maybe, like poorly told jokes, it’s the way we tell ‘em, but I reckon it’s more to do with the image “community” conjures up - of chipped tea pots and plates of digestive biscuits on oilcloth-covered trestle tables, with a battered upright piano in the corner. Hardly surprising, then, that this is not something brand-owners instantly feel an affinity with. Which, for a consultancy business in this space, is a bit of an issue.
The question of the back-seat driver is not as trivial as it may initially appear. If a business commits to a genuinely collaborative approach some rules on the management of that model are essential (eg, to continue the road-trip metaphor, no grabbing the steering-wheel from the driver).
The strength of democratic governance lies in enabling genuine exchange within a framework of rules which all parties agree to abide by. The model certainly makes the journey more interesting and enriching than a high-speed race to the finishing line but it is not without its challenges, from the outset.
Who decides what rules are right for the business concerned and how are those rules upheld?
Great question @rosemarymilne (and my mum! - just for full transparency to others reading on here 😂 . Welcome 👋. I love that you are reading this newsletter! 👊 ) and I agree, you need to set the rules of the road before you embark on your metaphorical road trip together. No guide rails and you can get in a whole lot of mess.
The question of the back-seat driver is not as trivial as it may initially appear. If a business commits to a genuinely collaborative approach some rules on the management of that model are essential (eg, to continue the road-trip metaphor, no grabbing the steering-wheel from the driver).
The strength of democratic governance lies in enabling genuine exchange within a framework of rules which all parties agree to abide by. The model certainly makes the journey more interesting and enriching than a high-speed race to the finishing line but it is not without its challenges, from the outset.
Who decides what rules are right for the business concerned and how are those rules upheld?
Great question @rosemarymilne (and my mum! - just for full transparency to others reading on here 😂 . Welcome 👋. I love that you are reading this newsletter! 👊 ) and I agree, you need to set the rules of the road before you embark on your metaphorical road trip together. No guide rails and you can get in a whole lot of mess.
What do you do about the back-seat driver?