It is an interesting study to find out why people stick with a certain organization, company, business plan, etc.  In recent corporate-speak, this concept has come to be know as "community."  Building communities is one of the most spectacular, rewarding, fun, frustrating, interesting, mysterious, heart-warming, infuriating, pleasurable experiences.  This is because people are people, and they come in all shapes and sizes (figuratively as well as physically).  Through life’s journey, it is people that bring meaning and richness to life, and it is people who also bring trial and tribulation.  Some you love, and some you, well, you get the picture.

Building communities is all about surfing through the various waves of human interaction in a positive, lifting manner, learning the skills of knitting together relationships.  It is also about heart and caring and perseverence in the name of brotherly love.  This might all sound a bit weird for a corporate setting, but the basic fundamentals of successful human interaction are the same everywhere.

What becomes funny is when corporations, managers, or so-called leaders think they have other means to keep people in community.  The first thing amatuer leaders think of is compensation.  If people were simply paid better, they would be happier within an organization and more productive, sticking around to enjoy the benefits.  Others seem to think that programs and slogans will get it done.  Others have proposed work environment solutions, or leadership styles, or ongoing training, or trendy techniques.  Still others rely on corporate "spin," telling their people how great the organization is over and over and thinking that the people are actually buying into the misrepresentations.  But as Abraham Lincoln said, "you can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time (paraphrased)." Spin becomes the things a company tells its employees and the public that neither believe to begin with. The saddest in the corporate world try intimidation, dogmatic dominance, litigation, red tape, and entrapment to keep their people in community.  Stories abound of employees or business associates being mistreated as a way to try to get them to stay in a community.

Author Marshall Goldsmith reports the findings of an extensive study that gets to the bottom of human interactions and what actually keeps people in community.  According to Goldsmith, it boils down to three things:

1. Meaning and happiness, NOW

2. "I like the people here"

3. I can follow my dreams here.

If any of these are violated, a person will check out of the community; first emotionally, and then physically.  In fact, the best way to see how an organization is doing at building and maintaining community is to see how many are leaving.  The leading indicator and predictor of the organization’s future is to see how many people haven’t yet left physcially but have "left the building" emotionally.

Want to become effective at building communities in your workplace, church, business, or community organization?  Try reading through the three points from the study results above.  Ask yourself how you are playing your part to deliver each of those three to your people.  Check your organization and see if people are leaving physically, and if not yet, see if you can spot where they have left emotionally. 

Also notice how compensation didn’t even make it into the top three, unless following dreams is tied directly to income (which in many cases it certainly would be).  But people want meaning first!

Let me repeat: people want meaning first!

Then they want to like and get along (read "trust") the people they are forced to associate with.

Finally, they want to fulfill their dreams.

Not so much to ask.  But a lot to take in.

As leaders, we must always ask ourselves how we are doing delivering these three things to the people who have volunteered to follow our influence.  As Noel Tichy said, "You can always tell how you are doing as a leader by looking at how your people are doing."  And I would extend that further: you can always tell how a company or organization is doing by looking at how well their people are doing.

Many, many organizations miss the mark entirely.

Why?

Leadership.

As leaders, we must never allow ourselves or our organizations to drift away from the real heart matters that build and sustain communities.  I know it sounds like "soft side" stuff, but love, understanding, care, relationships, integrity, character, trust, and sacrificial self-service will never go out of style.  If an organization or leader thinks they have gone out of style, they will likely, instead, find themselves out of business.

I hope this helps!

Lead on!