Community.
As we prepare for GSS 2013 in Vancouver, we offer a starting point for discussion and determination around epic engagement and community building at work, school and beyond. We offer some thoughts on the concept of community.
Dictionary.com says it is “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage”.
Businessdictionary.com says it is a “Self-organized network of people with common agenda, cause, or interest, who collaborate by sharing ideas, information, and other resources”.
The Universal House of Justice defines it as “… a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress.”
We might suggest there is an EPIC definition of community which we offer into the mix.
Community is the sum total of voices, wisdom and talent, both diverse and same, which can be harnessed in powerful unity to achieve uncommon results.
With this definition, we suggest communities are deeper than teams. They have longer roots and stronger cultures. They are broad and deep. They are best built on both collective and character leadership, understanding and maximizing all levels of capacity within the community in question. Communities exist at work, in school and in what we consider traditional communities. That being said, it is not merely a collection of people. It is organic, dynamic and of spirit.
This is the community of which we speak and address in engaging and building, advancing together in thought, will and action.
Let’s build community that is both diverse and united, engaged and empowered. The result is incredible prosperity on a myriad of levels.
Stay tuned for news from Vancouver!
Lynn and Barry
engage, educate and empower