LEADer/ Beyond Social Media

Photo courtesy Mighty Networks.

Manila, 7 December 2022 — Join a community with a culture of discovery and collaboration.

Story

It happened last week. A book was published that I want to draw your attention to. Purpose: Design a Community and Change Your Life tells the transformational story of how changemakers around the world are building communities with a culture that goes well beyond what we see on social media. It also tells the story of the woman who made this happen by modeling the power of communities for leaders with a deep interest (Purpose), first with Ning in 2004 and then with Mighty Networks since 2017. 

Gina Bianchini, the CEO and Co-founder of Mighty Networks, has inspired thought leaders around the world — including me — with her trailblazing work to bring changemakers together in their own community spaces. To find out more, watch how she explains her book Purpose and see for yourself if that resonates with you and the leadership purpose you want to show in your life. Check out her book, and for more on her backstory, read how she started Mighty Networks five years ago.

When I joined Mighty Networks in 2018, I quickly connected with fellow leaders in a challenge to learn together how to design and build communities with a purpose. Throughout the journey, Gina and her team have been there for us, responding to our questions and sharing their personal experiences and tips. Then, after taking my turn to co-found the Grow3Leaders community in 2019, it was exciting to see how international cohorts of leaders graduated from a tough challenge that we designed for them to influence a positive change in their workplaces in a short period of just 6 to 8 weeks. Now, the next adventure we have designed is to become a Trusted Leader in our LEADyear 2023 Challenge.

Challenge

For me personally, joining a purpose-driven community was a significant step on my leadership journey, and I believe that this will be true for you too. Because of the curiosity and the commitment involved, it’s more challenging and (much) more rewarding than our usual practice of consuming content on social media. From the research into leadership development, we know that growth happens primarily in challenges. So the good news is that when you join a challenge that appeals to you, it’s a good decision and you will be on the right track to grow your leadership.

In my own experience, there were three lessons that stood out for me from the challenge of learning community design with the Mighty Networks team led by Gina herself. First, we should not keep our purpose to ourselves but decide to share and amplify it together in a community. Second, it’s important to trust the process. This is one of the Five Agreements that Gina shares for designing and building a community and I have seen the value of that. In Grow3Leaders, trusting the design steps has helped us to turn our purpose into specific practices for the leaders who join us. 

My third lesson was about the power of what Gina calls ideal member interviews. I continue to be amazed at how these conversations with interested leaders clarify our shared purpose and keep us innovating to meet their needs. It is said that leadership happens in conversations, and I know this to be true. And for you to experience that for yourself, I invite you to set up your free call so that we can explore one-to-one how joining the LEADyear 2023 Challenge can get you the results and transformation that you want for yourself and your teammates. I will be listening to you. In Gina Bianchini’s words, it’s about discovering what gives you and your team a Purpose that you want to share and amplify. I’m looking forward to discussing that with you. 

Question

Building on this week’s topic, my question for you is about joining a community of leaders with a culture of discovery and collaboration that goes well beyond our noisy social media. Are you curious to join us and take the challenge to become a Trusted Leader in 2023, together with the three colleagues you invite to come on the journey with you? When you do, I promise that you will get clear about your leadership vision — your Purpose — for your team and your business. 

And there is much more. In this challenge, you will also learn how to build strong habits to execute your vision, how to overcome your fears and impostor syndrome, and how to consistently show up with twelve effective leadership behaviors that will earn you the trust of your colleagues, your bosses, and your clients. You will also get to know more fellow leaders you can trust to learn together with. And, importantly, as a community member, you get to contribute to their learning and growth too.

In our call, you will discover what more you will learn, and get your questions answered. Now that you have read this far, it’s time to set up your free call. A couple of days ago, I was reminded of the dinosaur making a leadership speech at the United Nations. I liked the compelling message to “stop making excuses and start making change.” That’s the essence of the LEADyear 2023 Challenge to become a Trusted Leader and make change happen for your Purpose. It’s time to experience the power of trusted leadership for yourself, and I’m looking forward to our call.