1. Common goals
Effective communities often share similar values and belief systems. These can motivate its individuals to accomplish mutually held goals, the nature of which may vary depending on the group in question.
For example, one community may value environmental goals, such as promoting recycling and making forest areas more habitable for wildlife. In contrast, another community may place value on an effective education system and thereby work toward the goal of influencing education policy.
2. Freedom of expression
Central to developing a positive community is comfort among its members when it comes to speaking their minds and expressing what is important to them.
Individuals who feel encouraged to give input about an issue and who feel heard when they speak their minds are more likely to feel connected to their community. Further, successful communities recognize the importance of opinions that diverge from the majority and are open to hearing these (Greenberg & Edwards, 2009).
In contrast, dysfunctional communities tend to silence voices that diverge from those espoused by the majority or group leaders.
At best, communities with such dynamics may miss opportunities to improve their practices and enhance their members’ fulfillment from their involvement (Bashshur & Oc, 2015). At worst, they may harm their members by isolating them from diverse viewpoints or exerting undue control.
3. Fairness
With policies and expectations clearly in place, enforcement of these rules should be applied fairly.
Feeling a sense of fairness is critical to the experience of good relationships, and good relationships are often a key driver of people’s involvement in communities (Butorova, n.d.). Therefore, a community that does not apply its rules fairly risks inadvertently driving away its members and producing feelings of disconnection.
For instance, the community member who feels that they must ‘pick up the slack’ for another member who has neglected to meet their obligations may begin to feel resentment toward this member. They may also feel resentment toward the community’s leadership, who have failed to hold this member accountable.
4. Elect leaders that stand by community values
Individuals elected to leadership positions within positive communities should be fair and just in their focus. Their shared values should inform the decisions they make on behalf of the community.
Where possible, leaders should be diverse and represent the full scope of views and identities present within the community, such as electing an equal balance of men and women to a board.
5. Make smart decisions
Decisions made by positive and encouraging communities focus primarily on the promotion of its vision and aims. When in doubt about decisions that must be made, positive leaders should consider whether any major decision is aligned with the community’s vision and aims. It is the members’ identification with a vision and aims that likely led them to join the community in the first place.
Members will inevitably disagree on some issues, but an effective community leader incorporates concerns from all sides of an issue to arrive at final decisions.
I hope this help you!:)
