Oct 19, 2024
Read Time: 4 min
The Who
What is the first community you felt a sense of belonging to and why? How has this community influenced your personal and professional life?
As a child, I always loved and thrived in school, so communities of learning and understanding have played a formative role in my life ever since I can remember. Coming from a multicultural background has meant that I’ve always felt a closer sense of community in environments that are diverse and accepting of different backgrounds. This strongly influenced the life I chose to pursue—one outside of my home country, in organizations that place diversity and inclusion as core values in all they do. I have also consistently sought roles that offer opportunities to train, facilitate, and foster a strong sense of community.
The Why
What role do you think the communities play for the future of your business - be it from a brand, talent, innovation or sustainability lens?
Community is what propels the B Corp movement—a movement of people using business as a force for good. It’s no coincidence that the word “people” is at the core of our vision statement. We know that changing the economic system cannot be achieved by one company alone. It is only through the power of the community—over 9,000 B Corps around the world—that we can start making the impact we want to see in the world. Placing people and community at the core of our organization and standards has been transformative.
A recent B Corp study conducted across SMEs in the UK shows that B Corp SMEs outperform their peers in several key areas:
Greater levels of employee retention, engagement, and diversity
More robust governance processes
Greater focus on civic and community engagement
Higher levels of innovation
The same likelihood of success at securing external finance
The What
Can you share a success story where community cultivation efforts, be it inside your organization or across the ecosystem, have led to meaningful impact? If you did, how did you measure this success?
A powerful example of how communities can drive systemic change is the journey of B Lab Spain, which leveraged the impact ecosystem in the country to advocate for recognizing Benefit Corporation legislation in Spanish law. The goal was to convince the Spanish government to formally recognize companies that balance purpose with profit and place long-term societal and environmental benefit at their core.
By bringing together the Spanish B Corp community and friends of the movement, the initiative gained the support of more than 400 organizations—including Camper, La Bolsa Social, Anthesis Lavola, Holaluz, ECOALF, Artiem Hotels, and MásMadrid—and reached 30,000 citizen signatures on Change.org. In October 2022, the recognition of Benefit Corporations was incorporated into Spanish law. For those interested, I encourage you to visit the Empresas con Propósito website for an inspiring case study of what can happen when people come together.
What strategies have you found effective in fostering a culture of collaboration and trust, the key ingredients for communities? How do you maintain and nurture this culture over time?
I have found that fostering a culture of learning and humility is essential. Each community member’s unique experience is a key ingredient to the collective, and ensuring we create spaces where everyone feels heard and valued—regardless of seniority or background—is critical. Collaboration and trust can only stem from understanding, and having the humility to recognize that we all have something to learn from each other is a fundamental first step in building long-term communities of impact.
The How
How do you balance the needs and interests of the community with the business goals of your organization? What strategies do you use to align these objectives?
One of the pillars of the B Corp framework is stakeholder governance: incorporating the interests of all stakeholders—not just shareholders—into the organization’s decision-making process. To balance and align our goals with those of our community, we strive to practice what we preach by embedding stakeholder governance in how we set priorities and standards as an organization.
A great example of this is how we involve our community in the evolution of the B Corp standards. Through extensive public consultations, we call upon our community to provide in-depth, targeted feedback on the standards and share their vision of a rigorous, impactful framework. Our latest consultation received over 16,000 pieces of feedback from more than 1,000 contributors worldwide. To learn more, you can visit the B Corp Performance Standards page.
The Next
What role do you see technology playing in the future of community cultivation? Are there any emerging tools or platforms you are particularly excited about?
Technology plays a critical role in connecting and sustaining communities, offering tools that enhance accessibility, engagement, and efficiency for community builders. By streamlining interactions and fostering collaboration, it empowers communities to grow and thrive in meaningful ways.
What advice would you give to other leaders looking to adopt a community-powered lens in their organizations? What common pitfalls should they avoid?
Don’t be afraid to get started, even if you don’t have everything figured out. Celebrate progress over perfection. Building and fostering communities comes with both the magic and complexity of bringing together groups with often differing needs, opinions, and priorities. Don’t get discouraged by the messiness. Most organizations are also on a learning journey. Reach out to peers and other organizations to explore and learn from their experiences in community building.