In a world where so much communication is conducted via electronic devices, I’ve begun to wonder whether it’s time to sit back and consider how I can change the way I engage for greater impact.
After all, it can be very isolating, professionally and personally, if you don’t feel engaged with your community (or at least a community of interest). Many people are reluctant to reach out or to engage for fear of rejection – or they’re too busy, or they’ve had poor experiences in the past.
Currently, our industry is in transition. Lots of new people are joining and many of the old guard are transitioning out. This backdrop has got me reflecting on what I could do differently or, if I’m coaching individuals, what insights I could provide. Could it involve more face-to-face interactions? Hand-delivered welcome gifts? Offers of support?
As you might expect from my previous articles, recent events in my own life have influenced my thinking in this area.
My wife and I have been lucky enough to travel the world and, at last count, had 12 house moves over a period of 35 years. Our children have flown the coup and are carving out their own stories as adults and building their families. There is the occasional boomerang moment, but these tend to be brief.
We’ve recently purchased a new home – the house of my wife’s dreams – on acreage. It’s given us a great platform to build on some of our passions with space (lots of space) in the lovely township of Dayboro, which is about 45km north of the Brisbane CBD. It’s a place we’ve visited many times over the last 15 years, mostly on weekends for the mandatory market, coffee and bakery stop over.
With about 3,000 residents, Dayboro certainly has that “village feel” about it. But it isn’t just the population; it’s also the way we’ve been embraced by the community and neighbours.
It’s honestly something we have never experienced before, and it reinforces the impact a strong and proactive community can have on its members. It also highlights that there needs to be effort made by both existing and new members to the community. You get out what you put in.
To give you a flavour: on arrival at our new home, the local real estate agent (who lives in the community) provided us with tips and contacts for different services as well as a very generous hamper filled with local produce.
As the first week-or-so passed, a handful of our neighbours came over and introduced themselves. They came elbows-first with small welcome gifts and contact details in case we were ever in need of assistance. My wife, who is a budding florist, was presented with flowers from one of our neighbours’ own gardens, which blew her mind.
After that, the next community reach-out was one of our neighbours inviting us to their home with another neighbour for “Mexican night”; they host something like this every couple of months with a different theme. Again, we were welcomed with open arms and hearts, and each interaction provided an opportunity for us to get to know each other a little more.
My wife, who’d made the decision to join the Country Women’s Association on day one, has since been supporting one of our neighbours who’s a leader within the CWA. They’ve been working on a major project raising awareness around domestic violence; through this project, she’s gotten to know a group of about 20 ladies of all ages.
This then led to me getting involved when that group and I spent the weekend decorating the township with items they’d hand-crafted to support the cause. The work will remain proudly displayed in the community for the next couple of months, so we’ll have a daily reminder as we pass through town.
One more example: we have a new ride-on mower on the way, but I’ve been keeping the grounds in control with the hand mower in the interim. Without even needing to be asked, our neighbours have jumped in to help with their own ride-ons, providing us with hours of their time as we transition to being acreage ready. We are very grateful for this support.
I could go on, of course, but I hope the above demonstrates how this move has impacted our mindset regarding community involvement and inspired us to do more. It’s also fast-tracked our ability to transition into the new location, as we’ve been connected with new contacts and service providers. For newcomers, the experience of those who’ve travelled the path before can help so much with smoothing out the inevitable bumps along the journey.
I believe there’s a real opportunity for those in our industry to consider how they can support new members, too, whether they’re connected personally or professionally. Professionally, that could mean team members and clients, but it could also be other advisers in the industry.
It can also be about creating connections with your broader community. For example, client or team events and activities can provide opportunities for us to share our stories and experiences – a popular one has always been to bring in a dish inspired by your country of birth.
If you’re part of a licensee or larger advice group, what are you doing to support new team members within the community to connect? How are you helping to fast-track their transition, just as we were fast-tracked into Dayboro?
A vibrant and supportive community is so critical to building a high-performance team and culture, and the payoff of feeling like you’re part of something bigger than yourself is well worth the initial investment.
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