I’m excited because over the next 4 weeks I have 4 days of reflective and learning time set aside with some wonderful people. Next week, I am spending the better part of 3 days with a group of people who follow each other’s blogs, share a similar workspace and push the boundaries of learning and practice. Can’t wait for that.

And to make things even better I have a paid job with the 3 Pillars Network and a NETWORK of 30 or so practitioners in the behaviour change field … and to be more specific that’s behaviour change that relates to sustainability. BUT, are we a NETWORK, or are we a COMMUNITY? Enter Matt Moore and Nancy White to help answer this question.

My 4th day of learning in on April 11 and I get to spend a day with Nancy White in some ‘deep engagement’ in a session titled Crossing New Boundaries in Online Community Management . I am really excited about this day. Firstly, I can’t wait to finally meet Nancy whose work, graphic facilitation and writing has inspired me to seek out new areas of practice.

Of late, I have been struggling with online communities and particularly in ways of leading and managing. I need challenge my own mental models on this and along comes this timely session …

“Five years ago, the job title “online community manager” was rare. It was an addition to someone’s existing job, or they simply volunteered. Today, every organisation has or wants an online community (whatever that means). We are working both with bounded communities and broad, diverse networks. We need to be more deliberate in how we integrate community strategies into the heart of our organizations, how they impact our real work, and how they shape our organizations.” Part if the invitation to the session.

So back to my question about the Behaviour Change for Sustainability NETWORK … or is that a COMMUNITY? For those participating, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Now here’s the primer from Matt and Nancy …