Communities are the mirror of the culture
“So, this is how I shape the culture of our company?” That was the question that popped up in my mind when I was asked to speak about the communities of interest as part of a presentation of our technology hub culture for the new CIO.
When I volunteered to drive the CIONET Tribes at our Technology Centre almost six years ago, I was driven by my belief that the best growth is through knowledge sharing with professionals with diverse experiences from various organisations. When I created the Team Leaders Network, I wanted to help team leaders survive the post-pandemic, hybrid work reality that has put so much pressure on them from employees and higher management.
Reflecting on my involvement in various communities of interest, I’ve come to see a larger, picture: Communities are transformative tools for creating an organisational culture based on mutual respect, engagement, and genuine connections that break down the silos within an organisation.
Many organisations today tout a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and breaking down silos. But how many truly live up to that promise?
Communities of interest can be a good indicator of your organisation’s authentic culture. These groups, formed by employees with shared passions for learning, growth, or simply connecting, can serve as a powerful mirror reflecting the authentic culture of your workplace.
Support, Don’t Enforce
It’s important to understand that the mere existence of communities of interest doesn’t automatically signal a collaborative environment. Great communities are born from the genuine desire of employees to connect, learn, and grow together. While management support is crucial, these groups thrive on a high degree of autonomy.
Conversely, communities that are forced or heavily controlled by management often wither as soon as the top-down pressure disappears. At best, these become task forces masquerading as communities, lacking the genuine engagement that fuels real connection and growth.
Sharpening Your Culture
While autonomy is key, this doesn’t mean leadership should be completely hands-off. Effective support can begin by helping to kickstart a community and then evolve into a mentorship role for its leaders, inviting external speakers, or actively promoting the community’s activities.
Allowing community members to determine how their group operates is also an excellent exercise in empowerment, benefiting both the management and the community members. By actively supporting these grassroots initiatives while respecting their independence, leadership can lead by example, genuinely fostering a collaborative and engaged workplace.
Take a Look in the Mirror
Communities of interest are far more than a way to share knowledge. They give your employees the feeling of belonging and shape your organisation’s culture. In hybrid workplaces, when most employees are missing the experience of the community of place, which is the physical office or workspace, the communities of interest define the DNA of your organisation.
As a leader, you must evaluate your relationship with the communities of interest. Are you quietly accepting their existence, or actively promoting them? Are your company values applied to how communities are run? Are they a place where new leaders are born?
Stop viewing communities of interest as your employees’ after-hours activities and start treating them as your silver bullet in shaping the organisation’s culture.
Wojciech Pozarzycki, May 2025