Community-led businesses, where members drive growth and decision-making, are rare. Not quite a unicorn, blink-or-you’ll-miss it rare… but pretty rare.
As Chief Operating Officer (COO) at The Alliance, the home of 15 professional development communities, I've had the unique opportunity to witness firsthand the power of community-led growth (CLG) in shaping our organization and driving our success.
There was never a question of our business of communities not being driven by our community members.
In this article, I'd like to share my insights on how we've leveraged CLG to build a thriving community-led organization, and how this approach has influenced everything from our business strategy to our company culture.
As leaders in the community-led space, we've learned a lot about what works, what doesn't, and how to scale effectively while staying true to our community-first principles.
Whether you're a fellow C-suite executive, a community manager, or someone interested in community-led growth, I hope you'll find value in our experiences and the lessons we've learned along the way.
Varied role of a COO in a community-led organization
As COO at The Alliance, no two days are the same, making the role both challenging and rewarding.
My work spans strategic planning, coaching, and problem-solving to ensure we’re set up to scale effectively and remain resilient.
Ultimately, my role is about empowering people and processes. By ensuring our teams are aligned and equipped to adapt, we can continue to grow while staying true to the needs of our community and the values that drive us.
A people-centric path to leadership
My journey to becoming a COO in a community-led organization wasn't a straightforward path, but looking back, I can see how each step prepared me for this unique role.
I began my career in B2B publishing and media, primarily focusing on business events and conferences. This experience taught me the value of bringing together like-minded professionals and delivering content that truly resonates with them.
Throughout my career, I've built and scaled events and publishing businesses, always with a focus on doing things differently. I’ve never been interested in following the playbook left by legacy brands. Instead, I’ve always wanted to create something new, something of my own - something genuinely valuable.
If you were to identify the common thread of my career, carefully tracing the interweaving strands and experiences, you’d find one constant: an unwavering focus on people.
The impetus of my entire career has been forging human connections and identifying what switches people “on.”
From building internal teams and streamlining processes to crafting industry-leading conferences that unite professionals, I've always placed people at the heart of everything I do.
Whether it's nurturing company culture or deeply understanding our audience's needs, my approach is fundamentally people-centric.
Putting people at the epicenter of my operations aligns perfectly with the principles of community-led growth, where understanding and serving your community is paramount.
The essentials of community-led growth
So, what exactly is community-led growth? In my experience, community-led growth is about listening to your market, understanding what they see as valuable, and delivering on that promise.
It's an approach that puts the community at the center of everything we do, from product development to business strategy.
At its core, community-led growth is about creating a constant feedback loop with your community. We're always asking questions, testing ideas, and iterating based on the feedback we receive. This approach allows us to remain agile and responsive to the evolving needs of our community.
One of the key benefits of community-led growth is the wealth of growth opportunities it presents. By truly listening to our community and understanding their pain points, we've been able to identify new product opportunities, refine our existing offerings, and stay ahead of market trends.
How community-led growth shapes our company culture
Adopting a community-led approach doesn't just affect our external operations; it has a profound impact on our internal company culture as well.
We've found that the principles of community-led growth naturally extend to how we build and manage our team.
In our organization, we foster a flat hierarchical culture where people are encouraged to come in, spearhead innovative ideas, take ownership of their work, and make a real impact.
We look for individuals who are excited about building something new, who can listen to our community and spot commercial opportunities.
This approach to company culture aligns perfectly with our community-led strategy. Just as we're constantly listening to and adapting for our external communities, we do the same with our internal team.
We view our employees as our internal community, and we strive to provide them with the same level of value and engagement that we offer our external community members.
Challenges of scaling a community-led organization
While the benefits of a community-led approach are numerous, it's not without its challenges, particularly when it comes to scaling.
As we've grown from one community to fifteen, and from a team of 25 to over 100, we've had to navigate some significant hurdles.
One of the biggest challenges we face is talent acquisition. Finding and attracting the right talent to help us achieve our growth plans is a constant focus. We need people who not only have the skills we require but also understand and are excited by our community-led approach.
Another challenge lies in maintaining our agility as we grow. When we were smaller, it was easy for me to be involved in almost every conversation. Now, that's not only impossible, but it would be counterproductive.
We've had to develop new operating principles that allow us to work consistently across the organization without becoming too rigid.
We've learned that what works for one community brand might not work for another. As we scale, we need to strike a balance between putting the right infrastructure in place and maintaining the ability to be agile, to test and iterate based on community feedback.
Wins in our community-led journey
Despite these challenges, our community-led approach has led to some significant wins. One of our biggest success stories is Product Marketing Alliance.
We went out and created a community that didn't exist before, and watching it grow to what it is today has been incredibly rewarding.
But beyond the growth of individual communities, what really stands out to me are the impacts we've had on individual community members. We've heard stories of people landing new roles because of certifications they earned through our programs. We've seen professionals build valuable networks through our course cohorts.
Knowing that we're providing access to niche, high-quality educational content that didn't exist before, and that this content is helping people progress in their careers, is incredibly fulfilling.
It's even more rewarding when these community members become our biggest advocates and want to give back to the community, helping us grow even further.
Employee feedback as a growth driver
Just as we prioritize feedback from our external communities, we place a high value on employee feedback.
Two years ago, we went through an exercise to really nail down our values, culture, and behaviors across the organization. This wasn't a top-down process; we sought input from people at all levels of the company.
We wanted to understand why people chose to join The Alliance, what they think we're doing well, and where we need to improve. This kind of feedback is crucial as we continue to grow and scale. We want to ensure that everyone understands our growth roadmap and where they fit into that plan.
It's important to note that not everyone will thrive in an organization like ours at this stage of growth.
For some, this can be a bitter pill to swallow, but we're okay with that.
Our goal is to create an environment where people can come in, contribute meaningfully to our team, have fun while doing it, and do impactful work. If they then go on to do something awesome elsewhere, we consider that a job well done.
Why community engagement is key to our success
At the heart of our community-led approach is a deep commitment to community engagement. This doesn't just apply to our external communities. This ties back to what I mentioned earlier: we view our internal team as a community as well.
When we're bringing new people into our organization, we look for individuals who understand why we do what we do.
We want people who see the value we create for our community members and get excited about it. We look for those who are eager to come in, grow, build, and do something different that's going to have a real impact and purpose.
Fostering this kind of engagement is a key part of our role as leaders.
We need to create an environment where people can do their best work and grow with us along their career journey. This involves providing opportunities for learning and development, ensuring that our team members understand our vision and their role in it, and creating spaces for collaboration and innovation.
Final thoughts
As I reflect on our journey of building a community-led organization, I'm continually amazed by the power of this approach. Community-led growth isn't just a business strategy; it's a philosophy that permeates every aspect of our organization, from how we develop products to how we build our team.
The challenges of scaling a community-led organization are real, but so are the rewards. We've seen firsthand how this approach can drive innovation, foster engagement, and create real value for both our community members and our team.
For those of you considering or already implementing a community-led approach, my advice is this: listen to your community, stay agile, and don't be afraid to do things differently.
If there’s one bit of advice you take away from this, it’s to remember your team is a community too; invest in fostering that internal community just as much as your external ones.
As we continue to grow and evolve at The Alliance, I'm excited to see where this approach will take us next, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be part of this journey.
