Adam, Great post and great question!
As a space owner and space manager, I could certainly learn as much or more from space managers as from space owners. And I would hope that the space managers would find a happy home in this Google Group, sharing their own knowledge and requesting help/insight from others. We'd all certainly gain a lot, just as we'd gain a lot if there were more coworking space members on this list. Which I suppose begs the question, "Where are all the coworking space members?" I guess one answer--the less interesting answer--is that most space owners are or once were space managers. Margins are low for most coworking spaces and many of us run one-person or few-person operations. So we managers are here, but we may use the "owner" tag since that sort of trumps the "manager" tag on our business cards :). But of course most coworking spaces also have non-owner employees &/or managers, so why aren't they more active on this list? Here's a potential answer, and in this case it's the same answer as why there aren't more coworking-space members on this list. It's also an answer I'm a little ashamed to give, because it speaks to how far my own coworking space needs to grow as a *community* and not just as a business providing shared office space and events: most non-owner space-managers, as with most members, are not passionately involved in the world of coworking and in learning about and contributing to that world. The material incentives/external motivation (large potential salaries, career advancement up a high ladder) are not there except in the very rare cases of some of the most successful coworking spaces that can really attract people ready to do their very best at the job for the financial benefits, and the internal motivations that have to do with love of the job, commitment to the community and doing one's best are just rare, I think, for often part-time, low-paid work. I would guess non-profit coworking spaces and for-profit coworking spaces that do an incredible job developing a strong sense of commitment to the space and its community can find space managers ready to give the job their all without the external motivators (the money or career trajectory), but I think that's a rare achievement. I think once that's achieved, those are the places also where you find space *members* and not just managers getting involved, posting answers and questions to this list, trying to build the movement more generally. So the challenge for me, who runs a for-profit coworking space--but does it in large part because he's passionate about the importance of coworking spaces as a kind of human/social capital for freelancers & independent workers--is how to engender that sense of commitment and passion to go above and beyond the formal job requirements and to want to be involved in the Google Group (as an example of going above and beyond the strict job definition more generally), given that the external motivators (income potential, career development) are not overwhelming? I'd guess this is a challenge for many of us (space owners) and the main reason you don't see more non-owner space managers actively involved here. Will ---- Will Bennis http://en.locusworkspace.cz <http://www.locusworkspace.cz/> On Sunday, September 7, 2014 3:47:49 AM UTC+2, Adam Teterus wrote: > > Hey, all. I'm Adam. > > So I've been running Indy Hall as the Point Man for just shy of 3 years, > looking over this place and these people on a daily basis from January of > 2011 to right now (and well beyond right now, I should hope). 3 years of > facilitating relationships between new and old members, introducing > newcomers to our community, saying goodbye to longstanding members who came > before me, bumping into very *human* obstacles and guiding members > through sometimes tough social situations, always toward a place in which > we're much tighter and stronger and better than where we came from. > > I recently had a really great conversation with a friend about what it is > that I do here at Indy Hall. Given that coworking is relatively "new" in > the scheme of things, and given that it's a burgeoning meta-community and > industry in its own rite, she asked me who I turn to when I have questions, > when I encounter something new. > > That's a long, winding answer. My reference points are ALL OVER the place, > there's not really anyone one, particular role model. Not really a > coworking space manager that I look to for parallels or direct reference. > Many of you on this forum are among reference points, but there's a > contingent missing from the Google Group: the person that most closely > reflects me and what I do here at Indy Hall. I know that person and those > people exist, but...where are they? > > My friend, she's a researcher type, and she points out that I've got this > wealth of domain knowledge <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_knowledge>, > this set of skills and attributes that I reflexively understand and act on > every day to keep this community up and running. Things that I often take > for granted, admittedly. Things I rarely think about because I'm not > talking about them out loud with other people who do it, too. > > She goes on to say that it sounds like I'm lacking a field > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_(academia)>, a network of people > who share the same domain knowledge. A group of people like me. Where are > those people? > > I know the Google Group is primarily for/frequented by owners and > prospective space owners, but where do the space managers go to talk to one > another? The daily, boots on the ground, hired to be here community > leader - where does she go for answers? Where do they go to learn and talk > and share? Hell, where do they go to debrief and unwind after a long week > of weird social situations? Who teaches them how to do what they're doing? > > Further, for owners and prospective owners: when you're hiring for a > coworking space manager, who are you looking toward and thinking, "yeah, I > need *that* person"? When you do hire someone, who do you refer that > person to in terms of a role model for the gig? > > Where are the people like me? Who are they? I want to meet 'em. > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
