I went ahead and created a Coworking Leadership account for Slack. Since it's invite only, you actually have to ask to be invited.
For anyone who wants to join: Email [email protected] and ask to be added to the group Bookmark https://coworkingleadership.slack.com/ *Melissa Geissinger* President & COO | WIMP LLC <http://www.beawimp.org> WIMPspace: Cowork * Colearn * Coexist <http://www.wimpspace.com> p 707 827 1334 x1 c 707 888 0225 I'll make everyone who joins an admin so you can also send out invites. On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 9:17:34 AM UTC-7, Melissa Geissinger wrote: > > Hi Adam and everyone! > > We just opened up our coworking space last week, so I'm wearing all the > hats for now. Honestly, I can't imagine it any other way for the time > being. I love getting to know every single person in the community and > making sure I do my best to serve them and meet their needs and > expectations. Even though we just opened our space, we've had a throwing > and thriving community for nearly 3 and a half years already. > > I run the group with 3 other individuals, and we've been using a chat > service called Slack for a few months now. We used to have our regular > conversations in Facebook but that just got messy and disorganized. Now we > just opened up a "team" for the greater group and it's been awesome. Other > companies around us are even starting to adopt the platform for > inter-company communication. What if we created a Slack team for Coworking > Space management - we can create different channels (basically chat rooms) > for all kinds of topics and that can be where we go when we need real-time > answers or real-time like-minded company to keep. What do you think? > > It's an invite-only service and it's free. Check it out at > https://slack.com/. I can start up a team if you guys are interested? > > *Melissa Geissinger* > President & COO | WIMP LLC <http://www.beawimp.org> > WIMPspace: Cowork * Colearn * Coexist <http://www.wimpspace.com> > p 707 827 1334 x1 > c 707 888 0225 > > > On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 8:46:12 AM UTC-7, Adam Teterus wrote: >> >> Thanks, Will! >> >> >>> 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? >>> >> >> This. Exactly this. I think you hit the nail on the head, and to your >> point, there very much is a critical practice of learning to *make your >> employees care as much as you do*. Makes total sense, too, because >> that's precisely what we ought to be doing for our members: making them >> care for this community as strongly as possible, as though they themselves >> own it. In many ways, your members do own it. In just as many ways, the >> space manager does own it - *I* own it, and I do my best job possible >> when I feel that way. I just don't have my name on any legal documents. :) >> >> I have to ask, and this goes to every coworking space owner: if you have >> a hired gun running the place or helping you run the place, do you >> explicitly invite that person to participate on the Google Group? What do >> you offer your hire in terms of training or job help? >> >> On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 5:57:16 AM UTC-4, Will Bennis, Locus >> Workspace wrote: >>> >>> 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.
