Cultivating the identity of your team/community

Ways to cultivating the identity of your team/community:

Give people badges

Badges act as a token of appreciation and acknowledgement. The badges act as a powerful sign of individual importance and a symbol of being part of the same team.

The badges allow members to identify and bond with each other.

Allow new badges to emerge and don’t be afraid to experiment with different concepts of what a badge can be.

7cups Example- If you are a peer supporter who sees another peer support, you have that one thing in common, something to discuss, something to bond on.

Codify signature rituals

A ritual specific to your team will allow new team members to connect with the existing team and promote a stronger bond between the team members. It will help your community/team stick together as it evolves.

How do we make people feel connected and energized when we get together?

7cups Example- One of the strongest examples of a ritual in 7 Cups are the weekly/daily check-ins across sub-communities and forums. Overtime, it forms a connection and some heartwarming moments in the thread that brings the community together. 

Develop a shared language

Another way people bond over their shared identity is by creating language unique to their community. The idea is to not to create an entire language of your own but to use some words unique to your team/community. Vocabulary that can be used to identify your team/community.

What will your community members call themselves?

7cups Example- 7cups users are known as 7 Cuppers/Cupsers, every year they have a cupsiversary! These simple words have the power to evoke deeper emotions.

The little things that your team members do to express their shared identity will bring them together as the community grows.

This step is a small take-away from Community Building Course