Flywheels and motion.
At some point in your growth; your ideas, vision and values have to transcend out of your head, into the actions of those around you.
You can’t be in every conversation with your customers, employees and community.
At some point in your growth; your ideas, vision and values have to transcend out of your head, into the actions of those around you.
I chatted with Areej (watch here) who had a similar experience when building Women In Tech SEO from nothing to a global community of over 10,000.
“Initially, in the first few months, I worried about needing to start so many conversations and guide them myself. But over time, you reach this beautiful tipping point where it all becomes organic and you hardly ever need to step in.”
According to our recent Digital Community Leaders Report, onboarding is absolutely crucial at this stage. Areej echoed this, highlighting how setting expectations from day one helps shape community culture:
“Effective onboarding is key. When you consistently demonstrate behaviours like reminding everyone that 'no question is silly', your members quickly adopt this themselves.”
We speak at Steadfast Collective a lot about flywheels.
A flywheel thrives when the community takes ownership. For Areej, seeing her members independently engaging and supporting each other was a clear signal of success:
“It's beautiful to see members naturally stepping up, asking questions, answering each other, and supporting one another. It’s not about you as the founder anymore, it’s about the community.”
This aligns closely with insights from the Digital Community Leaders Report, which found that 74% of community leaders see peer-to-peer interaction as their primary purpose. It's about creating spaces where genuine connections happen effortlessly.
One of the strongest forces in a thriving community is organic advocacy, members championing the community without prompting. Areej describes how this naturally occurred:
“Members who have found opportunities or launched their own projects through the community often return as sponsors or advocates, bringing new members with them.”
Once you’re able to move folks from audience members to advocates, you’ll start to see your flywheel move faster and faster, as others help push it around.
Speak soon,