I’m not super concerned with your member who just wants to rent a desk or office from you and be done with it.
I am, however, deeply concerned about the member who was dying a slow, boring death working in isolation each day and joined your space to make some new friends and boost their quality of life.
And I’m not talking about the outgoing extrovert who naturally and easily connects with people their first hour in your space.
I’m talking about the shy tech bro who doesn’t know how to connect but really wants to; the working parent who is putting on a brave face while struggling to stay afloat; the first time entrepreneur who is growing fast but is emotionally overwhelmed; the remote worker who is profoundly lonely and just wants some real-life friendships.
They may look content as they sit there tapping away at their keyboards, but if they’re not connected to the people around them, you’re leaving massive potential and opportunities to grow your community and impact untapped.
What Would it Look Like?
And no, your workspace doesn’t have to be the place to support and help them.
But what if it is?
What would it look like if they came into your space, felt seen, supported, cared about, a sense of belonging, and connection to people like—and unlike—them?
How would that transform their days, work, and life?
That’s the promise and potential of coworking; the “something more” of shared workspace; the potential of putting smart, focused, interesting, creative, ambitious, visionary people all in the same rooms.
But if they’re all just walking back and forth from their desk to the restroom and coffee machine, with no engagement or connection, and then going home at the end of the day having exchanged nothing more than a few polite hello’s in the hallway, it is, quite frankly, a coworking fail.
Community Doesn’t Build Itself
Because the hard truth is that community doesn’t build itself. It takes intention, consistency, proactivity, commitment, and the patience of a glacier. It’s hard work that requires a high emotional intelligence, elite multi-tasking skills, sharp intuition and pattern recognition, and an appreciation for the utterly simple, magnificently complex work of humaning.
Which is why spaces, brands, and bosses look for the easy route, or just ignore the community and connection aspects of coworking entirely.
But, the smart leaders recognize that nice space is no longer a differentiator and that the most powerful differentiator available to you is already sitting in your space. So make sure they’re not sitting there feeling isolated and alone, planning their exit strategy.
🧪 Do you run a community-focused space? Come see what we’re building in the Coworking Creators Lab.
