Suppose you have a rapidly growing community of young entrepreneurs looking for mentorship opportunities. As it grows, you’re likely to see that without accountability or goals in place, the community will quickly lose sight of its purpose, and the knock-on effect will be far-reaching: management and admin might become subpar, members might lose interest, engagement could drop, and the community could evolve into something neither you nor your members want. This promising community of young entrepreneurs might end up seeking other alternative online platforms.

Keeping this in mind, let’s have a closer look at why accountability and goals matter, and what they could unlock for your community.

Why accountability matters

With no culture of accountability (for the Community Manager, moderators, admin, or even members), it will become increasingly difficult to remain faithful to the core goals and objectives of the community. A lack of accountability could result in:

1. Community guidelines become vague or entirely abandoned, and improper language, conduct, or commerce follow thereafter.

2. A large part of the community becomes inactive, and engagement drops as a result, especially if administrators or moderators are not posting or reviewing content appropriately.

3. The community evolves or moves in an unwanted direction.

Whereas establishing a culture of accountability alongside realistic and actionable goals empowers all parties in the community to:

1. Work together productively and proactively while eliminating unnecessary distractions.

2. Remain focused on shared interests.

3. Remain faithful to the community guidelines (which in many cases will also create a larger sense of inclusivity and visibility among members).

4. Create trust, dependability, and transparency.

5. Avoid confusion as to who is responsible for what action or task, meaning admin, management, and coordination will run quickly and smoothly.

Why accountability and goals go hand-in-hand

When it comes to creating a culture of accountability, it’s important to have realistic and actionable goals in the community so that you, your team, and your members all have some to work towards collectively. Without a clear and shared purpose, it will be difficult to define expectations, assign responsibilities and plan for the future. It is important to:

1. Set goals within your team

Meet regularly with your team to discuss challenges and progress, and to share important updates. These meetings, if used productively and constructively, will create a sense of visibility and transparency and will reaffirm goals.

2. Set goals within your community

Creating a culture of accountability and the goals that go with it shouldn’t be done in isolation. Remember to include your members through sharing questionnaires, posting polls, or selecting a focus study group. In this way, you will ensure you’re keeping your finger on the pulse of what it is the community wants and expects, and how you can go about fulfilling those desires.

Last thoughts

It’s important to ensure that you have a community platform that allows you to express your community guidelines explicitly while assigning tasks and admin rights to trusted team members. These features should be clear, precise, and easy to use so that onboarding remains simple, and that tasks, like moderating, can be executed without an overly complicated interface. To make sure that you’re investing in the right platform, be sure to investigate and shop around for the best options available.

You’re likely to see that in the end, creating accountability and setting goals for your community is all about being intentional, clear, and regularly communicating with your team and members. Looking for more advice on creating accountability and setting goals? Be sure to visit our blog page for more insightful resources.