However, I know that OpenCoworking IS looking for regional volunteers to help organize…so if you’re interested in that sort of thing, you should contact them about joining the list!
On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 5:14 PM, Adam Teterus [email protected] wrote:
So glad this resonates, Lindsey. I’m really looking forward to having a network of folks to talk with on a more regular basis. We all have so much to learn from one another just by sharing war stories, as it were. I’ll get you on into the Slack team!
On Wednesday, September 10, 2014 10:27:27 PM UTC-4, Lindsey Rima wrote:
Hey Adam!
Thank you for putting this out there. I’m the operations manager/ community foster-er/ coffee maker/problem solver/ non-owner at Link. I’m part of the Austin Office Managers group. The collective wisdom and experience in the group is amazing, but a coworking oriented group would be the bees knees. Please invite me to the Slack group and google hangout.
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 8:47:49 PM UTC-5, 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, 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, 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.
Indeed we are cleaning up the Wiki and also reorganizing a bit at Open Coworking. It’s going to be big fun.
Anybody interested, come put your name on the sign up sheet here and I’ll shoot you an email.
We need peole to go to their city/state/region/country page on the wiki and clean it up, remove dead links and so on. We also need people who would commit to doing that once a week or so, we put your email and info up on the Wiki if you are willing to do that.
We can also use the names of anybody who wants to get in on a social media follow-each-other chain,. so when ther eare events and news we can get the word out more effectively.
Folks who are ready to get more active and be involved with the larger issues of Open Coworking are more than welcome also.
On Thursday, September 11, 2014 5:36:36 PM UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote:
However, I know that OpenCoworking IS looking for regional volunteers to help organize…so if you’re interested in that sort of thing, you should contact them about joining the list!
On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 11:35 AM, Alex Hillman [email protected] wrote:
Ramon, that group is actually specifically for organizing OpenCoworking (http://opencoworking.org/) related efforts. That certainly could (and should!) include space managers, owners, and members, but I think that its goals are broader than space managers helping each other.
-Alex
On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 11:21 AM, Ramon Suarez [email protected] wrote:
On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 5:14 PM, Adam Teterus [email protected] wrote:
So glad this resonates, Lindsey. I’m really looking forward to having a network of folks to talk with on a more regular basis. We all have so much to learn from one another just by sharing war stories, as it were. I’ll get you on into the Slack team!
On Wednesday, September 10, 2014 10:27:27 PM UTC-4, Lindsey Rima wrote:
Hey Adam!
Thank you for putting this out there. I’m the operations manager/ community foster-er/ coffee maker/problem solver/ non-owner at Link. I’m part of the Austin Office Managers group. The collective wisdom and experience in the group is amazing, but a coworking oriented group would be the bees knees. Please invite me to the Slack group and google hangout.
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 8:47:49 PM UTC-5, 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, 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, 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.
I'd love an invite for this Slack group as well! We just started up a member Slack group at The Salt Mines, and it's been really fun and helpful. I think it would be awesome to be able to collaborate with other space managers in a more real-time fashion—if I can get an invite at [email protected] I'd appreciate it!
Just saw this thread and would love to join the Slack group! I’m a Community Manager for a space in Silver Spring, Maryland (just outside of DC) called Creative Colony. We opened in March 2014 and have been very successful so far. We love our community and have had such a blast getting this space open and functioning. Would love to hear from other space managers and share tips/tricks/stories!
Cheers,
Tiffany
···
On Saturday, September 13, 2014 10:19:44 AM UTC-4, Andy Soell wrote:
I’d love an invite for this Slack group as well! We just started up a member Slack group at The Salt Mines, and it’s been really fun and helpful. I think it would be awesome to be able to collaborate with other space managers in a more real-time fashion—if I can get an invite at [email protected] I’d appreciate it!
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 9:47:49 PM UTC-4, 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, 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, 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.
Hey, Tiffany and Paige! I’m sending each of you an invitation now!
···
On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Tiffany Jones [email protected] wrote:
Just saw this thread and would love to join the Slack group! I’m a Community Manager for a space in Silver Spring, Maryland (just outside of DC) called Creative Colony. We opened in March 2014 and have been very successful so far. We love our community and have had such a blast getting this space open and functioning. Would love to hear from other space managers and share tips/tricks/stories!
Cheers,
Tiffany
On Saturday, September 13, 2014 10:19:44 AM UTC-4, Andy Soell wrote:
I’d love an invite for this Slack group as well! We just started up a member Slack group at The Salt Mines, and it’s been really fun and helpful. I think it would be awesome to be able to collaborate with other space managers in a more real-time fashion—if I can get an invite at [email protected] I’d appreciate it!
Hi Adam,
I am the owner and the community/space manager and will continue to be until I understand what I’m doing enough to hand over the reins along with some kind of Bible with basic info as well as stories that help to guide judgement.
It would be so great if there we crowd sourced this. What are the basics someone needs to run the show when I’m not there? What are the stories - you know, “you can’t make this stuff up” kind that people have flummoxed and learned from or gracefully subverted.
One of our members asked “what do we do if the power goes out and we need something in the space” (note that the doors have electronic locks released by electronic panels and we have one master unduplicatable key)
···
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 9:47:49 PM UTC-4, 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, 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, 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.
Email me at [email protected] and I’ll add you to the Slack group. We need to all try and hang out in there more often though so make the most out of it
On Oct 17, 2014, at 12:13 PM, Melissa Geissinger [email protected] wrote:
Yann,
Email me at [email protected] and I’ll add you to the Slack group. We need to all try and hang out in there more often though so make the most out of it
I’m the brand new general manager at the HiVE in Vancouver and I would love an invite too. I feel like I have a lot to learn!
Cheers!
Melissa
···
On Thursday, October 16, 2014 6:23:30 PM UTC-7, Adam Teterus wrote:
Hey, Tiffany and Paige! I’m sending each of you an invitation now!
ᐧ
On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Tiffany Jones [email protected] wrote:
Just saw this thread and would love to join the Slack group! I’m a Community Manager for a space in Silver Spring, Maryland (just outside of DC) called Creative Colony. We opened in March 2014 and have been very successful so far. We love our community and have had such a blast getting this space open and functioning. Would love to hear from other space managers and share tips/tricks/stories!
Cheers,
Tiffany
On Saturday, September 13, 2014 10:19:44 AM UTC-4, Andy Soell wrote:
I’d love an invite for this Slack group as well! We just started up a member Slack group at The Salt Mines, and it’s been really fun and helpful. I think it would be awesome to be able to collaborate with other space managers in a more real-time fashion—if I can get an invite at [email protected] I’d appreciate it!
Turns out Slack multi-team options just got a lot better, too. A new beta build is out right now that let’s you swap between teams much faster, and with full notifications for all teams in one window. Download it here if you want to join in for the Coworking Leadership Slack that Melissa started!
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 1:05:41 PM UTC-4, Melissa Geissinger wrote:
It’s actually really easy to swap between teams I’ve found. It’s even easy on the mobile app! Send me your email and we can experiment.
And hell yes to Google Hangouts. Let’s do it! Pick a time.
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 10:01:10 AM UTC-7, Adam Teterus wrote:
Hey, Melissa! Congrats on opening the clubhouse! it’s especially refreshing to read that you’ve been so cohesive for such a long time prior to moving into a space. That’s really fantastic, and I’m thrilled for you.
I’m absolutely sure that we could talk and learn lots from one another, and I’d love to do that. We use Slack here at Indy Hall, in fact. My understanding of Slack is that it’s a little difficult to swap between teams right now (Indy Hall log-in v. Coworking Group log-in), though I may be building that up into something more difficult than it really is. I’ll hop inside and we can pick-up from here.
I was also thinking that it’d be phenomenal to have a Google Hangout at the end of every week, some forum for connecting with other tummlers and managers and leaders in real time. Realistically, we have an astounding amount of potential tools and platforms, we just have to execute and meet up!
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 12:17:34 PM UTC-4, 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?
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.
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, 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, 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.
Turns out Slack multi-team options just got a lot better, too. A new beta build is out right now that let’s you swap between teams much faster, and with full notifications for all teams in one window. Download it here if you want to join in for the Coworking Leadership Slack that Melissa started!
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 1:05:41 PM UTC-4, Melissa Geissinger wrote:
It’s actually really easy to swap between teams I’ve found. It’s even easy on the mobile app! Send me your email and we can experiment.
And hell yes to Google Hangouts. Let’s do it! Pick a time.
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 10:01:10 AM UTC-7, Adam Teterus wrote:
Hey, Melissa! Congrats on opening the clubhouse! it’s especially refreshing to read that you’ve been so cohesive for such a long time prior to moving into a space. That’s really fantastic, and I’m thrilled for you.
I’m absolutely sure that we could talk and learn lots from one another, and I’d love to do that. We use Slack here at Indy Hall, in fact. My understanding of Slack is that it’s a little difficult to swap between teams right now (Indy Hall log-in v. Coworking Group log-in), though I may be building that up into something more difficult than it really is. I’ll hop inside and we can pick-up from here.
I was also thinking that it’d be phenomenal to have a Google Hangout at the end of every week, some forum for connecting with other tummlers and managers and leaders in real time. Realistically, we have an astounding amount of potential tools and platforms, we just have to execute and meet up!
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 12:17:34 PM UTC-4, 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?
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.
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, 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, 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.
On Thursday, October 16, 2014 9:23:30 PM UTC-4, Adam Teterus wrote:
Hey, Tiffany and Paige! I’m sending each of you an invitation now!
ᐧ
On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Tiffany Jones [email protected] wrote:
Just saw this thread and would love to join the Slack group! I’m a Community Manager for a space in Silver Spring, Maryland (just outside of DC) called Creative Colony. We opened in March 2014 and have been very successful so far. We love our community and have had such a blast getting this space open and functioning. Would love to hear from other space managers and share tips/tricks/stories!
Cheers,
Tiffany
On Saturday, September 13, 2014 10:19:44 AM UTC-4, Andy Soell wrote:
I’d love an invite for this Slack group as well! We just started up a member Slack group at The Salt Mines, and it’s been really fun and helpful. I think it would be awesome to be able to collaborate with other space managers in a more real-time fashion—if I can get an invite at [email protected] I’d appreciate it!
Turns out Slack multi-team options just got a lot better, too. A new beta build is out right now that let’s you swap between teams much faster, and with full notifications for all teams in one window. Download it here if you want to join in for the Coworking Leadership Slack that Melissa started!
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 1:05:41 PM UTC-4, Melissa Geissinger wrote:
It’s actually really easy to swap between teams I’ve found. It’s even easy on the mobile app! Send me your email and we can experiment.
And hell yes to Google Hangouts. Let’s do it! Pick a time.
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 10:01:10 AM UTC-7, Adam Teterus wrote:
Hey, Melissa! Congrats on opening the clubhouse! it’s especially refreshing to read that you’ve been so cohesive for such a long time prior to moving into a space. That’s really fantastic, and I’m thrilled for you.
I’m absolutely sure that we could talk and learn lots from one another, and I’d love to do that. We use Slack here at Indy Hall, in fact. My understanding of Slack is that it’s a little difficult to swap between teams right now (Indy Hall log-in v. Coworking Group log-in), though I may be building that up into something more difficult than it really is. I’ll hop inside and we can pick-up from here.
I was also thinking that it’d be phenomenal to have a Google Hangout at the end of every week, some forum for connecting with other tummlers and managers and leaders in real time. Realistically, we have an astounding amount of potential tools and platforms, we just have to execute and meet up!
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 12:17:34 PM UTC-4, 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?
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.
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, 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, 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.
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 8:47:49 PM UTC-5, 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, 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, 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.
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 8:47:49 PM UTC-5, 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, 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, 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.
