Balance and harmony are something we hear a lot nowadays, especially entering in 2023. Many people’s intentions around me were connected exactly with those two words. After all the rushing and pushing in the last years, many of us have the urge to slow down and bring back the harmony in their lives.

The same applies for communities and community professionals. We understand that now is the time to not only strive for our KPIs, quantitative or qualitative. It’s the time to achieve growth, higher engagement, and deeper connections in a more harmonious environment.

When I think about harmony the first thing that comes to my mind is Yin and Yang.

The two opposing forces, that are complementing each other to bring back the balance in the world. In many other cultures, this convergence of opposite energies is also seen as the meeting of the Masculine and Feminine energy. We can find them in every single part of our lives, and of course, in community building.

But what do I mean by Masculine and Feminine energy? First, and foremost, they are not connected to our gender. In fact, each human being has both forces in themselves, and in the same way we can find them in every system or organisation. They are two opposing poles, that are matching, so that they can rebalance each other.

The Feminine energy is often time connected to the qualities of intuition, flexibility, vulnerability, creativity, nutrition, emotions. The Masculine, on the other hand, is expressed through structure, authority, accountability, action, motivation, space and support.

What does this mean for community professionals?

In order to build harmonious, safe, and thriving communities, we need to put both the Feminine and Masculine aspects in motion. How should we do that? Here are some examples:

Be flexible with changes in the wishes of community members, inviting new opportunities for them, and adjusting your strategy. - Feminine
Allow yourself and your members to be creative. Experiment, connect to your (and their) inner child and invite play in the community activities. - Feminine
Make sure to bring some structure in the community - introduce certain rules, weekly or monthly rituals, check-in days, etc. This will make the members feel safe and grounded. - Masculine
Be ready to take important decisions in tough situations. At the end of the day, you are the head of the community and people count on you to be the moral compass and the leading authority. - Masculine
Show vulnerability and your own emotions as a human being so that you can create deeper connection to the members. - Feminine
Create safe space for the members to also express their own emotions and to feel seen, held, and heard. - Masculine
Trust your inner instincts as a community builder, and don’t do things that are against your communities’ and your own values. - Feminine
Motivate your members to work on their personal and professional goals and keep them accountable. We all need that extra push sometimes. - Masculine

As you can see, there can’t be a healthy community without combining both the Yin (Feminine) and Yang (Masculine) energies. Opposite to common beliefs, these two forces are not against each other, but they co-create and help us rebalance our communities, and our work as community professionals.

So the next time you feel something is not working in your community, ask yourself:

Where can I invite more Feminine or Masculine?
Where do you need more softness and being, or more structure and doing?

And, of course, don’t forget to ask this yourself for your own life. Managing a harmonious communities comes from someone who can bring this balance in their own life as well. ☺️

Finding the Balance in Community Building: Feminine and Masculine Energy

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