Everyone gets stuck. Startup Communities get stuck a lot as the path to growing your ecosystem is fraught with points of friction. As a community builder (full time or part time) you enjoy the fruits of your positive growth achievements as well as the challenge of your plateaus – sometimes all in the same week. It’s your job to get your community unstuck.

Let me be crystal clear – your community-building efforts will plateau and you will feel like your community is stuck.

Why? As a complex system with many variables, interactions and people involved, these critical factors all come together in different ways at different points in the community’s journey. There is no perfect activity that is fully engaged at all times. And many times, what was a perfect activity at a point in time, over time becomes tired and less effective.

When we feel stuck, we often sit back and wait for some external force to change our “stuckness”. This is the wrong methodology. When we (individually or as a community) feel stuck, it is the perfect time to review where we are and where we are going.

I came across this article in the Psychology Today blog and though it was focused on women, I think the 7 lessons for individuals can easily be applied to a startup community.

1. Let go of the past. Listen to the stories in your head …
   What worked in the past is not a signal that the same thought, activity, or event will work in the future. Listen to those thoughts that creep in and share them with your community members to best evaluate if they feel the same way you do.
2. Change your perspective …
   One of the hardest things to do is to stop and remind yourself who you are doing this for. Is this for you or for the local founders? We all need a reminder about this important perspective. Get out of your head and find a way to change or reset your perspective.
3. Start with small changes …
   No need to blow up the activity or event! Can you find a few smaller changes (beer event vs coffee event; change speaking format; change location) and test out the reaction from your community members.
4. Explore your purpose …
   News Flash – maybe you are the problem. Maybe you’re caught up in what’s in it for you and how you are viewed in the community. This happens all the time (it has happened to me). Take a step back and look in the mirror and ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Be honest with yourself – then spot check that with your closest community peers.
5. Believe in yourself …
   If you have done an honest job in #4 and you have 3rd party affirmation, then trust your instincts and plow forward. You are an important part of the community and your personal view is respected. Sometimes doubling down on you is what you and the community needs to get unstuck.
6. Practice being hopeful …
   Community hope = patience. Communities and ecosystems do not grow fast and they do not grow in a straight line. Like startups themselves, they ebb and flow with stuck points. Confidence is contagious and you have to be a spreader of confidence.
7. Consider talking to a professional …
   There are professionals who focus on startup community building. More importantly, you have peers in every city. Reach out to one or more of these and share your feelings (and your data) and get an outsider’s perspective.

I have been building startup communities all over the world for the last 13 years. I find the challenge not unlike building a startup. Good days – bad days. Good months – bad months. Sign up for the ride and continuously evaluate where you are and where you are going. And, maybe these 7 tricks will help you along the way. Time to get unstuck.