Community is the Cure: Interview with Author Christine Porath
I recently went one on one with Dr. Christine Porath, author of the new book Mastering Community: The Surprising Ways Coming Together Moves Us from Surviving to Thriving. Christine is an Associate Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and was my Organizational Behavior professor my freshman year at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Christine: My research interests and writing are very personal for me. I find myself—and others—surviving or thriving based on feeling a sense of community and belonging. At the extreme, workplaces may feel void of community, and even toxic. Instead of supportive, energizing connections, a workplace might feel draining from de-energizing ties that suck the life and siphon the spirit from us. I vividly recall walking into a hospital room outside of Cleveland to see my strong, athletic dad with electrodes strapped to his bare chest. What put him there? Work-related stress stemming from two toxic bosses.
A couple of years following this medical event, just after I’d graduated from college, I scored what I thought was my dream job, helping a global athletic brand launch a sports academy. Unfortunately, I’d stumbled into an uncivil work culture where rudeness ran rampant. Since then I’ve felt both the joy of working in places that embodied community as well as the sheer disappointment and frustration of working in places that lack community. These experiences inspired me to study workplace culture and how leaders might work together to make their people and organizations thrive.
In college, an Economics professor encouraged me to pursue an academic path. She thought it fit my personal and professional goals. I was fortunate to get a sense of what that might entail as part of an Economics Honors Program, which included a thesis (like a dissertation). My passion is sports, and since I had a great opportunity that grew out of internships in sports management, I decided I’d try that path after graduating. My work experience was what led me to this field, which combined economics, psychology, and sociology. That was perfect because I loved those classes in college and liked a lot associated with academia. Being around a college campus and sports was enticing. I also felt that maybe I could motivate better workplace environments since I had seen the negative effects on people and their organizations. I just felt like we could and should do better. I wanted to help people and organizations thrive.
Adam: What are your favorite memories from the first class of your teaching career - our great Business 304 class my freshman year at USC?
Christine: It was a great experience with a fun, talented group of honors students. Lots of discussion in the classroom. Some meaningful discussions over lunches at the Faculty Center. Those lunches helped me to better understand students and some of the pressures with which they struggled. I hadn’t anticipated how much pressure some of these students felt, and from various sources. It was eye-opening—a very memorable year. I also remember my department chair laughing at the fact that I baked cookies for you all at the end of the year. I didn’t bring them in until evaluations were done—but still. It seemed like a natural thing to do at the time. I appreciated the students in these 304 classes and wanted to thank you and show that I cared.
Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book?
Christine: That community is the cure. It helps solve the loneliness epidemic and is good for people’s well-being. It’s also good for business. It’s a win-win for people and organizations.
When people feel a sense of community at work, we found that they are 74 percent more engaged and 81 percent more likely to stay with the organization. They report 83 percent higher thriving at work, an internal sense of being energized, alive, and growing. In another study, Gretchen Spreitzer and I looked across six different organizations from various industries and found that those thriving at work had 16 percent better performance (as reported by their managers). They also were far less burned out, so they missed much less work and reported significantly fewer doctor visits, which meant huge healthcare savings and less lost time for the company.
The book is a practical guide for leaders and managers seeking to build thriving workplaces, and for anyone trying to become more effective and influential at work. Just because you’re not leading an organization doesn’t mean you can’t make it better for everyone, including yourself. In fact, my research confirms that community matters and that your kindness, consideration, and respect can have a potent effect, creating a positive dynamic among your colleagues. Through small actions, you can strengthen your community and lift up your organization.
Part 2 of the book reminds us that we as individuals need to control our contributions, bringing our best selves to our tribes. In these chapters, I explore the basics of self-awareness movement, nutrition, recovery, and mindset.
Adam: What can business leaders do to foster a sense of community among employees?
Christine: Consulting with scores of diverse communities around the world, I’ve discovered that companies and leaders can best build communities by
sharing information,
unleashing people,
creating a respectful environment,
practicing radical candor,
providing a sense of meaning, and
boosting member well-being.
Adam: What advice do you have for those interested in engaging in communal activities outside of the workplace, but without obvious entry points?
Christine: Start small. Look for opportunities to connect. Unplug for periods of time and fully tune in to others in your tribe. Take a hike in nature with someone. Volunteer to help a neighbor or member of your community. Send a thank-you note. Visit family and friends. Cook together. Host a gathering. Prioritize people.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Christine: Caring. There are lots of traits that contribute to this, including respect, integrity, humility, communication, growth mindset, and courage.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Christine: Adopt a growth mindset. Read books and articles, or listen to talks and podcasts that speak to how to be more effective and influential. Learn from role models. Find mentors.
I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with some of the top college coaches recently and noticed that they are extraordinary lifelong learners. They are actively looking to learn, and voracious readers or listeners of podcasts. They are constantly looking to improve themselves and their culture. They’re willing to take what they learn and experiment with it. They will take something that worked well for a business leader, and adapt it to sports. These top coaches of various ages and backgrounds love to learn from other coaches. But they’re also open to learning from any variety of fields and disciplines. These coaches are humble and look to embrace what they’ve learned from their network and successful leaders of all stripes.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Christine: Treat people with respect, and show them you care.
Take care of yourself. We find that it is not only important for your health, well-being, and performance but also is for your members. Tony Schwartz and I refer to it as the multiplier effect, which occurs when leaders both encourage and role model thriving. Becoming our best selves will also lift our organizations and our communities.
Invest in your culture. It pays.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Christine: My mom gave me a card adapted from an old Irish prayer that I love:
Take time to work. It is the price of success.
Take time to meditate. It is the source of power.
Take time to play. It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read. It is the way to knowledge.
Take time to be friendly. It is the road to happiness.
Take time to laugh. It is the music of the soul.
Take time to love and be loved.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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