CMX Webinar March 28, 2019 Growing your career as a community manager w/ Tim Falls

Agenda ✓ About me ✓ Understanding “community management” ✓ Commyounity ✓ Preparing & positioning yourself for work ✓ Finding your professional home ✓ Tips for career advancement ✓ Where can community take us? ✓ You first ✓ Q&A

About me Hi, I’m Tim Falls Director, Developer Relations & Community @ DigitalOcean [email protected] + @TimFalls TimFalls.org ✌+ from Los Angeles, California

My career in community Marketing Coordinator Community Guy Manager, Developer Relations Director, DevRel VP, Community VP, Community Director, DevRel Director, DevRel & Community Employee #6 Company: 6 - 250 employees Team: from 1 to 15 … in 4 continents/countries, 8 cities Outcome: IPO + Acquisition ($3B) Employee #30 Company: 30 - 50 employees Team: 4-6 Outcome: layoffs, acquisition Employee #20 Company: 15 - 20 employees Team: 2-6 Outcome: layoffs, acquisition Employee #20 Company: ~475 employees Team: 17 … in 4 countries, 10 cities Outcome: ? 2019 2014 2009 Intern Community Consultant

Extracurriculars + Mentor Advisor Independent Board Member Consultant Speaker CMX Pro Founding Member + + Husband Puppy daddy Uncle x7 Ally Nomad Gardener +

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Understanding “community management” What is it and what isn’t it? Depends on who you ask… What does community [management] mean to you? ••• What does it mean to other people?

Companies build community by exposing their culture to the world. Community managers are the conduit for their organization’s cultural vibrations.

Understanding “community management” What is it and what isn’t it? Who is a community professional? Titles + roles …Relations Manager Head of… …Coordinator …Builder …Architect …Associate …Engineer ✦ Advocate, Evangelist, etc Values + skills + ambitions Empathy, Compassion, Humility, Respect, Effective Communication, Transparency, Inclusivity, Strategery, Collaboration, Leadership, Love, Connectedness

Understanding “community management” What is it and what isn’t it? Not community management: Social media management/strategy Marketing Growth Hacking Support Sales “Partnerships”

Understanding “community management” What is it and what isn’t it? •Customer Support/Success •Relationships-based sales •Business development/ partnerships •Politics •Education Community-adjacent roles = Entry-points ✦ Developer Relations: ✦ Engineering, Product Management, Dev Ops, Solutions Architect, Sales Engineer, etc

Understanding “community management” What is it and what isn’t it? Pros and Cons of the community profession — aka, what you should know before getting (or staying) in the community game (-) •Misconceptions •Resource constraints •Adapt to others •Emotional toll (+) •Meaningful •Rewarding •Variety •Community = the future

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Understanding yourself Why community? Why do you want to work in the community profession? When did you start building community? What possibilities can you imagine emerging from your community work? How would you like to be remembered by your community? Who do you look up to in the community-building world? Introspection

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Ready… Preparing & positioning yourself for community work Homework + Exercise: •Be curious •Observe •Research •Practice, develop skills •Continue introspecting Consider the context in which you’d like to work: •For-profit vs non-profit •Industry (tech, not-tech) •b2b vs b2c •Product vs service •Startup vs big co

Set… What you’re looking for • Communities you admire • Communities of which you are a [aspiring] member • Organizational culture: • Feel at home • Community baked-in • Products/services + problems/causes + solutions that captivate and inspire you Finding your professional home What they’re looking for • Engage, be a member, contribute/add value • Analyze, understand, evaluate their community strategy • give feedback • Find introductions, source referrals • Do the job

application + resume/cv + cover letter + waiting… human connection >

Go! Self Awareness •Solo vs Team? •Leading vs following? •Experienced vs Experiencing? •Imposter syndrome Success as a community professional Do’s •Be willing to take out the trash •Be the change you want to see •Speak different languages + dialects •Coach + Manage + Mentor UP •Focus + avoid overcommitting

Go! •Make an oversized impact •Everybody can community •Get creative •Find the believers •Credibility is currency •Thought leadership and influence •Manage, coach, mentor, support others •Zoom in + out •Strategy vs tactics •Long-term vs short-term Success as a community professional TRUST = (Self-Interest) (Credibility + Reliability + Familiarity)

Go! ABC (Always Be Counting) Metrics matter…no matter what they say Numbers + Anecdotes Know your audience Success as a community professional

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” - William Bruce Cameron (1963)

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Oh, the places you’ll grow! Full time employment •Intern — Entry level — Junior — Senior — CCO •Individual Contributor vs Manager vs Both •Environment: •Where does Community live in org? •Cross-departmental collaboration = explore internal paths Options and possibilities along the career path Consulting •Marketing website •Personal brand, positioning, messaging, value prop, educational resources, principles •Examples of work — projects, clients, employers, talks, press, writing, etc •Contact + Social Specialist vs Generalist ✦ e.g., developer relations; business value focus; online vs offline; geographies

Capitalism needs us.

You are #1 Self-care •Mental and physical health •Exercise, meditation, diet, rest •Therapy •Routines + Practices (e.g., gratitude) •Heal yourself, fuel yourself, be yourself •Remind yourself of why you do what you do •It’s ok to say, “no” •If you feel stuck in one place, question that feeling The Community Hero’s Journey Personal/Professional development •Emotional intelligence training •Effective, non-violent communication •Unconscious bias training •Group introspection •Professional coaching •Seek diverse perspectives •Learn from people outside of your sphere •Travel, experience cultures •Hang out with your peers…and listen

The future [of our profession] is bright.

Stay in touch Tim Falls @ DigitalOcean [email protected] + @TimFalls TimFalls.org Los Angeles, California…