Closeness Circles

The Closeness Circles: Trust Leads to Growth

As your community grows, you inevitably create space for new roles within it. A well-designed communication system allows people in the outer layers to get to know you better while growing into a closer level of trust, and rewards people in the innermost circle for their contribution.

The variable in this diagram is vulnerability. The closer to the core, the more vulnerable you are with the people included.

The best way for a member to move deeper into the core of the Closeness Circles is through wholehearted (genuine) contribution. The closer to your inner circles, the more their role in the community becomes essential. 

Those who feel the most belonging will likely develop a sense of ownership towards it and raise their hands to help it grow. Ownership leads to higher contribution. Your top contributors are often the ones you must communicate with the most. As relationships deepen, so does communication. By allowing people to create value within your community, you welcome highly committed members to your core circle, making space for them to step into your inner circle.

Closeness brings in more intimate conversations, which implies trust.

Exploring Closeness Circles LAYERS

1: Core

2: Inner circle

3: Network

4: Crowd (beyond the circle, outer layer)

The more inward we dive, the deeper we go within a community. For example: sharing something with your broader network that has not yet been communicated to your team is unreasonable.

The more aware they are of the happenings, the shortcomings, and the latest news, the closer they feel to you. In other words, communication can build trust and engineer closeness levels within your community. Most importantly, belonging to these layers must be a transparent and merit-driven process based on how much people have given back to the community. It is not a competition. 

Belonging to the innermost circles should not represent a reward, although it should be an honor to belong there. The most collaborative are likely get in first.

The core and inner circles should be represented by the people who have given the most to your community, worked the hardest to give back to others and helped create a safe space for everyone.