Building a community starts with the choices that you make on a daily basis.  I work to make any encounter with a person or digital contact, however random, a quality interaction.  I follow-up after meetings, return emails, thank people for their time, and let them know when I like what they are doing.  These small actions and positive support when sustained over time can pay dividends and serve to strengthen ties between you and other people.

Here are questions that come to mind for people that are building communities:

• What do you want to build and why?
• What will this community do?
• What kind of people do you want to attract?
• Will the community exist physically or in the digital world?
• What are you doing on a regular basis to maintain, repair, and develop relationships?
• Once the community is established, how do you welcome new members or say good-bye to people that leave?
• How do you resolve problems?
• How does a community dissolve if it has served its purpose?
• How does it evolve and adapt to meet the needs of changing needs of its members?

Being a leader that can support others is easy when you start small.