How Companies Succeed in Social Business: Case Studies and Lessons from Adobe, Cisco, Unisys, and 18 More Brands

15. It Takes a Village: Building, Training, and Leading Community Teams

Caty Kobe, Head of Training, FeverBee

Job openings for community managers and other roles involving the use of social technologies tend to attract a special type of person. These people are smart, funny, analytical, creative, hardworking, compassionate, clever, and data-driven—a harmonious mix of both left-brain and right-brain thinking. These qualities combined with the roller-coaster nature of working in social require a new type of management and training style to ensure these employees are engaged and well prepared to succeed.

Though community and social media-focused positions often attract younger candidates, this chapter isn’t about managing different generations. ...