Have you ever been to a social event where you didn’t know anyone?  It can be a little awkward can’t it?  Or, it can be a little adventurous…Who will you meet?  What can you learn?  What interesting people are here with whom you would never otherwise have the opportunity to connect?

Last year I found myself in this very scenario.  I was working with a client in Atlantic Canada whom I had spoken to on the phone a few times, but never met prior to this encounter.  We spent the day together as I trained his staff and that evening he invited me to a surprise birthday party for a close friend of his.  I initially declined because I figured I would be out of place, and people would wonder who the new guy was in the corner and why he crashed the party.  He explained to me that there would be over 100 people at the party and I would fit right in.  This changed things, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to meet and party with some friendly eastern Canadians.

So, that evening I found myself amidst scores of partiers enjoying live music, great food and beverage, and who were there to celebrate the life of their dear friend who, by the stories shared by many in attendance, had spent his 50 years making other people’s lives better.  I felt honored and privileged to witness the community this man had built by caring for others.  It made me think, who would be at a party like this for me?  Have I invested my life in a way that has created community and made other people’s lives better?

I ended up chatting with a certain man for an extended period of time.  It turns out he was a very well known and influential politician.  He has enjoyed a long and significant career in provincial politics having served as Minister of Finance, Minister of Education and other powerful positions of authority.  We talked about community, change, the political process and politics in general.

I judged him to be a man of high moral value and one who truly wanted to work for the good of society.  He began to encourage me to run for office and spoke very highly of the good that I could accomplish through the political process.  I thanked him for his kind encouragement and began to ask him about the nasty elements of politics and the toll it takes on someone who truly wants to make a difference.

I asked him a specific question, “How do you maintain your vision and motivation to create positive political change in the midst of oftentimes ruthless, vicious, unfair and selfish political opposition?”

His answer caught my attention…

“By surrounding myself with likeminded, good people who will stand with me in the midst of the opposition reminding me why we are doing this”, he replied.

Wow – so simple, yet so profound.  I immediately saw how this was relevant, not just to those in politics, but to all of us.  I would call what he was talking about as a community of allies – likeminded people with whom we do life and leadership.

But you know something?  We can’t expect community to somehow magically form and then invite us in with open arms.  No, we must create community.  We must take the initiative to make community happen.

We must intentionally reach out and connect with other people.  We must choose to meet together regularly, cultivating authentic relationships as allies in this adventure called life and leadership.  Similar to my new political friend we are often the targets of mean-spirited, unfair and selfish opposition that we can not withstand alone – we need each other.

We must choose to walk together in a community of allies.

Have you chosen to surround yourself with likeminded, good people who will walk with you in the midst of life’s opposition and remind you why you do what you do?  If you have not, it is never too late.

Community is critical, but it must be created.