What will bring people in your partner network?

Many salespeople would love to bring their clients and partners closer. HR’s dream scenario is a company where employees spontaneously form groups to learn and create together. Yet most of the time, these dreams stumble. Why is it so hard?

We assume people aren’t interested in committing voluntarily. Someone ends up with the constant burden of “activating” the community, bribing people with pizza, or dragging them into meetings. It’s exhausting.

The solution might lie in a different metaphor: energy.

Fabian Pfortmüller recently wrote a beautiful piece on this (I highly recommend reading it). Instead of talking about value, he frames participation as energy. I like the term—it’s more human, less transactional. And it makes me look differently at our Community Pyramid.

Purpose: the spark of energy

Every community begins with a spark. There has to be a shared purpose, a story of a desirable future that people want to work toward. As a community founder, you don’t have to write the story yourself, but you do have to create the conditions for it to emerge.

One of my favorite facilitation moments is when I ask:

• “Why is it important that you are here?”

• “Why is it important that we are here together?”

The answers bring out energy. They reveal whether the group is here to fight for something good—or against something harmful. Without that spark, no amount of pizza will keep people coming back.

Identity: the hidden power source

Identity is energy waiting to be shared. I’ve seen this countless times when interviewing clients before a project. Ask people about their expertise, and their eyes light up. It’s not just their job—it’s their story.

In communities, shared identity is often the hidden engine. And it’s rarely about titles. A group might see themselves as troublemakers in the IT industry or forerunners of nuclear energy. When that identity comes alive, so does the energy.

Benefit: what people carry home

Of course, people need to gain something. In the early days, this might be straightforward: “Come and hear the latest about the city’s AI projects.” Or yes, “Join us for pizza and beer.”

But the transaction must quickly shift. Once inside, participants must feel they are receiving more energy than they brought. If they leave with that sense, they’ll come back.

Trust: the safe container

Energy won’t flow without trust. The moment people enter the room (whether physical or digital) they need signals that it’s a safe space. That these are their peers.

This can be simple: allowing deeper introductions, co-creating rules for sharing, or just the feeling that someone is listening. Without trust, conversations stay shallow, and energy dissipates.

Sharing: the beating heart

Sharing is where the energy multiplies. Every story told, every lesson exchanged, adds to the pool. When people feel their contribution resonates, the cycle strengthens: more sharing, more energy, more commitment.

As a facilitator, this is the magic moment. When sharing flows, you don’t have to “activate” people—they activate each other.

Ownership: the release of new energy

When purpose, identity, benefit, trust, and sharing align, something new happens: ownership. People stop seeing it as your community and start calling it our community.

This is when members bring in new people, create side projects, or take on roles without being asked. Ownership releases an entirely new kind of energy—the kind that sustains communities long after the founder steps aside.

Remembering the cycle

No community lasts forever. Some burn brightly for a few years; others endure for centuries. But if you use energy as the guiding metaphor, you can better imagine why people join, why they return, and why, eventually, the energy may fade.

Communities live when energy flows. Not when people are pushed.