Com·mu·ni·ty: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common; a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

The topic I’m addressing today isn’t strictly defined by the word “community,” but it’s at least helpful place to start. The manner in which you define your community impacts how you think, what you read, and how you approach problems. Maybe even more than you realize.

For example, defining your community too narrowly might blind you to challenges and opportunities that warrant your attention. Failing to include others might cut you off from vital resources and input or make it more difficult to communicate effectively when it’s most important to do so.

You might define your community by your…

• Job function or department
• Level or position at work (i.e. VP)
• Way of thinking (i.e. creative or account in an ad agency)
• Age
• Neighborhood
• Religion
• Industry
• Country

In general, I’d like to suggest that the more broadly you define your community, the more likely you are to think longer-term and more systematically. The number of variables you consider will go up. If you do it well, you examine a broader set of implications. You look at the stakes and weigh them differently, because you are more fully aware how other people might be impacted or what the true financial impacts could be.

It might also change your definition of the right mission and purpose.

In my experience, many leaders re-examine their definition of the space that they or their organization occupies when they realize that something is not working well. In doing so, they seek to elevate their work or enhance their results.

Think of the owner of an NBA team asking, “How do we elevate the sport of basketball as opposed to just winning a championship? How do we support kids growing up in our communities? How do we make the game itself more interesting and engaging?”

It’s not necessarily bad to define your world in the way you have already been doing. But we need more people who define things in bigger and broader ways, who rise above self-interest, and who focus on building systems that are larger, more impactful and more integrated with the world at large.

Each of us has a map in our head that helps us to move through the world and make sense of it. If your map is too limited in scope, you may quickly get to the edges of it and have a difficult time making prudent decisions. A larger and more detailed map has the opposite effect; it helps you solve puzzles and move ahead with greater confidence, clarity and wisdom.