Leadership Is Over-Engagement by Leaders Seen as Desperation?

[InMyOpinion]

Hey lovely members of Administrata! I’ve been wondering and thinking to myself—can forum leaders overdo it when it comes to engagement? Is there such a thing as too much involvement or too many posts? Some might say that if a leader is constantly in the spotlight, replying to every post, or being overly active, it could come off as desperate for attention or control.

But, on the flip side, some people believe that active leadership shows commitment and dedication to the community. So, where’s the line between being engaged and crossing into over-engagement?

For me, I feel like balance is key. Leaders should be involved enough to guide and support but not so much that it feels like they’re taking over the conversation or stifling other members' voices. However, there can be such thing as too many posts if the admins posts aren't adding value to the forum. And there can also be such thing as too much involvement when the admin is trying to micromanage the moderators.

What do you think? Is there a point where a leader’s over-engagement starts to look like desperation? Or does more involvement always equal better leadership?

 

[CTS]

My latest site is very new. Months. On that I feel leaders should be the brunt of the posts and should be available to all members.

After your membership begins to grow, and subsequent threads and posts become predominantly by the membership, leaders posts become less and less as the members post amongst themselves .

There may be a pivitol time where the need to respond as a leader becomes more of a want.

 

[InMyOpinion]

My latest site is very new. Months. On that I feel leaders should be the brunt of the posts and should be available to all members.

After your membership begins to grow, and subsequent threads and posts become predominantly by the membership, leaders posts become less and less as the members post amongst themselves .

There may be a pivitol time where the need to respond as a leader becomes more of a want.

That is a very true observation that I didn't really think of. As a forum community grows and flourishes the administrator doesn't have to post as often for the forum to continue to be active, it's more whether or not they want to keep posting.

Very good observation @CTS

 

[Ravenfreak]

I don't believe it screams desperation. I think it's a good thing that staff is posting daily, it shows that they care for their community but I don't see desperation. Unless if the quality of the content they were posting was a bit lacking, maybe one line posts then I could possibly see it as desperation to keep the forum alive. Even then, as long as one person is engaging in conversations is the community 100% dead? It's only dead when there are no longer conversations, the staff and members have abandoned it and it lies dormant. That's how I see it anyways.

 

[Bawse]

I always comment/engage if I have anything of value to add to the posts. I try to have a good balance/ratio with how much I post, and posts by my members.