Communities of Practice

This past week after attending the CoP presentation, I have found myself searching for examples of Communities of Practice in my day to day life. I quickly determined that my department at Boston Scientific definitely fits the mold with the domain being the Instructional Design knowledge that created common ground among us, the community being all of us within our department and the practice being the focus of our group - which is the creation of cutting edge training for BSC's Endo sales force. Our practice is, at its core, our sharing of ideas, skills and knowledge.

I also see evidence of a CoP on the home front. I happen to live next door to my parents and across the street from my brother, his wife, and their seven children. We are very much like a community of practice with the domain being the successful raising of our families, the community being all of the family members and the practice being the resources, skills, knowledge & assistance we provide one another to do the job right. Examples of this range from watching out for each other (I saw a strange car in your driveway... you left a light on in your house... are you aware your two year old is outside?) to babysitting each others children... or sharing meals when we have leftovers.

It's truly a great system and I love it. I think life is really meant to be lived like this. Humans are tribal, communal beings and I believe we naturally gravitate towards this type of structure.

It seems this ideal is fading as the internet explodes and we grow more and more isolated. Personally, I find myself longing more and more for that feeling of community and I oftentimes wonder if it is only me - or if everyone has that same longing. Please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts. It would be great to hear what others have to say about this!