An Interview with Tali Leibowitz
Does my community need a community manager?
For this week’s blog, I wanted to try something a little different. I recently had a great conversation with my new friend Tali Leibowitz to talk about the role of a community manager (CM).
Tali is a global community builder with several years of experience creating and managing communities for mission-driven organizations. Coming from the marketing world before her work as a CM, she wanted to foster deeper, more meaningful connections between people than what a traditional marketing job could afford. We got into a great discussion about the importance of community managers and why businesses need them now more than ever.
Q: What has been your proudest moment as a community manager?
To get a better picture of who Tali is, you need to know she’s driven by impact more than anything. She once organized a dinner for the ambassadors of a global nonprofit community she was managing. Getting all the ambassadors together reminded her of a quote from Brené Brown:
“Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”
While serving organizations in their mission is rewarding on its own, Tali derived even more meaning from the connections she was able to set up.
For Tali, seeing the breadth of connections that emerged from this dinner was a pivotal moment that demonstrated how online communities can create lasting offline relationships. When members of a digital community come together in real life, the impact is tangible. The connections built through shared goals and experiences become even stronger, which amplifies the value of the community in ways that extend far beyond the screen.
Q: How would you describe the primary responsibilities of a community manager, and why are they crucial to business success?
Tali broke down the core responsibilities of a community manager into three essential functions: strategy, execution, and optimization. A community manager has to understand both the target audience and the company’s goals, which informs the strategy. Execution involves launching and managing the community platform, organizing events, and fostering relationships. Finally, continuous innovation ensures that the community stays relevant and engaged by experimenting with different approaches.
She dismantled a common myth that a well-managed community doesn't just foster engagement. Instead, CMs also exist to support broader business goals such as marketing, sales, and product development. Communities become channels for direct feedback, brand loyalty, and even lead generation.
That said, community managers often find themselves wearing too many hats, from marketing to customer service, which can lead to burnout. As Tali would later point out, this is where leadership needs to step in to ensure community managers aren't spread too thin.
Q: What unique skills do community managers need that are often overlooked?
Engagement doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Getting others to contribute takes more than just having a great idea for a community, more than anything, it comes back to trust. Engagement flows from trust. And in order to get strangers to trust one another, one of the best places to start for Tali is emotional intelligence:
“This includes empathy, active listening, clear communication, and the ability to understand and manage emotions—both their own and those of the community members.”
These soft skills are essential because they help CMs to create a safe, welcoming environment. According to Tali, emotional intelligence is also key to navigating conflict, which is inevitable in any community. In fact, conflict can be a really good thing when it comes to community building. It provides an opportunity for growth, connection, and deeper engagement when managed properly. Without any conflict, there’s no room for trust to develop. Trust emerges from conflict. The most successful CMs use these moments to bring people closer together, rather than letting tensions drive them apart.
Q: Can you share an example of how you’ve improved community engagement?
Tali recalled a time when the nonprofit community she managed was struggling with low attendance at online events. They tried adjusting topics, speakers, and times, but nothing worked. Finally, they decided to go straight to the source and ask the community for feedback.
“I suggested we organize a round table on Zoom with our unicorns [ambassadors] and anyone else who wanted to join and ask for their thoughts and ideas,” she explained. The feedback they received was eye-opening. “Our webinars were too generic, on topics that Google says nonprofits care about or topics that already were covered hundreds of times. They were looking for more meaningful and valuable events, where they can get support, learn, exchange knowledge, and where more personal connections can be made.”
By leaning into feedback, she and her team were then able to create events that were more personal and aligned with the community’s actual needs. As a result, engagement shot up. If your community is suffering from stagnating or declining engagement, it’s likely time to set up a feedback channel. You might be one small pivot away from striking gold, but sometimes, you need to ask for help from your community.
Q: What are some common misconceptions about the role of community managers?
One of the biggest misconceptions Tali has encountered is the idea that community managers are just another extension of marketing or customer service.
“People often think CMs are sales, marketing, branding, social media, public relations, customer service, etc.,” she explained. “Community works together and supports all these other teams to achieve the company's shared goals, but being a CM is a stand-alone role that includes different and additional responsibilities.”
The role of a community manager centers on building relationships and creating a sense of belonging. It’s about engagement, not just managing social media or handling customer complaints. If you need a director of customer success, hire that person! If you’re going to hire a CM, hire them to do the job you’ve given them to do. But don’t expect a CM to do all that for your business.
Q: How can business leaders better support their community managers?
Community managers often find themselves juggling multiple responsibilities, especially in companies where leadership may not fully understand the role. I asked Tali what companies can do to better support their CMs.
“Community managers need leadership to be invested in the community and its success,” Tali explained. “We need freedom and autonomy to make quick, on-the-spot decisions that keep the community dynamic and responsive.”
Budget cuts often hit community teams first, which can severely limit a community manager’s ability to create value. Tali emphasized that having a dedicated budget for community efforts—whether for events, tools, or platforms—is essential to doing the job well. Most importantly, leaders need to be patient, as community-building is a long game. “Patience from leadership is essential, as building a thriving community takes time and requires experimentation to find the most effective strategies that will usually only bring long-term ROI.”
Q: What advice do you have for community managers to avoid burnout?
Given the emotional demands of community management, not to mention how much time is consumed by creating spaces of belonging, burnout is a common experience amongst CMs. I asked Tali how she manages to keep balance in such a high-stakes role.
“Boundaries are essential,” she said. “It is always best to set the tone at the beginning of your role but even if you didn’t do it then, it’s okay to implement these boundaries later on.”
Tali pointed out that while CMs may feel the need to always be available, it’s important to disconnect. She added, “Remember you can’t help everyone with everything all the time.” Many CMs can feel a pressure to be constantly connected to their community, but it’s not realistic. Striking a balance between doing a job well and not allowing it to consume your life is critical.
Q: How can businesses recognize and reward their community managers?
Tali believes that recognition is one of the most important ways to keep community managers motivated. It's not just about bonuses or promotions, though those help—it's about empowering CMs to make decisions and celebrating their successes.
“Empower us to make decisions and trust our judgment when we do,” she said. “Recognize and acknowledge our hard work and success and sometimes share or celebrate that with the rest of the company and even externally if the occasion calls for it.”
Beyond recognition, Tali highlighted the importance of professional development opportunities, like access to training, conferences, and mentors. Mental health support is also critical—whether through counseling or stress management workshops, it shows that the company values the emotional labor community managers do.
Through our conversation, it became clear that Tali’s approach to community management is rooted in empathy, patience, and a deep understanding of human connection.
As we continue to experience the rise of AI in the startup world, companies that preserve genuine human connection will become a critical fixture for some business’ differentiating factor.
My belief is that more small and medium sized businesses will increasingly recognize the value of communities. As this occurs, leaders would be wise to take Tali’s advice about supporting the people responsible for cultivating these vital human-centered, mission-driven ecosystems.
If you’d like to connect with Tali and learn more about her approach, you can find her on LinkedIn.
