Discussion 01: Introduction to Group Support
Before we dive into the Group Leadership & Development aspects, it is important to know what 7Cups Group Support.
As per Merriam Webster Dictionary, Group is a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship. While group dynamics are the attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of a group. It is focused on how groups form, their structure and process, and how they operate. More specifically, why and how groups develop.
This is what you will notice in the 7 Cups Group Support. 7Cups started with providing support 1-1s. But as we grew up, we realized that 1-1s are not enough. There is a need for group interaction as well. To meet the community's needs and demands, we added group support. We created and used chat rooms to structure a safe environment to facilitate group support. We have dedicated chat rooms for both listeners and members to provide support as per their needs.
Currently, we have more than 150+ chat rooms to serve different purposes and needs of both members and listeners community for both adults and teens. Amazing! Right?
We are a vast community and we recognize our diversified members and their needs and demands. And, these chat rooms became safe spaces to connect, interact, engage, learn, share, and grow collectively. These rooms are not only used for support reasons but also to brainstorm and problem solves, celebrate small and big achievements, and gain a sense of belonging to this community.
Moving forward, we identified the needs of moderating these rooms, so we introduced the chat room moderator role, figured out we need facilitators to lead different sessions in the chat rooms, so added Support Session Leader and On-spot Host as the recent addition to it. We figured out the safety issues in the chat rooms, and we badge locked the rooms. So as we learned more about the needs and demands, we kept iterating and evolving group support for better experiences and support for everyone. We are on a journey to build the best group support. And, we will continue to progress …
Discussion: Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom!
Activity: Respond to at least two of your fellow trainees' comments with thoughts on their share.
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next discussion here! Ensure to implement the learning from these discussions in the chat rooms to build and support the group. You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these discussions to successfully complete the program.
3 highs:
it feels good to be part of a group and meet new people
interesting topics can be discussed with several people at the same time
the environment can be supportive
3 lows:
sometimes it's hard to join the conversation
conflicts may happen
some people have the ability to speak over you
@stargirl123456
I definitely agree it can be hard to join the discussion especially if the room is busy and there is a lot of messages going. I personally like the more structured rooms where there is little interruptions
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom!
3 highs ive experienced are that people get along well in group chats for the most part despite how crowded they can get, Ive also noticed that it has fostered many close relationships among people so far from each other, lastly they help just as much as 1-1s do.
Some lows Ive noticed are that groups can have a lot of conflict if people are not mindful of others firstly. They can also get a little too hectic. Lastly, they can get unorganized with new hosts.
