Discussion 05: Ethical, Cultural, and Group Management Issues
Please note: In order to successfully complete the program, you must respond to this post. Your comment/response should answer the questions/show that you completed the given activity (if any). Read the post carefully and implement the learning in the chat rooms. If you didn't participate in Discussion 04: Group Leadership
, then check here!
This discussion highlighted some of the major points related to ethical, cultural, and group management
The competent group leaders act ethically in leading the groups. And, achieving this type of competence requires more than good intentions. Many well-intended group leaders have engaged in an activity while lacking solid ethical principles. It could probably be because of unawareness of the code of conduct and guidelines. So, a high level of familiarity with the guidelines is important so they act as professionals and leaders while leading any group.
A few points to remember:
Privacy and Confidentiality. It could be possible a group leader may also be a long term listener for a member. Members might have shared their situation in detail with them in a 1:1 setup. But, when you are a group leader, you need to ensure you are not bringing up the matter discussed in 1:1 with members unless the members themselves bring up the topic and discuss it with the rest of the group as well.
Follow Community Guidelines. Preach what you can follow. As a group leader, you would need to intervene from time to time to ensure the group is running effectively. Reminding users that they follow community and chatroom guidelines while participating. But, at the same time, remember to be the first to follow the guidelines too. So, you are able to model the role behavior in the groups.
Make unbiased decisions. In a group, everyone is equal to you as a leader. Even if you communicate with some of them more frequently than others. If anything goes wrong or you find anyone being unsupportive or unacceptable behavior, take the decisions without any bias. So, the group could trust you and know that you are impartial and there for everyone and against wrong behaviors. For more, here are the community guidelines.
Members in the group come from different backgrounds, demographics, and cultural differences. So, as a leader, it is significant to respect and acknowledge the cultural differences and highlight the common grounds to connect all members of the group. Such behavior allows members to feel inclusive and comfortable in the groups to share.
And the group management issues include conflict management. You may observe that sometimes misunderstanding or disagreement causes conflict between two or more people leading to an unsupportive and unhealthy environment in the room. So as a leader, it is your time to take action and settle down the conflict to ensure room and group stay supportive and comfortable around each other. Spontaneity is the key to restrict such events from happening.
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
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.
What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
Issue: One issue I've noticed is that sometimes, when someone says something, it can turn into a about politics, which can make people feel uncomfortable, in addition to being against the rules.
How it's handled: We simply remind everyone of the rules, in an effort to shut down the politics part of the disscusion, before things get too out of hand, or awkward.
@politeHoney5554
Simple reminders are a great way to change the subject of what is being discussed. What are other discussions you have that handled that have been adward?
@politeHoney5554 That's a great point! Sometimes discussions can turn into arguments too so it's a matter of how moderators and chat supporters handle issues and calm everyone down.
1) the issue I have found is that some people don't understand English so struggle to get the support in the rooms. This is expecially bad in the listener support rooms as they will struggle to get access to chat support and peer support.
To solve the problem, If someone is struggling to speak English in the chatrooms then I would try to make my sentences as simple as possible and use emojis to help the person to understand what I am saying.
@considerateParadise6717
Using simple sentences can be so helpful so that if they use a translator as well those words will be picked up. Such a great idea if someone is having a tough time with understanding what you are saying.
@ASilentObserver
Discussion:
What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room?
Members can feel excluded from discussions if the same language is not spoken in the rooms or the use of abbreviations of certain terms can confuse members. They might feel scared to speak up in fear of judgement. English is the common language, it is part of the chat room rule. I myself have overshared personal issues in the chatrooms as a listener unintentionally, I have seen others do it unintentionally too. Rude or accidentally interruptions in sharing circles can disrupt the flow of the conversations. Some users don't conceal excessive cursing or inappropriate words.
What would you do to handle it?
Reminding and emphasising everyone of the inclusivity in the neutral/positive group setting or verbal warning if it does not stop. Follow the group rules not to interrupt others while they are sharing or use curses. Repeat the wishes of the sharers if necessary. Muting disruptors is an option if it is an emergency. Compensating the sharers for the interruptions. Placing a notice for listeners to switch to their member accounts to share about their personal issues.
I have noticed that the new trigger warning message as an addition to the members sharing circle is effective and useful.
One thing I've recognized is, members tend to get more caged when a mod enters the room. They perceive mods as otherwordly and unable to relate or to connect to. I think engagement is important, that's what'll handle it.
@milkoreos
Nice.
@ASilentObserver
I've had to remind the users of the community guidelines multiple times. Usually it was because a situation was getting heated and some members didn't feel supported. I calmly reminded the group, not anyone in specific so they weren't put on the spot, that our guidelines are there to ensure a calm, and supportive space is there for all who may need support.
@wonderfulRainbow817 Yeah I get that. We really need to remind people about the guidelines so they follow it to ensure safety and security. Somehow it got to my mind that it's much appreciated for them to actually read all the guidelines to participating. by the way, thanks for sharing this :)
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
One ethical/cultural/group management issue that is a constant in rooms is when their are conflicting beliefs. Whether they are religoius, cultural, or sexual preferences, it can sometimes be a major issue. The way to handle it is to stay nuetral while validating their feelings and ideas and mainting bounderies set by the community guidelines. If you feel to strongly about a subject to stay nutreal you can get another community moderator to take charge and drift the topic away to something less arguementative like icebreakers.
@olivia5611
Very true.
This is a really important topic!
One thing I constantly have to remind people of in group settings is to be culturally sensitive and avoid making generalisations or racist remarks. I have to explain that it's not okay to make stereotypical statements, etc. about a country or culture if you're not from a country, and that it's important to be mindful of cultural differences. We might not understand something because it is different from what would happen in our culture, but we can learn to respect our differences, and it's fine so long as discussions are within chatroom guidelines. I seek help from my leaders like group support mentor leaders or community moderators when unsure about how to address a cultural, ethical, or group management issue I notice.
@jovialButterfly6752 racists and culture are two heavy topics. I admire you for seeking help from the mentors and moderators regarding the topics. Thank you for sharing.
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
Hmm one issue I've witnessed and gotten one is there is a listener talking about their 1-1 chat member in the member room support which broken the rules of confidentiality. So I instantly, contacted the community mod and report about it.
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
An issue i have recognised in the group management (specifically LSR) is that participants sometimes break confidentiality by sharing too much chat details or copy paste the messages sent in 1-1 chat, without the other party's consent, evidently.
To handle this situation, I remain calm and gently make em aware that this is not allowed as it breaks the confidentiality that the site promises to provide and request a chatroom mentor to remove the message(s). I think staying gentle in these situations instead of showing down the rules is impossible because otherwise it may arise inexact rebellion in the participant(s).
Another thing I notice (especially when rules are mentiond) is side picking from other participants. It can feel frustrating but I stay mindful and calm in those situations to prevent further escalation and give a reminder that we're a team and we can't reach the goal we have here without being tolerant when needed and of course, try to make em understand why the particular rule is important without trying "too hard".
@ASilentObserver
What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
One issue I have encountered which I have mentioned in most of the discussions is lack of inclusivity. While it's understandable that one would like to talk to people they know more but in the process, they usually make the others- especially the new members- feel ignored. Forming cliques, using any other languages than English, not responding, or even sparing a greeting towards others might come off as a bit rude.
I would handle the issue by asking general questions, welcoming everyone who enters, responding to other members, talking to everyone, including everyone in the group discussion.