Course 1, Discussion 5: 7 Cups Culture
Hello Leadership Crew!
I hope you have been benefitting from this course. This is the last discussion of our course 1.
We take culture seriously on 7 Cups because it is the heart of how we operate. A wise person once said: You teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are. We can have all of the best training content we want, but if our culture is not strong, then we will not be successful in growing a thriving, compassionate, community that will make a global impact.
Every organization has a culture whether by design or by default. When culture (including values and mission are not called out or made explicit, the organization defaults to an implicit or unstated culture. The unnamed culture is not always great for the end users or the community. An example of a common and implicit cultural rule or norm is that the person that makes the most money or the organization is the most important. People that work in this organization then, naturally, because it is the culture, start organizing themselves around ways to make more and more money. The ones at the top of the hierarchy are the ones that make the most money. 7 Cups cares less about money and more about compassion. We call out compassion and celebrate compassionate people because that is central to the work we do.
Please read our guide here to deeply understand our culture. We have made it explicit because we believe it is important to help us all be accountable to what we stand for and believe in. As leaders on 7 Cups, you will be models that emulate our culture and values.
✒️To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
✒️ Please reply to at least 1 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!
❗❗After posting, please...
1. Take the course exam here to complete course 1.
2. Take the leadership oath here.
3. Fill out the End of Trial form to complete your 2-week trial (Please check your email for End of Trial date.)
4. Proceed to Course 2!
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@Hope
✒️To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
(1) We Expect You To Fail: This was really comforting because, as a recovering perfectionist, this reassures the inner-critic within me and further helps me recondition my mind to embrace failures as opportunities to take reasonable chances and learn. Eerything else didn't stand out as new to me, but the parts I appreciated were, (2) Equality and (3) Have Fun and Be Fulfilled because it aligns with what I hold most true about 7C. There isn't one person that isn't invaluable when they're remaining aligned with the values and mission here- regardless of age, creed, race, education/background, etc. And, what we do here should be fun. In the Gas Tank section, it discussed attitudes etc, and this highly contributes to how fun 7C can be as a volunteer. This should be a fun and rewarding experience for everyone, ourselves and our peers, and that's where magic can really be discovered and further cultivated. <3
✒️ Please reply to at least 1 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!
@Hope One thing I really love about 7 cups is that it provides for people with fewer financial resources. I also really appreciate the part about 7 cups helping people to become experts. "Solving problems that matter" is my overall favorite thing about 7 Cups!
@Heart4art The reason these things are important to me is because I noticed a big gap in the availability of mental health care and skills training for people with money vs those without before. The same goes for people who might be really good at helping other people, it has also traditionally been locked behind a big paywall of education and student debt. I was also really frustrated with the fact during COVID most people had no where to turn to for mental health support, myself included. I just happened to recently run across 7 Cups while researching apps that were out there that might help people who had less access to mental health help (because the system seemed broken to me). I see that 7 cups has provided a solution and solved a big problem in our world!
@Heart4art
I also believe that providing free emotional support is filling a huge gap in our worlds access to mental health care. I think that it also brings to light how significant that gap is and how many people are with out basic mental health support in their lives.
Great response :D
@Hope
3 components that truly stood out to me were trust, kindness/conscientiousness & trying hard.
1) trust. trust is key to communication & developing healthy relationships. without it, we'd have a difficult time opening up to others & bottling up emotions within ourselves.
2) kindness. treating others the way you'd like to be treated is definitely a golden rule for me. without respect & being kind to others, we'd all turn on each other when all we truly need is to come together.
3) try hard. knowing that you gave your all into something, regardless of whether you succeed, is an accomplishment enough. putting in the amount of effort shows that you care.
@spedolivia
These are so important! Not just for 7 Cups, but life in general :D
Three things I've learned from the guide are specifically related to the phrase "to have skin in the game." As an auADHD person, terms like this go over my head, so I did a significant amount of research and found that it is to have a personal investment in an organization.
I learned that when you continually grow and learn (self-efficacy or mastery), you can contribute these gifts to those you help. You can do this by starting with little challenges and building on your skills at your pace. You add your "skin to the game by working on these skills." This program is an excellent example of the investment that 7 Cups makes in its users to increase this.
The second thing I learned was that 7 Cups values warmth/friendliness and conscientiousness. These values add to the "skin" by having a culture of working smart towards success with empathy for each other as a team. When we, as listeners and members, all have this attitude, we can achieve a sense of family rather than competition.
Finally, I learned that some behaviours are draining and work against the values previously mentioned. The behaviours listed are:
- "acting like a jerk"
- being distracted.
- making excuses.
- being in denial or avoiding problems
These behaviours not only go against the values of 7 Cups but also are signs that you may need a break to reevaluate why you want to help or your "skin in the game."
All of the guides were immensely helpful, and since I started at 7 Cups about seven years ago, there have been many notable changes. As I invest in this platform, I feel fulfilled, supported and, most of all, like I have "skin in the game."
Thanks so much for reading :) Course one discussion work done YEE! :D💐
@broadfemmelovelive
Hi!! I see we're both in the April cohort. I love your responses and how you've been adding little positive messages at the bottom of your posts! 😄
@Hope
3 most important things I learned from the guide and why they’re important...
- Your Work Matters - I enjoy helping others and I know I'm making a difference in someone else’s life with the work I do on 7cups.
- Strength-based - I get to play to my strengths and be efficient and productive in what I do while enjoying my work. If I were to do something I wasn't good at, it would probably become more of a chore and I would lose interest pretty quickly.
- Collaboration - I get to work with others with a diverse range of strengths and weaknesses. This means there's a wide range of skills to help build the team. Diversity also comes with many new opinions and ideas which will contribute greatly to the team.
@richuyulin
Collaboration is so important!
@richuyulin
I love the collaboration point you made about working with people with a range of strengths and weaknesses. It really works on many levels and shows why 7 cups works - where you may be weak I may be strong and vice cersa.
Great post!
@richuyulin
You sound like a leader :) It's beautiful how you express what is important to you. It's written like you know yourself extremely well which I was told takes forever to do so I'm always happy to see something concise, confident.
I hope you get to stay and exceed expectations in your flow state.
@Hope
✒️To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
1. To practice time management take time for ourselves because otherwise you'll get burnt out.
2. To admit when you've made a mistake or aren't being self aware. This is important because otherwise it can be detrimental to others in the community.
3. To have fun! This is self explanatory :)
To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
1. I already sort of knew this but it is important to me - 7 cups cares about you. I know a lot of people think they need to do things on their own but that's not what 7 cups is about. Every time I've reached out for help in the listener support room I always have several people respond, and they almost always say the same thing at the end of the conversation - do what's best for my own mental help. My mentors have been a huge help and I've also gotten help in the forums with question. In turn I share my knowledge and support when needed. We all care and support each other so reach out for help when needed, it will help prevent burn out as well.
2. I really loved the part that says that problems are gifts in disguise. I agree with this as solving problems helps us learn things - even we fail at solving them.
3. Not everyone will be a good fit. I like this because if I sign up for a role and it's not a good fit for me, I know it's OK so long as I inform those working with me and sticking it out till they can find a relpacement/
@Smrtbibliophile
I totally agree with you! So true.✨
@Hope
✒️To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
I loved the idea of "High Expectations, High Warmth" - it's something so many organizations should apply to their organizational methodology. I also enjoyed the section on expecting failure (And thus how to move forward) as well as being upfront about the fact that not everybody will be a good fit at the thing.
To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
Friendliness and Conscientiousness: I think that the most important qualities of this community are its friendliness and inclusiveness. We must be conscientious to achieve that especially the leaders.
Caring for People with Fewer Financial Resources: 7 Cups is there because many people do not think they can seek professional support. Many of them can not afford it. We should never lose sight of that.
Strengths-Based: 7 Cups works because many people volunteer lots of time and energy to the project. The many communities, tracks and roles that we have allow many to find a way to contribute according to their interests and strengths. It helps us do good work and also keeps us feeling good about what we do.
@Magnificentsunrise
Great reflection, I agree with everything you said.
✒️To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
TRUST-mutally established for personal growth and toward 7 Cups mission.
INVEST-7 Cups invests in the community aligns with work that is good, interesting and brings a solution.
EQUALITY-Every person has value and is accepted from whatever background. One is also treated with respect, dignity and equal rights. 7 Cups embraces diversity.