Course 2, Discussion 3: High Expectations and High Warmth

Balancing high expectations and high warmth is essential for effective leadership, especially in a setting like 7 Cups. If a 7 Cups leader has an imbalance of expectations and warmth, it can lead to several negative outcomes:

1. High Expectations, Low Warmth: This approach can create an environment where individuals feel pressured and unsupported. While people may meet expectations in terms of performance, they may do so out of fear or stress, rather than a genuine desire to improve. This can result in burnout, reduced morale, and lack of trust in leadership, which ultimately stunts personal and professional growth. In a community, it could lead to a toxic environment where members feel that their efforts are never enough, leading to disengagement and frustration.

2. Low Expectations, Low Warmth: A leader with this combination might struggle to motivate or guide others effectively. With low expectations, individuals may not challenge themselves to grow or improve. Without warmth, there will be little emotional support or encouragement to build relationships. This can result in a lack of progress, a disengaged team, and possibly even feelings of isolation. Within the community, this could cause stagnation, as people may not feel inspired to contribute or connect with each other.

On the flip side, when a leader fosters both high expectations and high warmth, they create an environment where people feel supported but also challenged to achieve their best. It encourages growth, fosters trust, and drives meaningful engagement, which is beneficial not only for individual development but for the overall community as well. Leaders can empower their peers by providing clear expectations while offering guidance, encouragement, and empathy—creating a healthy, productive work and community environment.

✒️ What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?

I think that having an imbalance of expectations and warmth as a 7 Cups leader might make it more difficult to navigate your roles and feel grounded in your work. I think that 7 Cups as an organization does a great job of modeling and maintaining high expectations and high warmth, so if we as leaders have an imbalance in these, our leadership style may not mesh very well with the general culture of the website and it's staff, volunteers, and members. This might lead to someone finding it hard to grow and thrive in their leadership roles and might make one feel less grounded and rewarded in their responsibilities

✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?

Having too low of expectations would impact the community because people might not realize their full potentials and come to hold lower expectations of themselves. Holding too low of expectations for fellow peer leaders might impact how we work with each other because we might miss potential for effectiveness or growth when we have lower standards for each other. A few other general impacts of low expectations from leaders might include the normalization of poor communication or behavior, frustration among members due to mediocrity in listeners or leadership, or high turnover among volunteers and members alike.

Having too low warmth would impact the community because people wouldn't feel safe enough to share their vulnerabilities with the community. Low warmth might effect how I work with fellow leaders by preventing me from deepening my relationships with my peers or causing me to build up walls to protect myself, both of which are detrimental to any working relationship. A few other general impacts of low warmth might include a rise in hostility and conflict, a general sense of distrust, and high turnover among volunteers and members alike. 

@FrenchToast

Having an imbalance of expectations and warmth here on 7cups can lead to miscommunication/ inability to empathize with members. 

Having too low expectations can hurt a community and it's ability to prosper via limited motivation.  As far as working with fellow leaders low expectations can hinder networking and ability to gather important information with fellow leaders. 

@FrenchToast

✒️ What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?'

Something that might happen if I have an imbalance of expectations and warmth as a 7 Cups leader is that members may start to feel like their works isn't valued or as important to the community and may start to stop doing their work.

✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?

Having too low of expectations will impact the community and would cause me to not be as productive in the community and it can cause fellow leaders to feel like they don't have to put in effort or show compassion to others if there's a leader not reminding them the importance of looking out for others.

@FrenchToast

What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?

I will struggle in my leadership journey. 

✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?

1.)Community will not progress further.

2.)My relationships with my fellow leaders will no longer be helpful or kind for me and or them. 

@FrenchToast

1) An imbalance as a 7 Cups leader can lead to:  

(a) High Expectations, Low Warmth: Stressful environment, disengagement, and burnout.  

(b) High Warmth, Low Expectations: Friendly but unproductive, with little progress or growth.  

Balancing both ensures a supportive, motivated, and effective community.

2) How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?

1. Community:

• Low Expectations: Leads to lack of motivation and progress.
• Low Warmth: Creates a disengaged and unsupportive environment.

2. Fellow Leaders:

• Low Expectations: Reduces teamwork and productivity.
• Low Warmth: Causes miscommunication, distrust, and weak connections.

Balancing both fosters growth, collaboration, and a thriving community

@FrenchToast

What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?

How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?

I think I've managed to answer all the questions in the same paragraphs.

Having low expectations but high warmth can be good when people are struggling initially, but in my opinion it can be quite detrimental. Expectations help us get unstuck when we fall into a rut, they help us figure out a direction too. Low expectations sometimes make me feel like my potential isn't seen, people don't expect me to do more than the bar they set. It can be disheartening.

Having high expectations but low warmth can be good at getting things done, but at what cost? Generally, a human one. In my experience, it prevents people from reaching out when they need assistance and it can cause burnout, lower team morale, lower quality, and create friction. I tend to fall into the camp of quiet burnout in these circumstances and then eventually drop whatever caused it.