Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #1) Welcome to Course 2!
Please note: In order to successfully complete Course 2, you must respond to this post. Your comment/response should answer the questions/shows that you completed the given activity (if any). Read the post carefully and follow the instructions given. Save your responses to a document that you can later refer to. You will need to copy/paste your response in the course evaluation form at the end of each course to show that you have done the work and to refresh your memory.
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Congrats! You made it the second course in the LDP! In this course, we focus on the specific interpersonal skills needed to be a strong leader on 7 Cups, including mastery of communication skills, time management, conflict resolution, stress management and empowering new leaders.
I know if you are here, you have read our values and culture guide. I would like to start off by further emphasizing one value that's required for a leader to be successful here, and that is balancing High Expectations & High Warmth.
Work environments with high expectations and minimal warmth tend to result in companies that are very driven, rule-oriented and risk-averse. The people do not tend to grow as much personally or professionally. On the other hand, workplaces that are high in warmth, but have minimal expectations, tend to struggle. Everyone is happy and feels loved, but not a lot of effective or focused work gets done.
7 Cups is high expectations AND high warmth. We expect a lot from you. You might feel like we think you are more capable than other people have suggested or maybe even more capable than how you see yourself. That is okay. Every person on the team has outperformed and done better than they expected. This is largely because warmth, patience, and trust help people make much more progress than they have in other environments. We have high expectations, but we will provide plenty of encouragement and guidance to help you get there.
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Question: 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?
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Hi @Heather225
What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of these?
Imbalance between high expectations and high warmth as a community leader may result in low performances and or a web of support system is not built.
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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?
Too Low Expectations
Impact on The Community
Too low expectations whether to self, to and from fellow leaders or to and from the community may create a collective under performances that bring the community to a set-up-to-fail syndrome with a setback on community growth.
Impact on how we work with our fellow leaders
Too low expectations whether to self or to and from fellow leaders may result in low performances, little to nothing progress, personal growth and trust is not built.
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Too Low Warmth
Impact on The Community
Community’s mission and goals will be unlikely to be achieved and a low community resilience.
Impact on how we work with our fellow leaders
Compassion, support and love may not be felt. A safe and supportive space may fail to be created.
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Cheers!
@Heather225
How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact
1.) the community:
- if little warmth is spread in the community that means it will be a place of no love thus with no love we can't support one another meaning we can't help anyone with our whole heart and with peace of mind and love which is crucial.
- if low expectations are there then there would be goals set out thus diminishing the very goal we have set up, and plus then we would not bother helping others to show their full potential and thus letting them not know their true inner potential
2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?
- with little warmth, I wouldn't be able to socialize and have a bond with them thus making me not understand who they are and not working with them in any sort of way
- with low expectation, i would not be able to work with them to reach my goal as it would be with no motivation and no support
@Heather225
Question: What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of these? 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 expectations will cause: (To the community) A defiency of growth. Not being able to challenge yourself with high expectations makes you settle with less which leads to no improvement.
Having low expectations will impact how you work with fellow leaders: Lack of accountability in what you do. Your fellow leaders will not trust your capability as a leader and continually doubt your abilities. It will also lead to weak connections with your team members.
Having low warmth will impact your community: There will be no strong connnections in the community. Members of the community will also tend to burnout due to the lack of appreciation and attention on their efforts. The community will also never establish an authentic and vibrant environment where people are happy working.
Having low warmth will impact how you work with fellow leaders: Lack of communication. There will also be no teamwork as the core values of a team will not have been taught in such a community.
@MyNameIsNicole
Ah yes, I also agree with all you have said. Especially the one down below:
"Members of the community will also tend to burnout due to the lack of appreciation and attention on their efforts."
@Heather225
Low expectation:
1.) Having low expectations can result in the community being less proficient and lack value. It will slow or stop the process of the community growing together.
2.) It can resort to not having a good friendship with my fellow leaders and it can cause me to not grow as a leader/listener. I could have no motivation to push to be a better listener This can also affect others, it could make them feel unworthy or feel like their efforts are wasted.
Low warmth:
1.) Having little to no warmth can cause the community to feel less cared for or feel less supported. A community is a set of people who come together and work together. Without high warmth, there might be people who will feel even worse than they were and we don't want that.
2.) This can resort to not trusting my fellow leaders, or not caring for them. It can break down our bond and we will not be able to work together as a whole.
@mxmes
I like how simple and concise your points are! 
So easy to read!
@Heather225
Question: What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of these? 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) - If a leader has an imbalance of these than not only is he affected but also all the people he is working with and the people he is leading are affected. It is like a culture thing, the imbalance promotes a wrong culture and that culture could affect the whole community.
Having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact the community negatively, as it will promote a wrong culture and hence reduce efficiency and mostly diminish or belittle the purpose or goal set for the community.
Having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact the peers negatively too, I think it would lead to a culture of unaccountability amidst us and also, due to low warmth could lead lack of sweetness in relationships, lack of empathy or a culture where it is okay to behave rudely with a peer because they haven't fulfilled their commitment or made a mistake. Both are not good for a community. We need a right balance of expectations and warmth.
@Heather225
Having low expectations would result in:
We won't able to know our true potential both as a community and as an individual which will cause setback for the community and as an individual, my fellow leaders will not find my reliable.
Having low warmth would result in:
Lack of social bonding and support in the community and as an individual, I won't enjoy my work as much as I should and my work would look more like a chore to me which will eventually cause lack of interest which will lead to poor performance.
Additional information about High expectation:
Pygmalion Effect:
It is a psychological phenomenon wherein high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area.
> This effect is named after the greek myth of pygmalion, a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he carved.
> This effect is also known as Rosenthal Effect, named after psychologist Robert Rosenthal.
Golem Effect:
It is a psychological phenomenon in which lower expectations placed upon us by either others or by ourselves leads to poor performance.
> This effect was named after golem legend in 1982.
I really loved the additional information and insight on the pygmalion effect and golem effect, i wasn't aware of either of them so i really appreciate the new knowledge. great post, keep up the great work!
@Heather225
1) Community- I think the community that are low in warmth and expectations make rules that might not solve the problems or might be a bit inconvenient. They also are relectuntant to take risks Getting out of your comfort zone from time to time creates just enough good stress to ramp up your focus, creativity, pace, and drive, and it helps you respond to life stress when unexpected things happen. On the other hand, workplaces that are high in warmth, but have minimal expectations, tend to struggle. Everyone is happy and feels loved, but not a lot of effective or focused work gets done.
2) How you work with your fellow leaders- When you are low on warmth and expectations, neither you grow personally and professionally, nor you feel loved and happy
@Kindstar45
Creativity is so crucial for community advancement. There needs to be enough warmth for members to feel comfortable with taking initiative and risks for the betterment of all.
@jovialButterfly6752
I agree
If you have an imbalance of expectations and warmth you will struggle and fail to grow personally and professionally.
Having too low of expectations and too little warmth would affect the community by having little compassion and no goals. The community would jsut be a very negative and unsuccessful place, I feel like with an inbalance it could become a very toxic place very fast.
Having too low of expectations and too little warmth when working with fellow leaders would feel as if there is no patience, no trust, no guidance or encouragment, and no goals. It would be very hard to achieve or grow as a person and on 7 Cups. It would be a very competitive place for all of the wrong reasons.
@BellatheHappyHelper
Agreed 100%. It would be completely unlike the 7 Cups we are all part of in this moment. Competetiveness would undermine the values of this culture.
@Heather225
1. What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of these?
If I don’t emulate the values and embody the culture of this community, I shouldn’t be a leader in 7 Cups.
2. How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact:
a. The community:
Although there would be a positive atmosphere, low expectations and high warmth would lead to a dissatisfied community because they wouldn’t get much out of it. 7cups wouldn’t serve its functions.
Low warmth and high expectations would again beat the purpose of 7cups. The rules would give clarity to the community about the ways they could contribute but it would be put undue pressure on them.
b. Impact how you work with your fellow leaders?:
Low warmth and high expectations would lead to burnout in community leaders and foster a culture of animosity. It might cause paralysis from the amount of stress that my fellow leaders and I would be under.
Low expectations and high warmth would make leaders lax in their jobs. They wouldn’t follow through with things and I would feel less motivated to do my job.
@jovialButterfly6752
I love how you clearly laid out different scenerio for comparision. I agree that low warmth and high expectations would lead to burnt out. I have experienced that myself in my work space. Just love how you said it very clearly.
A Big hello and huge hug to you all :)
What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of these? How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact
1) The community - Having low expectations and low warmth to the community will result in less interaction as the community will feel less heard and cared for... If everyone feels included and cared for we all grow as a community together.
2) impact how you work with your fellow leaders? - Low expectations and low warmth among fellow leaders could cause conflict.. Possibly even a lack of trust.. We're all working towards the same goal. If we support each other we'll get there quicker..