Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #2) Service Leadership at 7 Cups
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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Being a leader at 7 Cups takes many forms. One thing every listener has in common is that we are all agents of service. Whether we are taking member chats or we are welcoming a new listener to the community, every unique contribution made by listeners is equally wonderful and valuable.
There are many ways to spend our  volunteer time at 7 Cups. Some of you will choose to focus on member chats and others will choose to be involved with our community programs, or both!  No matter which path, all contributions are considered incredibly valuable and special.
The term  Service leadership  (based on the philosophy of servant leadership, in  which the main goal of the leader is to serve)  can be explained in this way:  "Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the top of the pyramid. By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible."
Sometimes leaders or community members who help with projects receive high praise for their efforts (and they all deserve it) but this is never to take away or undermine the contributions of listeners who fly a little bit more under the radar. How one chooses to spend their volunteer time on 7 Cups is up to them & we love you all the same!
Leadership - Becoming a Teen Star, Mentor, Mentor Leader or Ambassador.
Weve long said⦠that if you want to be a mentor, be a mentor, eventually youll get a badge. These service leadership roles are incredibly important to the functionality of our community. The individuals in these posts do an excellent job helping to keep our community safe and positive. I am very thankful for them.
One misconception I have heard floating around is that once youre in one of these roles you need to do more, be more, show more, etc. The reality could not be any further from the truth. These roles signify contributions that are currently being made & are not about contributions we hope these individuals will make in the future.
Another way to think about this is - Â if youre accepted to be a mentor leader or ambassador, we will not be giving you more work. Our aim is to honor the work you have been previously/currently doing. In fact, wed love for you to add more self-care to your regular routine. These titles are reserved for successful project leaders & community members who are already involved in community engagement projects and actively making a positive impact. In some cases, we may give you more tools to do your specific projects more effectively.
In this sense, service leadership is simply about where you plan to spend your time. To those of you out there who focus 100% on member chats, we LOVE YOU! To those of you out there who focus on community programs, we LOVE YOU TOO! All of these contributions are equally valuable and important. As a collective  community, our aim is to honor your contributions, no matter where or how they manifest.
In this vein, my hope is that you will remember 3 key things:
1. Self-care - always! Make sure self-care is baked into your volunteer work here
2. Dont take on more than you are able. If you dont have the bandwidth to do something, you owe it to yourself and the community to say no. It is 100% okay to say no. (And if you are asking someone to help you with a project, please do not get upset if someone has to say no.)
3. Remember that 7 Cups is an ecosystem. Every single contribution matters! Â
If youd like to be in a service leadership role, my advice would be:
1. Pay attention to how others are contributing
2. Figure out what gets you excited in the community!
3. Once you have an idea of what gets you excited, dive in! You dont need to have a mentor badge to help out, get involved & start learning.
4. If youre not sure how to get involved, you can chat with a mentor or sign up for listener coaching.
5. Once you feel comfortable with your area of attention, apply for the appropriate mentor track.
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Questions: What do you think of the idea of service leadership? Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
Activity: Please reply to 3 of your peers  in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next post here! You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these posts to successfully complete the program.
This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.
1. What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
A good leader knows how to serve. Service leadership is a great way to see how influential a leader can be with their own team. This can improve the team in so many ways.
2. Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Ah, so many. Listener Coaching Team, Internship Team - both these teams work tirelessly to support each other as well as everyone participating in the programs.
3. How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I can become a better servant by communicating well and being patient. With these qualities, I want to be able to help others grow as well as grow for myself.
@anotherfrenchtoastmafiaa
Yes I love the bit you added about personal growth reminds us we are growing ourselves while helping others 🙂
@anotherfrenchtoastmafiaa
Hi toast 
That's a very nice goal to have; being patient and communicating well. I strive to always be a person others can come to, and to be patient with myself and others. Cheers!
@Heather225
Service leadership is a type of leadership where power is shared and the needs of others come first to develop more. For example, someone who loves posting on forums becoming a forum supporter. I could be a better servant by improving myself as a listener through trainings and practicing self care more often
I have always felt that “service leadership” best describes my ideal vision of leadership. I believe that it is the absolute most valuable way for an individual to contribute to their community. An example of service leadership that I have seen here on 7Cups is that of the mentor listener system. I deeply appreciate that experienced listeners volunteer their time and energy in order to elevate other listeners, to help them grow and flourish. I think that a key distinction between “traditional leadership” and “service leadership” is that servant leaders seek to elevate new leaders, whilst traditional leaders might instead try to impede the way to leadership for young members of their group. I love that on 7Cups, we are encouraged and guided towards leadership.
I can become a better servant to our community by dedicating myself to a daily routine—to completing a certain number of tasks or spending a certain amount of time offering my love, time, and energy to the members of this community, no matter what those contributions look like (member chats, safety patrol, interacting in forums or chatrooms).
@Dinohorus
I agree with the fact that it is the most valuable contribution you could make to the community.
Good job answering the question!
I completely agree with you. It was a pleasure reading such amazing answers!
@Heather225
For me, the idea of Serice leadership isn't to draw a sharp distinction between a servant and a leader. For me its about diminishing the line. It's only when each individual as part of the community is made realized that he/she owns a certain part of the community, that sense of ownership itself drives the force of responsibility and giving your best towards your part.
I have interacted with quite many listeners who take their time out being incredibly patient with me and other members. I think this serves as a fine example of keeping people's needs before yours and toiling well towards the part you are supposed to play.
I for one have been more inclined towards handling member chats and I do that with every inch of positivity and patience I got.
@wishfulMoment42
I love the postitive attitude towards member chats, wishful! Member chats can be tiring and stressful (at least for me), but I'm so glad you've found that to be working out well for you. Keep it up, wishful, you're doing amazing! 
@Heather225
What do you think of the idea of service leadership? Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
I think the idea of service leadership is a great one! You should spend time working on things that excite you, especially if you're choosing it (it's not mandatory). An example of service leadership would be listening to members in the Sharing Circle and supporting them! I love it when other members or listeners enter just to support the ones sharing.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
By being nicer to ourselves! Taking an example from 7 Cups, you won't be able to help other members if you don't give the same compassion to yourself. Also, you should do work that you enjoy! It shows in your work and makes others enjoy it more.
@usefulSummer3139
Hey Summer! Yes, I love attending sharing circles because of how supportive and encouraging they are. We as leaders really need to take care of ourselves too, because it;s so easy to get caught up in listening and forget that our needs matter too
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
I love it! Service leadership sounds like a much more community-oriented way to lead, which really suits our community oriented work. We want to build each other up, not climb to the top, and we want to entrust others with more responsibilities and power so they too can better serve our community, not consolidate it for our own gain. Servant leadership sounds like the leadership syle 7 Cups would benefit from the most
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
When the many teen stars set clear boundaries for taking member chats, and choose to take self care breaks to focus on the workload they can handle, they show service leadership by performing their roles well while ensuring that they do not take on more than they can manage.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I can continue to slowly pick up leadership roles at my own pace, and help out only in the areas I'm interested in. I can also take regular self-care breaks, and set healthy boundaries with my members to take care of myself and stop myself from burning out
@hopebeyondpain
I love the way you added in the bit about respecting your own limits and going at your own pace and taking regular self care breaks. 🙂🙂
Great response to the question
Service Leadership requires skill and so much compassion and it is admirable when someone takes on that role in their life. I think it's fantastic and a real show of character on behalf of that person. It also just benefits so many people 🙂
I would say an example of this within the 7 cups community is a peer supporter or a mentor. Both of which further help the listners who are struggling and that's an amazing thing to do.
As for what I am going to do to be a better service leader, I have literally just yesterday become a peer supporter so im learning and adapting to my role to become a better service leader 🙂
@Azalea98
Yes, service leadership does benefit to everyone. Including the person who takes the leadership role. Everyone learns and grows to be better than before
Congratulations on your new role! Thank you for making yourself available for others!
@Azalea98
Yay! Congrats on the new peer support position.
Good job answering the question too.
@Heather225 I think this is a good idea. I sauy so because it's not that only our followers need to contribute to society, we, the future leaders shall do it as well. Our duty is not only to be in charge of people's actions but we need to make sure they have their rights and comforts.
As for example that we could see here in 7 Cups, there are available listeners and forums. Listeners provide the best service by listening and discussing our problems. Hosts here are very friendly, kind and concerne towards people and they literally have the best approach to the fellow members in a forum. It shows that service leadership needs to be emulated by us.
I could be a better "servant" to our community by supporting and attending forums and replying posts with positive words. I also could create some beautiful quotes and sayings that might motivate people.
@kdsyahirah
Hi, that's really sweet of you that you want to help motivate others in the forums, and I think daily quotes/ pictures is a great idea! I do agree Servant leadership is a great leadership.
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
Service leadership is the right leadership to have with 7cups since everyone feels involved, cared for, and can strive to hit the same goal of letting people feel heard and tear down the stigma around mental illnesses and educate people.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Anyone can make a forum post; under moderators, and this is really nice to know that both members and listeners can contribute their own input; their own questions and insight to make the site more diverse, and everyone can feel heard.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I will be more active in the "needs reply" section so that I can help others feel heard and accepted. I'll seek work and do the work.
It’s so great that you want others to feel heard ❤️ That’s such an important thing in every aspect of 7 cups! All the best! @Skyy0
@Skyy0
You are a forum lover! Thank you for being here and keeping the forum (especially) safe and welcoming for others.
PS: the more I read your posts, the more I am impressed. I love reading your thoughts :D
@Skyy0
Need reply has been getting much shorter, the last time I checked we were at less than 2 days posts.
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
—> I really like the idea of service leadership, I actually think it’s great. As a leader your main focus and priorities is others and influencing others. Service leadership shows the importance and value of being kind and being empathetic, as well as the importance of helping others.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
—> There are so many examples of service leadership on 7 cups, however one that stands out to me the most and is most seen is listeners! Listeners dedicate and volunteer their own time to help others. They do it with grace and don’t ask for anything in return. The listener journey is not always easy, and it’s easy to forget that listeners are just human and also have their own issues. I truly think listeners are amazing people!
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
—> I can become a better ‘servant’ by simply just taking this course, to allow for my leadership skills to grow. By growing and developing my leadership skills it will allow me to be more help for others and to grow more!
@blitheEmbrace27
I like how you emphazised that kindness and empathy are important in leadership. And leading also means helping others. I totally agree with you: listeners are amazing! (psst, including you! )
All the best on your leadership journey!
@blitheEmbrace27
Amazing answers!
I totally agree that it is not easy to be a listener.
Thanks a lot for sharing <3
@blitheEmbrace27
Lovely response ,Bliii !! Agreed, enrolling in LDP is a great step in service leadership too ♥️