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.
@Heather225
I personally like the idea of service leadership, because the role is very altruistic in nature. I really like how it’s a form of leadership style where the leader’s main focus is to serve others in need rather than climbing up the pyramid and exercising control over people. One example of service leadership on 7 Cups would be a mentor, since a mentor’s main focus is to use their leadership skills to help us listeners become better at what we do. In order to become a better “servant” to our community, I can practise kindness more often (e.g. holding the door for someone, offering someone my seat on the bus to people who need it more, etc.).
@kindFish9215
Altruism...thank you for the accurate description using that word 👍. You did service leadership justice 😃
@kindFish9215
I spotted some incredibly encouraging points in your post, Fish. Well-done!
@Heather225
Leadership - Becoming a Teen Star, Mentor, Mentor Leader or Ambassador.
@Heather225
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
I think it is an integral leadership concept as putting the needs of others first and helping other people develop and perform as highly as possible can enable the leader to gain firsthand knowledge on the problems facing the community and can give the community members morale as he/she is putting their needs first.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Mentorship program and I think it qualifies as a service leadership because the mentor puts the needs of the mentee first and helps them develop and perform as highly as possible.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
One is by putting the needs of the others first while remembering boundaries and self care. Two is by helping other community members develop and perform as highly as possible by sharing your resources and experiences with them.
@JoyHappyNess
Nicely written, Joy!
@Heather225
Questions: What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
Answer: As it is so beautifully written in the post, a servant-leader is someone who works for the community itself. They share powers, put the needs of others before themselves and work for a greater good, simultaneously helping the community develop. I think the concept is much better than the pyramid/traditional leadership, which not only makes the members of the community feel included and equally appreciated but also encourages them.
Question: Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Answer: I believe almost all the leadership positions on 7 cups are loosely based on the service-leadership idea.
Question: How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
Answer: By working for what I believe in, putting in my best without exhausting myself because self-care is equally significant as well.
@Textingpals
I love how your thoughts are inclined towards the betterment of peers! This widely depicts the marks of a great service leader in the making. :)
@Textingpals
I like how you incorporated self-care in your answer as to how we can become better servants! Of course, working/putting your best efforts in a good goal, but we also have to remember to check in on ourselves too!
1. My idea of service leadership is the power when someone discovers what their heart wants to do and It also means showing what a leader actually is by our actions.
One being all the mods staying alert at the time of pop up sessions so that all the members and listeners can have a safe and secure space.
Becoming a better servant to the community would mean helping all the people I possibly can and being there for people whenever they need someone to simply listen to them.
@Moonlemon48
Indeed, actions speak louder than words. Truly appreciate the ideas you have for the concept of service leadership!
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
Working for a better community and giving back.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
All the listeners who listen to the members , help out in the chatrooms or in the community,
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I can become a better servant to our community by giving my best no matter what the task is.
@jersey123456
Wonderful thoughts there, Jersey! Accurately places ideas!
@Heather225
1. What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
A. Needless to say, it is way different from the traditional leadership where one hold the power and delegates tasks. Under Service Leadership, we hold a prestigious task of being a helping hand in our individual growth as well as helping others grow.
2. Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
A. I've noticed plenty of examples in 7 Cups and all of them are equally amazing. Verified Listener Coaching team is one where I've personally interacted with so far and it's great to see how a team of Verified Listeners help Listeners look beyond their role and make the best use of their potential.
3. How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
A. What differentiates traditional and service leadership is the idea of empowering others to grow along with you and I strongly believe that I can help contribute in allowing others to make the best use of their talents and reach heights that they always wanted to.
@lyricalSea85 I love your response! Service leadership really is a refreshing concept and I'm excited to read more about it in future courses XD
@xinyii11
Most certainly! I'm looking forward to that too!!
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
I love the concept of service leadership! The way power is equally distributed with the goal of serving others is something I'm willing to be part of. I feel like this idea is really important in preventing conflicts over authority, power, and ensure the quality as well as satisfaction of the members of the 7 Cups community.
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Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Several positions of leadership on 7 Cups include Community Mentor, Teen Star, Academy Mentor, and Academy Ambassador
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How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I can first start by improving myself, taking care to abide by the community's guidelines, and familiarize myself with my responsibility as a 'servant'. I can serve with high expectations and high warmth and uphold the values of 7 Cups to better integrate into the community as a faithful and passionate 'servant'.
@xinyii11
I like how you incorporated the high warmth/high expectations guideline in your answer! I feel like thats a perfect approach to being a servant on 7Cups (:
What do you think of the idea of service leadership? I think it's a great way of giving back to our community. It helps us assist people through our leadership skills.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups? There are support groups on 7 cups which are led by certain listerners. Here they direct a conversation and assist people to talking their problems.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
By participating in th
@Samar19 It does help us get our leadership into practice and helps others as well, I love that.
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
It is for allowing the rooms to be better managed and in order to reduce the negative emotions in the rooms.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups? There are room supporters in the group support rooms.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community? By participating in the subcommunties and the programmes.
Group chats are a great way to be a service leader<3
