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
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?
I like the idea of service leadership. It is always a good idea to support other people to increase their skills using your experience and knowledge in a great environment like 7cups.
Listening coach.
I will need to understand that I should be empowering my followers and putting them first to unleash their full potential.
@Train1
Putting the others first is definitely a way we can serve them, I really liked that response. Just remember that you are just as important! ❤️
@Train1
Thoughtful points, train.
Thanks for sharing it with us ❤
@Train1
Serving your community like that is absolutely the way to unleash their full potential! Well said.
@Heather225
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?
I love the idea of observing how others are contributing because this way means I can see what projects enough people have working on it, and what projects could do with another person. The website will evolve and adapt to the member’s needs; this means that some projects might need to be discontinued. It’s important to keep an eye on what is out there to make sure it’s in alignment with our needs.
@FrenchMarbles
Monitoring what's already happening is important. Not just for alignment with our needs but the site's needs as a whole, and to know if we're starting a project that's redundant in meeting demands!
@Heather225
Thank you, Heather, for that very informative post! I really enjoyed going through it!
So let's get to the questions :)
Questions:
1) What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
2) Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
3) How can you become a better "servant" to our community?
Answers:
1) I really like the idea of service leadership. Leaders are often people who are being looked up to or seen as role models. And of course we shouldn't underestimate that, as our behaviour can have an impact on others.
But I think the main purpose of being in a leadership role, or in any role really, is to serve the community. Be it to serve members, peers or other leaders.
2) I think a good example of service leadership are the forums. Forum Supporters try their best to make the forums a safe space, but they also provide really helpful post on all kinds of topics to members and listeners. Their service matters a lot to the whole community, and I am really grateful for each and every one of them.
3) Something I realized in my journey on Cups is, that I can always improve. So how can I improve at being a better servant to the community? For this question, I would like to focus on my role as a chatroom moderator.
I have been avoiding member rooms for a long time. To be honest, I didn't really enjoy them. I felt like people in there are ignoring each other, building cliques, and only responding to people they like. But there is a very easy explanation to that. Every member struggles, otherwise they would not be here. And that is okay and valid. But when someone has so many things on their mind, it is almost impossible to pay attention to anyone else. So as listeners, and especially as leaders, it is our job to make everyone feel included, feel heard, feel validated. And the best way I can do that is by being in the support rooms, making them a safe space for everyone and share all of my positivity in there to make the room and all participants sparkle even more!
So what is it that I exactly wanted to say? I want to serve this community. And at the moment the best way to do that, is by keeping the rooms safe and by appreciating all the members and listeners in there. I will definitely try my best to do so!
Thank you for reading through this, I know I covered a lot and I appreciate your time! 💙
@MelodyoftheOcean
Hello! Just want you to know that I really appreciate your answer! I couldn't agree more with that we could improve ourselves and the community in the whole program.
@Heather225
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
I think service leadership is when leaders works together with people to help them grow and develop. They put the needs of others first rather than the traditional leadership which involves accumulation of power. The idea of service leadership works as "team work" which greatly benefits a community to flourish successfully.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Through the Listener 's Coaching Program, Listener Coaches / Quality Mentors helps listeners to improve their listening skills by guiding , encouraging them to grow and develop.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
By working on improving my knowledge and skills , committing my time and expertise on areas that I'm good that. Being open to receive constructive feedbacks, and taking it as an opportunity to learn.
@Harsvin
I think being open to constructive feedback is so important and can take a bit of practise getting used to so thank you for mentioning that 😊
@Harsvin
Truly and rightly put forward points.
All the best.
1. I really like this idea since it treats everyone as equal and no one is better than any one else. I also helps keep the site safe and work getting down.
2. I can give you two examples of this type of leadership.
A. Com mod gobal mod , mod and rs for member side. Crm cs lrs ps for the the lsr. Those roles share the responsibilities of keeping the rooms safe and running by doing their separate roles.
3 I think I would try my best with my rs room for now and move up to higher roles later on.
@Goalsforlife
I also think by learning and accepting feedback to become better. I also think by mastering the skills of my roles or role that I have know.
@Goalsforlife
I feel similarly to you Goals, the idea of cups leadership being a place of equality and sharing rather than top down management is really wonderful and allows us all to grow and learn from each other!
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?
I think that unlike traditional leadership, service leadership is about encouraging and inspiring people. It's more about helping people to reach their potential.
Mentors and Mods in group chat are example of service leadership. For mentors, they give others advice to change and improve instead of pushing someone to do work they dislike. For mods, they kindly welcome each member and keep the atmosphere friendly. Those leaders are creating an environment for other listeners to learn and do their best.
Personally I could reach out to other members more and provide help in the forum or chat.
@Glencia89
Ooo that's a lovely way to put it Glencia 'reaching potential' 🥰 I agree with you about mentors and mods too, always around to lend a hand whenever needed :)
@Glencia89
You did a great job of describing mentors! Mentors are not there to force people to do anything you dislike instead they are there to help guide you and help you find something better suited to yourself! Thank you for this post <3
@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?
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I adore the idea of service leadership, supporting others to grow and sharing experiences and ideas is wonderful. It promotes a truely united community!
I see service leadership all the time in the LSR, people often help other listeners or direct them to someone who can.
I am committed to a few roles already but I hadn't really realised that I could be active in the community without the 'proper' title or badge. I just need to be in the spaces that I enjoy more often.
@gentleFox20
Hello! just want you to know that you are doing great! I really like you idea of actively participating. ( I recently realized it too)
Wish you a good day!
@gentleFox20
I really like your answers! I'm currently still trying to find out in which spaces I thrive the most. What spaces do you like?
@Heather225
Service leadership is, under stable external conditions, by far the most efficient system. Delegating roles and responsibilities is so important to meet the extreme demands the internet brings with it. It’s also a system that is much better at listening to the needs of the employees (or in this case volunteers) within it, as power isn’t concentrated around a single individual with hyper-specific views or perspectives.
One interesting example of service leadership is the peer supporter; they help other listeners after distressing conversations. This task could also be done by other leadership positions, but by decentralizing the power, you get to meet greater demands of distressed listeners and also collect many more perspectives on what peer support is like, and what kind of issues listeners often face. This feedback allows for even greater fit between the site/service of 7Cups and its volunteers.
By asking questions and engaging with the community, I encourage the work other members of the community do and the roles they fulfill.
@Glue
I really like the example of peer supporter. Those leaders serve the community a lot!
@Glue
That is a great way of describing peer support! As by delegating tasks we can work better as a team! Thank you so much for your post <3
@Heather225
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
Service leadership is something thats requres a lot of efforts and hardwork and it happens eventually with conscience , cooperation and understanding.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
One example of service leadership would be a listener who is passionate about the work they are doing and will provide solid time for their responsibilities and take care f the safety and security of the members they are interacting with.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
By being more involved in the community to get various opportunities to cooperate with all kind of members and listeners and by trying to understand their perspectives and help them achieve goals together
@PhoenixTears5972
I really like that you mention that taking care of the safety of the chat and the community in general is part of good service leadership. I think that's a point that's often forgotten.
@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, it's a great concept. It ensures that the value of high warmth isn't decreased by the power and expectation a leader has. I think we can see service leadership in the listener support room every day - the more roles a listener has, the more they serve and support the others in there.
How can you become a better "servant" to our community?I can become a better servant to the 7 Cups community by focusing on using my strengths instead of mostly trying to work on my weaknesses.
@audienta
That's a point .
Though am never into chatrooms, just to say a Hi. I like listening to 1-1 way. I will try being active in chatrooms.