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
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
I really like the concept! It's so important to help and support each other.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Yeah, I often see it in the listener support room. When a listener comes in after a rough chat, everyone is so nice and consoling.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
By helping and supporting my fellow listeners! <3
@Ninziesss
true and simple words.
that's what 7 cups is, a very calm and composed platform for who all are in need .
@Heather225
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
It is to learn- A leader duty is first to learn , to observe surroundings and to learn from everything they see.
It is to serve - after learning, its always the duty to serve or to share the knowledge u have had with those in need and for those who asks for it. The knowledge gained should always be served to those in need or else it is "zero knowledge".
Last but not least , by sharing the knowledge and supporting them- up-bring the leaders, "only a teacher can make a student a future teacher" therefore, by learning, serving, guiding, lets make other better leaders for best tomorrow.
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
Anyone here doing any work or any support activities here, as per their own willingness, as per their service mind is a leader on their own. We don't have to be a Mentor, leader or an ambassador to prove that we are leaders. A listener is a leader , y..??? even a member, who thinks he has issues to be resolved, who believes in himself , who wants to be a better human is a leader himself, leading way to many such people behind him.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
To believe in ourselves, to believe in the community and to believe that serving others is serving the "Nature".
@LoveTracker
Such a thoughtful reply 💕
@LoveTracker
Absolutely adore saying that it's the duty of a leader to learn <3 I agree!
@WarmLightXO nice post
@LoveTracker bravo 👏👏👏
@Heather225
1) To me the idea of service leadership is leading with a purpose such as to support others and in order to provide a service to people of a specific group.
2) On 7 cups we see service leadership everywhere we turn from room supports to mentors to community mods. We all have a purpose, and we are all leaders. An example of a service leadership role on 7 cups is a chatroom moderator as they work hard to serve the community by creating a welcoming and safe space for all. Chatroom moderators spend a lot of time servicing group chats to make them as welcoming, effective and supportive as possible for everyone.
@CalmWaves3939
leading with purpose is a great way of putting it, i love that! good job!
@CalmWaves3939 amazing and informative post
@CalmWaves3939
wonderful post that you've made.
you've got this.
- Lena
@CalmWaves3939 exactly 👏👏👏
@CalmWaves3939 I love your response! Leading with a purpose, wonderful
3) To become a better servant for the community I think we could all focus on what the community wants and needs to improve. Without knowing what people want and need any improvements would be wasted. Becoming a better servant involves listening to others and taking in feedback and using that feedback to further your development
@Heather225
I think its a great contribution to the community. Watching people grow is amazing, i respect the time and effort of the leadership community also. I think its great that our leadership is like an ecosystem, Service leadership to me and the idea of it is awesome and helps our 7 cups community thrive!
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
one example of service leadership i have seen on 7 cups is leadership for our academy programs. Without those leaders serving our community, and academy programs, we wouldn't know what to do.
How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
I can become a better servant to my community by reaching out to my members and checking in, also guiding them to what is what in our community, so they know where the subcommunities are what types, and how to effectively succeed in certain spots in the community that they choose. i know that when i signed up for 7 cups i had such a hard time navigating so i want to help those who might need the push also.
@magicalOcean594
I agree with what you said about watching people grow.
Im happy to hear that you like watching people grow!
And yeah, without those leaders, we wouldn't know what to do. I also appreciate those ambassadors and community leaders.
Also, you sound like a great listener! Reaching out to your members is a great quality! I'm pretty sure your members are happy to have you!
@magicalOcean594
at first I got kinda scared from the big letters but I liked reading it, I'm glad I read through it.
You've got this keep it up.
- Lena
@magicalOcean594
I agree, teamwork is dream work.
@Heather225
I think 7cups is absolutely full of service leadership, and that it makes it the supportive environment it is! When you think on a wider level, who makes the best leaders? Those who serve their community. I had never heard of the term service leader before.
One example... Discussion leaders I feel are good service leaders, empowering others to learn more about themselves or a particular topic, through leading a discussion, helping them to grow through the discussions as they come up with their own ideas, beliefs.
Massive thanks to all the leaders, service leaders out there x
I think I can become a better servant to the community by giving back.. 7cups has and will continue to serve me, now, I'm lookin to see how I can do the same, following in its footsteps, giving emotional support to others, empowering them. I will be guided by my members, adapting my listening style to them.
I'm happy to hear that you like 7 cups service leadership!
Yeah right! The best leaders serve the community.
I'm happy to hear that you like the discussions in 7 cups!
Giving emotional support and adapting your listening styles are good qualities! I think you will make a great leader!
@SparklingSeashells
I love the way you wrote it all down it words, keep it up you've got this.
- Lena
It's actually a great idea if the leaders main goal is to serve. that kind of leader will make the followers feel fullfilled.
Examples:
-Ambassadors helping the participants in the Leadership Development program
-Community leaders being supportive in support rooms
-Ambassadors making posts and forums
How can I be a better "servant"?
I'm gonna train my skills to help others and I'm will make sure that I will be supportive whenever I can.
@Aileen1114117
Leaders being accessible, yesssss
@Aileen1114117
Love your answer :)
I feel like this community doesn't really like that some people are under the radar they do a lot and that they want you to be a Service Leader and maybe not everyone wants to be that and that should be okay. Just because someone doesn't purposely do something to be recognized doesn't mean that don't need a compliment. I can't name one aspect where I saw a service leader.
I actually love this post so much
What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
I've heard it before from some others on 7Cups, it was super well explained here
Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
I have so many hehe, the first that comes to mind is on the Peer Appreciation Team that I'm one of the leaders for. It's a very warm, supportive environment focused on the needs of humanity <3
@WarmLightXO amazing post
@WarmLightXO
I like your answers Light, and your example for service leadership was a very good one.
@Heather225
Q: What do you think of the idea of service leadership?
A: The idea of service leadership, actually sounds pretty neat. I think it will be good for the community and that it will show its value, it also could set a good example for other people.
Q: Can you list one example of service leadership you have seen on 7 Cups?
A: As a listener but also when I used to use my member account when a group chat would become difficult for me some listeners would send me a message and check up on me and if I wasn’t doing so good they would help me through it, as a listener I see people putting reminders in and help the member in feeling better both listeners and members I see doing this.
Q: How can you become a better "servant' to our community?
A: As a listener I can control how I help people and how I act in my roles. What I can do is to learn more about certain topics, become better in some topics, I could try to get more involved in some parts of the community, to try becoming a better listener every day.
@kenzolena
Your answer was very good. I liked your proactive approach when you answered the question on how to become a better servant to the community. Your example was good as well.
@kenzolena I liked the part where you said that service leadership can be set a good example. I love these responses