Understanding 7 Cups Culture (LDP Discussion #5)
Please note: In order to successfully complete Course 1, you must respond to this post. Your comment/response should answer the questions/shows that you completed the given activity. 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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Hello Leadership Crew!
We are wrapping up the first course today with our last discussion on culture. Look for more instructions in this post to take the final evaluation for the course to your graduation. Once you have this course complete, you will be 20% done the Leadership Development Program. Good work!
Let's start by looking at the wikipedia definition of culture:
--Culture (/ÃkÃltÃÃr/) is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.[1]
We take culture seriously on 7 Cups because it is the heart of how we operate. A wise person once said: You teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are. We can have all of the best training content we want, but if our culture is not strong, then we will not be successful in growing a thriving, compassionate, community that will make a global impact.
Every organization has a culture whether by design or by default. When culture (including values and mission are not called out or made explicit, the organization defaults to an implicit or unstated culture. The unnamed culture is not always great for the end users or the community. An example of a common and implicit cultural rule or norm is that the person that makes the most money or the organization is the most important. People that work in this organization then, naturally, because it is the culture, start organizing themselves around ways to make more and more money. The ones at the top of the hierarchy are the ones that make the most money. 7 Cups cares less about money and more about compassion. We call out compassion and celebrate compassionate people because that is central to the work we do.
Please read our guide here to deeply understand our culture. We have made it explicit because we believe it is important to help us all be accountable to what we stand for and believe in. As leaders on 7 Cups, you will be models that emulate our culture and values.
One theme you'll notice in our guide is that it is very proactive, which is the opposite of reactive. We act first, we design first, we implement first in order to make an impact. Companies that react allow events to shape them; we instead try to focus on where we can have influence and shape events before they shape our community.
Part of being proactive is critical because building culture online is more challenging than building a culture offline. Offline interpersonal and group relationships are easier in a number of ways. People are generally much better behaved when they are right in front of you and it is easier for people to sync up and work towards a common goal. Online cultures have less of these natural strengths so you have to be extra proactive to build a strong culture. Look at most communities on the Internet. Unfortunately, they tend to devolve and become less than safe places with a lot of hate, sexual, and harmful behaviors. Our training system, the badges, word filters, moderators, etc. (dozens of behaviors we do) are all designed to proactively build and reinforce our culture so that we do not experience this same kind of entropy. Internet culture can be like an escalator going down. You have to be very proactive and take 2 or 3 steps up at a time to maintain and strengthen gains. As a leader on 7 Cups, you will be part of that group that gets behind us and enables us to continue making forward momentum.
That provides the broader background context to why we care so much about our culture and values at 7 Cups. They are core to our work.
To help make it more real, in this post, please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
After posting, please...
1. Take the course exam here to complete course 1.
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3. Fill out the End of Trial form to complete your trial!
4. Proceed to Course 2!
This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.
@GlenM
I learned that Trust is of great importance in 7Cups, as the "lubricant" for smooth operations, favors delegation of tasks, reduces the energy that would be lost in micro-management and controlling people, thus making available more energy to accomplish the mission of the organization.
It is also important to me as a subordinate to trust my superior and the instructions given to me, to concentrate in achieving the sasks assigned, and not wasting energy in wondering whether I should be doing something else, etc.
I also learned that 7Cups prioritizes solving the biggest challenges first, facing the most difficult problems, and that this promotes the strength of each volunteer, as well as the team, and dislodges the main roadblocks in the path to successfully achieving the organizations mission.
It is important to me to be challenged and caf problems to solve, as this promotes my growth in skills, as well as emotionally and intellectually.
I learned that 7Cups aspires both to be a community of friendly, humane people, and to be greatly effective and efficient.
I feel that friendly human relations among members of an organization, combined with high efficiency, makes for the best combination for human flourishing and happiness. Without a friendly environment, work becomes hell. Without efficacy, goals are not achieved, and you suffer from despair, disappointment and low self-esteem.
@WelcomeToChat
Detailed answer!
The three most important things I've learned and why they are important to me:
1. Being Proactive: instead of being shaped by events (reactive), proactive acts first, designs first, and implements first. This gives participants AGENCY. In dealing with mental illness giving yourself and others AGENCY can lead to change and empowerment.
2. High Expectations and High Warmth: when clear expectations are set all are accountable. Being warm, caring, and accepting are perfect for learning and finding your best space.
3. Strength Based: doing what you are good at and interested in helps solve problems and set goals.
Open-Mindedness High scorers tend to be original, creative, curious, complex; Low scorers tend to be conventional, down to earth, narrow interests, uncreative. 
You enjoy having novel experiences and seeing things in new ways. (Your percentile: 98)
Conscientiousness High scorers tend to be reliable, well-organized, self-disciplined, careful; Low scorers tend to be disorganized, undependable, negligent. You are very well-organized, and can be relied upon. (Your percentile: 80)
Extraversion High scorers tend to be sociable, friendly, fun loving, talkative; Low scorers tend to be introverted, reserved, inhibited, quiet. You are extremely outgoing, social, and energetic. (Your percentile: 86)
Agreeableness High scorers tend to be good natured, sympathetic, forgiving, courteous; Low scorers tend to be critical, rude, harsh, callous. You are good-natured, courteous, and supportive. (Your percentile: 89)
Negative Emotionality High scorers tend to be nervous, high-strung, insecure, worrying; Low scorers tend to be calm, relaxed, secure, hardy. You aren't particularly nervous, nor calm.
@GlenM
Please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
1. Caring for People with Fewer Financial Resources. The world can only heal if every person has access to help.
2. Trust. To me the foundation of a good relationship is trust, it allows everyone to feel safe.
3. High Expectations & High Warmth
We can only grow as a site being able to offer good support if we need to be able to fulfil certain requirements, perform in certain ways. It is important that everyone participating in this journey feels safe and understood not only as an act of human kindness but also to help people perform as best as they can.
@amiablePeace77
Beautifully said Ami! Great notes. Agreed, it's important for everyone to have access to get help and it is important to feel safe and understood for us to stick witht the community and have the fuel to strive higher in life.
So glad I'm on your team 😊❤
@GlenM
One of the most important thing I learnt is how essential and vital it is to know yourself, know your strengths and your weaknsesses. I also discovered that weaknesses is something most of us have and it is OK to have them. Lastly, I learned the value of trusting and being kind to yourself.
@GlenM
It is difficult to choose only three things, as there are so many that feel very important to me... I am going to try though!
So the first one would be this: We Expect Failure. It felt very powerful to read this. Failure is nothing to be scared of and it is nothing to worry about as long as you are focused and trying: so true, and yet not always recognised.
Second one: We are Strenght-Based. Again, this is something that makes so much sense. When we operate out of our stregths, we are much more productive and effective. Entusiasm and passion make the difference.
Third one: 7Cups is high expectations AND high warmth. Working in a place that expect a lot from us because it believes in us and trust us, and shows this by encouraging and guiding us, feels empowering.
This culture guide was fantastic! Upon review, three things I learned:
1. 7 Cups has a gas tank, and I have a gas tank. I have to focus more on making sure my tank is full more often. Work, life, all those things take from my tank, and focusing on refilling it needs to be a more important part of my life.
2. Failure is expected. Whooo boy, do I hate failure. Hate it. This is a lesson I need to learn to accept.
3. Self- efficiency - problems disguised as gifts. That's another one I need to really focus on. I tend to get bogged down in "solving the problem" or ruminating on it, not modifying my thought process into making my brain realizethe problem is a gift or a challenge.
Three things I learned from the 7 cups guide are:
1) I think the most impactful thing for me was the sweet spot of finding the work you are interested in, good at and create a difference. I think more often than not organization do not tend to follow the approach and it is big reason why many organizations do not grow at a pace at which they should.
2) Collaboration and Accountability are extremely important at 7cups since we there is no physical presence.
3) Having trust and building trust is crucially important for 7cups and leaders being at the forefront of the site need to take active initiative in building it.
Your Work Matters
I've spent a fair bit of time here and have supported others, I hope that matters to others.
Behaviors that increase trust are celebrated and deliberately cultivated. Behaviors that decrease trust are minimized and removed.
I hope that this ios a place where people can trust it to feel safe, it's difficult for people to open up about what bothers them if they feel distrustful.
At 7 Cups, we believe that every single person is valuable.
I do think everyone has value and is worthy of support.
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” —Amelia Earhart
@GlenM
The three key things I learned from the guide is that 7 cups helps to support people in vulnerable financial situations which is something I care deeply about coming from a low-income family myself. Failure is expected, even though I hate to fail I need to learn that it is only a mechanism for growth. Having fun and being fulfilled is an important part of 7 cups because it helps to drive the community to new levels.