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Understanding 7 Cups Culture (LDP Discussion #5)

GlenM July 28th, 2020

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.
2. Take the leadership oath here
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.

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VerseArt August 29th, 2020

Highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.

I learned a lot from the Culture Guide. Thank you so much for that. If I have to sum up my learning in 3 points, they will be:

1. The importance of inclusivity. Every time we say 'Hello' to a "stranger" (fellow listener/member), it feels like saying the same thing to a "stranger" you met in real life say in an elevator. Before I would generally ignore and mind my own business, now, I have the confidence to "Stretch My Hand First" and ask how they are doing out of the blue and have a great elevator ride full of laughter and conversation as opposed to awkward silence.

2. The power of listening against the power of solving. Yes, sometimes we need shortcuts and solutions but most of the time, we just need a shoulder, an ear to hear us out. To validate our feelings, our emotions, and most importantly our struggles. Meeting people from all walks of life here on one platform shows you, you aren't alone and You matter.

3. Sharing helps. When we share cultures, we give a platform to everyone. From east to west, cultures may differ greatly, but the real joy lies in sharing it. Celebrating it together.

2 replies
hopedreamlove September 11th, 2020

@VerseArt

I absolutely love these thoughts! You summed up all these points extremely well! I especially really love what you said about sharing, and cultures, I completely agree!

InvaderStitch September 13th, 2020

@VerseArt

I like your bit on sharing culture. We may not share the same culture as far as what we wear, what we eat, and national customs, but we share the same culture of support, of compassion, of teamwork, and of trust, and everything else mentioned in the guide. Thank you for pointing out the importance of sharing culture.

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JessHobson August 29th, 2020

3 Things I Learnt:

• We are built on trust

• My work matters

• Failure is okay

1 reply
Sandson September 1st, 2020

@JessHobson

I can agree those 3 are very nice points. What caused you to highlight those 3 in particular?

1 reply
JessHobson September 1st, 2020

@Aleks2 I often put myself down and I think these point conquer any negative thoughts I have!

1 reply
Endure777 September 11th, 2020

@JessHobson

I'm sorry you put yourself down a lot! One thing is forsure, making lists of positive things like this is a great way of putting yourself in a positive mental state and realizing the good things about yourself.

1 reply
JessHobson September 18th, 2020

@CognitiveACE yeah totally!

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ouiCherie December 30th, 2020

Hi @JessHobson

Yeah... those 3 points are quite essential to keep us going 💙 Believing that what we're doing matter and failure along the journey is expected.

See you around Jess ❤

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Beaconx August 29th, 2020

@GlenM
Three things I learned from the 7 cups guide include:

1. The necessity of building trust in order to make 7 cups a safe place it has always been.


2. Accountability: this is to enable everyone to be the best at any task given and to submit in due time. This also prevents excuse.

3. Capacity building: 7 cups helps in building the capacity of individuals in her team by giving necessary information that enable one to discover strength and work on it. It also empower individuals to solve problem that matters.

1 reply
rebecca947 September 17th, 2020

@Beaconx

Hey, Beacon! I agree with those three points, especially with trust. Trust between members and listeners, listeners to listeners, everyone to admin and vice versa. Trust to Cups as a site, and trust in the unknown and trust in the changes. I like accountability as I feel everyone needs it from either themselves or from others externally. For capacity building, so true in giving information and clear communication for growth to happen. :)

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Helpingsoul98 August 29th, 2020

@GlenM

The first thing I learnt which stood out to me, is the fact that the work we do as individuals and as a team here, truly matters. We take time out of our own busy lives to lend a helping hand a listening ear, along with a warm and kind heart in order to change a life. This aspect of spreading kindness and help is the core value and aspect of 7Cups, and it is really important to aknowledge it.

The second thing I learnt from the guide is that friendliness is crucial when you are engaging with another individual. It is friendliness that will make the vulnerable individual open up.

This leads to the third thing I learned in regards to trust. When you are friendly, it gives the other the impression that you are someone who is kind and can be trusted with their feelings. This is bond of friendliness and trust together is what makes the conversation between you and another individual rewarding.

- @helpingsoul98

1 reply
Endure777 September 11th, 2020

@Helpingsoul98

Awesome thoughts! I love how inclusive and challanging 7 Cups has been. I have never encountered an online community so diverse and yet so together in my life. I am grateful to be a part of such a positivie and powerful movement. I love what 7 Cups emphasis like being open, challanging yourself and others, showing love and solving problems.

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Irena0225 August 29th, 2020

The first thing I saw is that MY WORK MATTERS. That motivates me to keep going. And that shows fully respect all the listeners whether they are still working in 7 Cups. It is basically most people's first time to learn how to listen to others, and it is really important when they get fully respected. Though we are not professional, we tend to make mistakes many times.

And that's the second thing I want to highlight. "expect failures". I still remember the first few days I started to work for 7 Cups. I made lots of mistakes. I copy and paste the whole conversation into the group chat to ask for help instead of summarizing it. I feel a bit sad and depressed because being a listener is already very hard, and there are so many "invisible" rules that I have to learn. Now as I feel more involved and motivated, I started to work hard on improving myself, and feel that I have more responsibilities.

The third thing I want to highlight is trust. Trust is so important in this community because it's completely online and it's so big! Even if the subcommunity. So that it's so hard to make everyone trust each other. As a member, I don't trust the listener because he or she doesn't reply to me for a few minutes, then I might get given up by the whole world. As a listener, I might feel not trusted because...

This guide needs to be read by every listener, we group together, and we become stronger.

1 reply
rebecca947 September 17th, 2020

@Irena0225

Hey, Irena! Valuing everyone contributing to the site is so important and gives us that drive and motivation to keep going, hey! Yes, every experience is a learning experience. That's what I like to remind myself, and learning experiences mean mistakes will inevitably happen. It's how you bounce back from them that shows your character at that moment in time. I'm glad you're feeling more settled! I love how a lot of people are emphasising trust as a very important highlight. I totally agree that the guide should be read by everybody! Even better if they read it as they sign up. :)

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ahealingEndoftherainbow22 August 31st, 2020

Highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you. -

1. The importance of basic values upon which the community is built like trust and accountability for example

2.that my work matters and that I'm making difference - very reassuringans encouraging

3.the concept of high expectations and high warmth.

1 reply
rebecca947 September 17th, 2020

@ahealingEndoftherainbow22

Very true! We all need values- they act as guiding posts as well in the situation/place we are in. We need to feel valued, so very true.

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friendlyEars8792 September 1st, 2020

@GlenM three things I learned are:

(1) my work matters! 7 cups is the largest mental health system in the world. This gives people without financial resources to get help.

(2) we are built on trust, warmth and conscientious.

(3) failure is nothing to fear so long as you are focused and trying.

2 replies
InvaderStitch September 13th, 2020

@friendlyEars8792

The my work matters was also an important one for me. It helps to remember that what we are doing here makes a difference and that the time and energy we put into making 7cups a safe and supportive place is definitely worth it.

InvaderStitch September 13th, 2020

@friendlyEars8792

The my work matters was also an important one for me. It helps to remember that what we are doing here makes a difference and that the time and energy we put into making 7cups a safe and supportive place is definitely worth it.

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JaimieF September 1st, 2020

please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.

I learned that 7 cups has high expectations and high warmth. The high warmth I knew about, but I didn't realize there were also high expectations. I think that's a great combination—believing in someone ad supporting them. This combination is important for helping people reach their potential.

I learned that 7 cups wants everyone to do work they enjoy, are good at, and that is beneficial to others. That intersection is important for everyone to most benefit.

I also learned about the focus 7 cups has on collaboration, and that's important because more people means more perspectives and ideas. The more people that are able to work together, the more likely their solution will be applicable to all other people.

1 reply
rebecca947 September 17th, 2020

@JaimieF

I like high value and high warmth- feeling valued but also giving you the space to grow to be the best you can be. And that is how the communitty was built. That intersection sounds very much like the concept of ikigai! It's so important in life to find that. I love also how we are a collaborative team! Every single one of us contributes to the site to make it as strong as it is <3 I love your summarisation.

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SynSavory September 1st, 2020

Three things I learned from the 7 cups guide are:

-The high expectations for us listeners, as well being high in warmth.

-We are providing a strengths-based rapport, with flow states to be productive and reliable.

-We are accountable for our actions but doing things efficiently and sometimes independently as well.

Thank you for sharing Glen.

1 reply
SynSavory September 9th, 2020

@SynSavory

These are important to me because I need to know what to do and how to be the best listener I can be and take responsibility as needed.

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friendlyEars8792 September 2nd, 2020

Three things I learned are:

1. The work we do is important and we are guided by people who have high levels of warmth and high expectations of us.

2 7 cups invests in us we should do work that we are good at, interested in, and solves a problem.

3 Failure is an important part of the process Only fear failure if you are not focused and trying.

1 reply
rebecca947 September 17th, 2020

@friendlyEars8792

I love your last point "Only fear failure if you are not focused and trying." That is SO TRUE! As I like to say and remind myself and others, every opportunity/situation is a learning experience. And learning means failing and being taught a lesson from it.

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