Understanding 7 Cups Culture (LDP Discussion #5)
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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...
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This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.
Three things that I have learned from the 7 cups culture guide:
1. The importance of team work in the process of growth for the community, as well as the individuals.
2. Failure is an essential part of learning and growth.
3. The importance of high empathy and high warmth, and how the lack of even one of these could be detrimental towards the growth of the community
@miraculousheart9815
Hi Norah! Great response! I agree that all three of these are really good points, and I especially loved the point about joe failure is essential in learning and growing, it's not something you always hear.
@GlenM
I learnt that trusting is a good thing. In a world where trusting is underappreciated and sometimes shunned, a community based on trust is love.
I learner about taking responsibility for my act. Kinda like integrity.
And I learnt that it's okay to be dependent on others. Because a successful community exists only as the members trusts and depends on each other.
@Petrichor2000
That is very true in regards to trusting being shunned sometimes. "a community based on trust is love." I love that. I like how you linked trust to being dependent, it is so true. I find dependence can be shunned sometimes as well, but it's all about balance and context.
@rebecca947
Thank you.
The three important posts I took away from the guide are:
1. Failure should not be something you are scared of! It helped me understand that if you fail, keep trying because even if you fail twelve times, the thirteenth time might be when you succeed.
2. Problems are disguised gifts! (From Self-Efficacy or Mastery) Problems help you gain more knowledge and skills that may be needed to move to the next level!
3. I think it was also important that it mentioned that as leaders, we should take care of ourselves first!
@softMusic9759
Brilliant answer! You have rightly pointed out the importance of failure, problems and self-care in life and in organisations. I wish you the best in your journey ahead!
@GlenM
Thank You so much Glen, for providing those things and guide to us.
3 Things I learned that I believe are much more important are :-
1. High Expectation & High Warmth = I believe it is really very important to be a good leader.
2. Friendliness and Conscientiousness :- It is also much more important so as to assure the relations and the work is better and good. Porving warmth can literally be a great support.
3. Accountability :- It is really very impotant to success.
@SuryanshSingh
Hey! I like them all, and find them all to be critical as well to building a good community! Providing warmth can be by friendliness, actively valuing someone or simply empathy. <3
@GlenM
Highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
The most essential thing I believe I have learned from the 7 cups culture guide is that MY WORK MATTERS, as a psychology student I understand the importance of actively listening to someone and being able to communicate with them in the appropriate manner. Through all the work we do as listeners and leaders on 7 cups we are changing lives and making a difference in our community through our postive actions.
While we do play significant role as listeners on 7 cup, it is extremely crucial for us to be accountable for our actions towards our members and ourselves. We have to be open about the work that we do and share with everyone clearly everything that we have accomplished or failed to do so we learn from those experiences and get proper feedback.
Lastly, Trust within the members and listeners is important as it would enable us to grow/become empowered as individuals and support the community in growing as well. 7 cups also builds warmth, love and trust amongst the people which uplifts the spirits of everyone in the community.
I find the whole 'High Expectations and High Warmth' part of the 7 cups to be extremely a unique and interesting concept.
@BookChunky
This is a very well written, thought out response! I agree with you on the accountability, and I also agree that the "high expectations and high warmth," concept is very interesting and unique, I really like it!
Please highlight the 3 most important things you learned from our guide and why they are important to you.
1. Trust - everything else is useless without trust in my opinion.
2. Expecting failure - it's good to have realistic expectations.
3. Accountability - we are accountable to everyone.
@freshMint9376
Mint, you have wonderfully pointed out the importance of trust, failure and accountability! I wish you the best in your journey ahead.
@GlenM
3 things that I learned from 7 Cups Culture Guide:
"Leadership" is not just an aimless term: It comes with accountability, confidence, and respect. Nowadays, nothing is more important than strengthening yourself and taking up space in society. I want to keep enhancing my leadership skills not only to inspire others but also to unleash my inner potential of becoming a great leader.
We may help people around us, but it's essential to keep in mind that taking care of ourselves is one of the top priorities.
This is a community built on trust. We trust each other and we grow together.
@heyitsjuliana
Great response! I love how you discerned how leadership is not just leading but it is a slew of traits and aspects of a person. Everyone can be a leader but not everyone can be a good one.
@GlenM
The three most important things I learned while reading the guide are that 7 cups wants team members to work hard on themselves and the team, they emphasize collaboration, and they treat everyone equal. I find it important that 7 Cups wants its team members to work hard on improving themselves because self-improvement is how we better understand ourselves; when we understand ourselves, we understand what we can and can't do to help others. I love how 7 Cups emphasizes collaboration because no one person can solve every problem,it takes collective action to solve the most troubling problems. Lastly, it is important that everyone is treated equal because everyone brings their own value to the table, regardless of what skills they excell or lack in.
@CognitiveACE
Hey! I love how you said self-improvement is needed to understand further things and how our actions can be beneficial or not to others. So very true with collaboration- two heads are better than one. :)
3 most important things I learned:
1.) 7 cups is built on trust. This is important to me because I feel like everyone deserves trust, and trust can definitely help you feel more supported, and as a result, succeed.
2.) 7 cups is high expectations and high warmth since both those things are needed to succeed and grow. I feel like 7 cups being high expectations and high warmth is important because it gives you a lot of room to grow, but not on your own, there are people there for you.
3.) 7 cups helps is identify work that we are good at, interested in, and that helps us reach a goal. I feel this is super important because 7 cups allows you to work at something you enjoy doing, are good at, at the same time in helping you reach a goal, that can give more us more passion and dedication to the volunteering we do.
@hopedreamlove
Hey Hope! Trust is so critical in all relationships, I feel! With trust, you can do anything. I like how you summarised point 2, gives you warmth and room to grow with others. :)
@GlenM
Three things that I learned:
1. Trust: Trust is one of the highest form of respect that one can offer & trust is foundation of any relationship weather professional or personal. Here at 7 Cups trust is a core element.
2. Identifying Strengths and Improving: Identification our signaure strength and working on those can bring a effective result for individual as well as community.
3. Collaborate: Collabration is a synergy between individual to solve the upcoming challenges. A team or community can serve better than an individual.
@Saquib16
Hey, Saquib! I love what you said about trust- "foundation of any relationship". Worded perfectly. Honing in on your strengths and working with others who have different strengths leads to powerful collaboration.