Inviting ideas for Increasing Mentee-Mentor Communication at 7cups!
Hey, hey community!
7cups, at its core, is about Member-Listener Connection. How do we ensure the listeners grow in their listening skills? We have Mentors for that, yay! Now, there are so many mentors at 7cups, but not all listeners are using the mentor help and guidance for growing in their listening journey.
So we need ideas for improving on that. We need more and more Listeners reaching out to Mentors either by directly pming them via our mentor page or by seeking help in Listener Support Room/Teen Listeners Room.
How do you think we could raise the amount of Mentee-Mentor Communication that happens at the site?
Because the raise in this communication would directly mean a raise in the quality of the Member-Listener connection, as the listeners would be more guided by their Mentors who believe in them and guide them every step of the way!
Over to you, community. Please share your ideas on how we can better match up listeners with Mentors and Listener Support Room/Teen Listeners Room!
Mentee-Mentor connection is one of the sweetest, isn't it?
@Fristo
Hi! It's me again!
This might be obvious and maybe brutal. But...
In many psychological associations, it is required that a new member does therapy with a senior therapist and, afterward, that they meet regularly (weekly/biweekly) with one.
Let's skip the first practice.
Even if not affiliated with any psychological association, meeting regularly with a senior psychologist is considered mandatory for the professionalism of a therapist.
Movies and series on therapists show how this works (In Treatment is a good one: Gina is Paul's mentor and clinical supervisor, she plays an important role in his quality as a therapist, and his emotional wellbeing)
A regular meeting with a Quality Mentor might become mandatory for Listeners from some "Reputation Level" upward, for example, Intermediate.
So to get and keep that Level, Listeners that reach the required number of Cheers should also have a weekly/byweekly chat with a Quality Mentor.
This requirement might end with some number of positive ratings/reviews, But greatly encouraged to keep doing it.
The Reputation Level at which this might become mandatory may be established according to the availability of Quality Mentors compared to the number of Listeners that reach the required Cheers for the set Level.
@HealingTalk Thank you for continuing to think more!
Oh, like brushing upon the skills. I like that. I love this suggestion: "A regular meeting with a Quality Mentor might become mandatory for Listeners from some "Reputation Level" upward, for example, Intermediate." At times, listeners do reach a certain high level, but they are not really doing their best as listeners, so to maintain their level, they could be asked to fulfill a requirement of reaching out to a mentor and pass a mock chat test maybe!
Then the levels would more accurately reflect the actual listening quality.
@Fristo
You are welcome! I have the same concerns and wishes you have about listener quality in Cups.
And...
Exactly!
How a so-so listaner can be called "Advanced", a "Master" an "Expert" or even a "Guru" just for hours spent chatting? People take those names as certificates of quality backed by 7 Cups.
This system of "Levels" was established as a motivation to devote time to Cups. Might seem childish, but if it's there after 10 years, so prominent, it's because it works, I guess. Its traction could be used to promote listener quality as well.
@HealingTalk that's definitely a flaw in our system you've spotted! when we are labeling someone 'expert' or 'guru', they should be expert in the true sense of the word, and not just on account of the amount of time they spent listening at cups. hopefully, we will resolve it and remove this flaw, but excellent thinking there in identifying the problem!
@Fristo
My random thoughts are these:
- Where are the mentors? Perhaps provide easier and quicker access to mentors by either opening a mentor room or having mentors visit the positivity corner twice a day and share some wisdom.
- Do listeners need one particular mentor or would it be just as useful to learn from a few mentors? What if there was a list of currently active mentors who listeners could choose from just like listeners take members from the general chat requests? Put the Mentor List right next to the general chat list.
- What is the difference between chat supporters/peer supporters and mentors? Maybe the problem is too many people to go to. If all three of those jobs were rolled into a mentor title, then that's the only place a listener in need would go. Is mentor the best word to use? What about
Listener Supporter?
@WhimsicalWhimsy Brilliant thoughts, whimsy!
1) We can make use of the Mentor Room (I think that one is for mentors only -so we could use it for bonding to happen between mentors, just like we have listener-only rooms).
2) "What if there was a list of currently active mentors who listeners could choose from just like listeners take members from the general chat requests? Put the Mentor List right next to the general chat list." -I totally love this idea. This was originally posted by @laura years and years ago. It was being called 'Quality Queue' at that time but for some unknown reason, we could not introduce it.
3) I like the sound of 'Listener Supporter' -but I'd keep the name mentor too just for the mentee-mentor concept. [PS. Peer Support is not a mentor. They only help listeners feel validated after their difficult chat.]
@Fristo
I dont know if the connection is sweetest but definately useful.
In order to improve the system to increase people utilising the system.
1. You can grant 50-70 cheers when connecting to a mentor , with maximum of 200 cheers/month will be provided with it.
2. Will it not be more benefecial for a mentor to get a badge if they complete a specified number of chats . And if mentees can browse mentors like they browse listeners?
@Skansly Nice! We can make use of cheers and badge motivation, and we do have our mentors page😀
@Fristo
i didnt knew about mentor page , but does the mentor page has a seperate page for feedback from mentees , cause i really dont wish to search a mentor by trial and error and would prefer if atleast some have seperate feedback from mentees understanding that with this feedback more people will approach them and my request may not reach.
@Skansly Excellent! We do not presently have any mentor reviews column/page where we could publish the positive feedback from mentees, but I think this would do us so good!
For those who would like to have their thoughts heard, please use this form 💚
@FrenchMarbles
Hi, Marbles!
This thread is titled "Inviting Ideas..." that is, I guess, brainstorming.
Brainstorming is about "inviting to propose ideas", any idea, even seemingly absurd or non-feasible, generating as many ideas as possible, deferring judgment and decision -making. An invitation to generate a big pool of ideas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming
When someone accepts this invitation to share an idea, they are not actually asking that it is implemented, but contributing to the idea pool.
In subsequent phases, ideas might be sorted, refined, evaluated, merged, etc. and hopefully, solutions to the stated challenge be found and proposed to be implemented.
@HealingTalk
Thank you Healing! 😊 ❤️ Well said my friend.
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@SparkyGizmo
Thank you for your kind, reassuring words!
💜 💜 💜
@HealingTalk
❤️❤️❤️
@HealingTalk
Thank you for that explanation. I was inviting people to post their thoughts to the help desk to get their ideas across because sometimes people aren't sure where to submit their ideas, and I would hate it if someone else got credit for their opinions. Brainstorming is lovely, yes, but so is taking action on their ideas. Instead of it collecting dust here, they could instead be submitted and processed and potentially have their suggestions used. I am unsure why you decided to reply and give me an explanation when I was directing people on where to go.
@FrenchMarbles hi marbles, we are keeping this thread as a repository of all ideas on increasing mentee-mentor communication at cups, rest assured we will be using it and take steps forward💛 thanks for the help desk link and for all you do at 7cups, i deeply appreciate you💚
@FrenchMarbles
Hi, Marbles!
You are welcome!
I agree that few people know the HelpDesk link, which became so important, also for reporting misbehaviors, issues with accounts, etc.
It should be more widely and frequently reminded to people, and in this respect, yours is a valuable contribution.
Regarding the meaning of my post, I agree 100% with Fristo's answer to yours, I have nothing to add.
All the best!
Marcelo.
@Fristo
Thank you for the prompt, Fristo. I agree that the mentor-mentee communication needs to be encouraged. I got to know about the programme only at a later stage, myself. It is only during my verification process when I connected with one.
We can highlight a post with the advantages and perks of connecting with a mentor in the community forum or notification banner. Also, welcoming team can collaborate with sharing links for the mentor page to spread awareness about the cause. It's a task requiring efforts from both sides. Mentors can encourage newbies to make connections and improve on their active listening skills.
Looking forward to everyone's response.
@trueconfidant123 A post sounds so good! I am not aware if a post exists that tells the importance of the mentor program, or we need to really dig it out. A post with clear and comprehensive info about mentors needs to be there. It needs to be emphasized that regardless of the mentor track, all mentors are capable of providing chat support (since the chat support training is mandatory for all mentors of all tracks.)
@Fristo
I agree.
I definitely think the mentor page isn't easy to find. Maybe making it easier to find would help with new members finding a mentor!
@CurrySoup12 solid point there, curry!
@Fristo Thank you for the post!
One thing we could do to increase mentor-mentees communication is giving more information about the role of a Mentor and how it helps primarily new listeners. Giving more awareness about our role could lead people to contact us more, so we need an easy way to let newcomers know about us. It could be a post on the general section of Listener Journey, it could be an AMA hosted by an experienced Mentor, all of this to increase self-awareness about the role.
@DisLifeNot Awareness sounds very good. Let us do it! This post itself is a good start to our awareness and encouragement mission. We can use LSR more and more for sharing a word about the mentors page and how a mentor could play a great role in a listener's journey. We'd also be making a post giving all info about the mentor program in totality.
@fristo, thank you for making this post! It is great to see so many wonderful and informed ideas surfacing. I can see how many of them will work. The idea of packaging them up in a clear and cohesive way so everybody can easily find them makes a lot of sense to me. I also like all of the technical ideas about how mentors can reach out to mentees, picking a schedule, a journal etc.
Overall, when I read these comments, it makes me think we have to up our game in this domain and make things easier to find. Thank you again! Let’s keep brainstorming on this and then come up with it a short list of ideas we can implement.
@Fristo I love the idea of this post and the option to brainstorm different solutions/suggestions so that we can better ourselves and our communication between us all❤️ I have a few thoughts in mind:
1-Creating a training guide about mentors or how to communicate/ find a mentor just like there is Active Listening/ other training guides.
2- Making it more visible that there are mentors on this site maybe just like the verified icon on the profiles there can be something similar for mentors so it is easy for new listeners to notice.
3-Having a quota for each mentor to reach at least a certain amount of new listeners to inform them about mentorship on the site and certain quotas for forum posts so that we can share more information about the programs.
I would love to hear how we will reach our goal and Im looking forward to updates on this challenge!
@LandOfHopesx3
Hi Hope! 😊 ❤️ Wow! I love all of the things that you have listed! I have tried to read others contributions and if I am correct, no one at this point has mentioned the options that you have. They are all so very good in my opinion. ❤️
For me, the biggest *fall out of my chair moment* in this entire thread is your idea of creating a training guide, making it a part of the AL's. Like, what the what? 😳
My friend, this is pure genius! Everyone missed this but you! All of this time, the option could have been in front of all of us, all along. If you ask me, this is an amazing example of thinking inside of the box as opposed to outside of the box as well as working smarter, not harder.
Just, Wow! 😊 It really is true...sometimes we look through the branches when we should have been digging at the roots.
*high fives* 😊 and big *hugs* ❤️ *bows in front of greatness*
Aww thank you Sparky🤍 I just always have strange ideas from the rest of the people and I guess my brain works in different ways xD I didnt get to check all the other messages but I am glad Im not replicating others thoughts and I hope to be some kind of help ❤️
@LandOfHopesx3
I am grateful for you, grateful for your brain as well as the ideas that spring forth from! 😊 ❤️
I love seeing brainstorming happening, for everyone to be able to come together as a community and for each person to share their own unique ideas and perspectives. As for me, something I always say is that "if you throw enough stuff up against the wall, eventually something is going to stick". 😁
I love seeing others being helpful and doing their personal best to contribute and there is no "wrong" response here. We all have value here on the platform and all responses are worthy of being heard.
I truly loved all of your ideas. I like your thought process! I don't want to detract from the other great ones that you had. They were all stellar in my opinion. 😊 I think it was a moment for me that was one of those *fall out of my chair moments". We just celebrated our 10th Birthday here on 7 cups! 🥳 Wooo hooooo! And maybe no one had ever thought to create an AL in regard to finding a mentor, in all of those years. 😳
I'm like, you rock! So brilliant! How come no one saw that before now? It didn't happen. I didn't think of it either, but you did! 😊 My oh my. Some days it really just takes someone to ask the question to find the answers!
*high fives* 😊 and big *hugs* ❤️
@LandOfHopesx3 I love the training guide idea! I don't think there is any guide yet about mentors and the importance of a mentor in a listener's journey. It could be created and added to our training courses.
2 and 3 are very interesting thoughts too!
@Fristo
I have talked with mentors and might reach out to random members of my team or the mentor team on occasion but I do not have a mentor who knows me and my struggles. I do not have someone to constantly support me.
From my experience, mentors are usually not available during the time period that I need assistance. Some, yes. Absolutely. However, I usually end up reaching out in LSR or finding the answer on my own because it takes days or weeks to get a proper response.
I am also part of the care team and do offer the mentor link as well as the listener primer and self care resources to everyone I reach out to, if they want them. Whether it be a check in, a care message, or reaching out to a newbie.
My suggestion would be to add incentive to super active mentors. As in adding a tag next to the Verified Listener check on a profile about how active specifically mentor responses are. Someone can express how they wish they were active but the actuality could be much worse.
Improving the environment between mentee and mentor could make a huge impact.
My other issue is I have no idea what information Mentors can offer me. I know they can answer questions but... I feel like an article speaking on the knowledge each mentor is capable of providing or situations they are familiar with would be a huge addition to either a profile or an article linked in a mentors profile.. this would provide so much clarity and emotional safety in reaching out.
@SnowTabby Awesome suggestions, Tabby! We can make use of the two suggestions you made:
1. "My suggestion would be to add incentive to super active mentors. As in adding a tag next to the Verified Listener check on a profile about how active specifically mentor responses are."
2. "an article speaking on the knowledge each mentor is capable of providing or situations they are familiar with would be a huge addition to either a profile or an article linked in a mentors profile.. this would provide so much clarity and emotional safety in reaching out." -we can maybe make the mentor profiles more robust by dividing it into sections similar to this idea for listener profiles.