Discussion 05: Ethical, Cultural, and Group Management Issues
Please note: In order to successfully complete the program, you must respond to this post. Your comment/response should answer the questions/show that you completed the given activity (if any). Read the post carefully and implement the learning in the chat rooms. If you didn't participate in Discussion 04: Group Leadership
, then check here!
This discussion highlighted some of the major points related to ethical, cultural, and group management
The competent group leaders act ethically in leading the groups. And, achieving this type of competence requires more than good intentions. Many well-intended group leaders have engaged in an activity while lacking solid ethical principles. It could probably be because of unawareness of the code of conduct and guidelines. So, a high level of familiarity with the guidelines is important so they act as professionals and leaders while leading any group.
A few points to remember:
Privacy and Confidentiality. It could be possible a group leader may also be a long term listener for a member. Members might have shared their situation in detail with them in a 1:1 setup. But, when you are a group leader, you need to ensure you are not bringing up the matter discussed in 1:1 with members unless the members themselves bring up the topic and discuss it with the rest of the group as well.
Follow Community Guidelines. Preach what you can follow. As a group leader, you would need to intervene from time to time to ensure the group is running effectively. Reminding users that they follow community and chatroom guidelines while participating. But, at the same time, remember to be the first to follow the guidelines too. So, you are able to model the role behavior in the groups.
Make unbiased decisions. In a group, everyone is equal to you as a leader. Even if you communicate with some of them more frequently than others. If anything goes wrong or you find anyone being unsupportive or unacceptable behavior, take the decisions without any bias. So, the group could trust you and know that you are impartial and there for everyone and against wrong behaviors. For more, here are the community guidelines.
Members in the group come from different backgrounds, demographics, and cultural differences. So, as a leader, it is significant to respect and acknowledge the cultural differences and highlight the common grounds to connect all members of the group. Such behavior allows members to feel inclusive and comfortable in the groups to share.
And the group management issues include conflict management. You may observe that sometimes misunderstanding or disagreement causes conflict between two or more people leading to an unsupportive and unhealthy environment in the room. So as a leader, it is your time to take action and settle down the conflict to ensure room and group stay supportive and comfortable around each other. Spontaneity is the key to restrict such events from happening.
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
Activity: Respond to at least two of your fellow trainees' comments with thoughts on their share.
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next discussion here. Ensure to implement the learning from these discussions in the chat rooms to build and support the group. You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these discussions to successfully complete the program.
@ASilentObserver
I think the culture issue in particular is very productive whilst harmful (sorry to say!)
If someone cannot speak much English, they could view this as not being inclusive.
I think we could handle this by creating a section within the website for people who's main language isn't English, and have sub-rooms for not all languages because that would be exhausting, that could be a goal to the system, but in other main languages because I find that a lot of people may speak another language better than English.
Obviously, this is a whole new stage with a whole new level which would require leaders and moderators etc that speak those languages, but I do think that could be a system that 7 cups could work towards in the future, or as a basis, allow the website to be converted to other languages whilst also enforcing that in the rooms we have, the language is English, I think we are slowly moving there with Listeners, because we have listeners who can speak other languages and this is a huge step forward towards being fully inclusive of everyone.
I think a ethical issue is when we give out how to handle a crisis chat and a listener total disagrees with the crisis guidelines and want to help the member out. I think I would explain that cups is not able to handle crisis chats and we do not have the training to handle a crisis. I think offering peer support after a hard chat can be helpful too.
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
One thing I noticed is how some responses from the facilitator tend to be robotic, especially for sharing circles where time is limited. It especially comes out when there is a clear cultural variance between the person sharing and the rest of the members of the group. I honestly don't know if unpacking that in the middle of sharing is a good route, since it could now alienate the rest of the group in that pursuit of one. Perhaps I would offer a side-bar conversation later, as I've seen in other mods, but I wonder if there is another way that can be handled.
@ASilentObserver
What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
I saw that some people might just have different ways in responding to sharing, in an unstructured support room like 24/7 there may be a bit of arguments as people just chimed in without reading the whole story.
The community moderators have been helpful in managing the differences so it did not turn into endless debate. If I am in charge of the room I would handle the situation in a similar way.
I would let people respond and let them sort things out, but if it looks like people are going into argumentative tone rather than supportive, I will intervene and ask everyone to focus on the support.
Discussion: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
- One group management issue I've recognized in the room is how quickly discussions can steer off topic due to differences in expression between participants. This may also count as a cultural issue, as certain expressions or perspectives differ due to different demographics or cultures. To handle this, I'd try my best to remind everyone that although our backgrounds and "norms" are different, we've gather for a common interest which is the session taking place
@SirenOfSerenity that's a really good way siren trying to find a common ground so that everyone is included and supportive :)
@ASilentObserver
Definetly when people talk over each other or ignore other members trying to talk to only one person rather than to all members. I think 7 cups has the tried the enter queue to share but it definitely has not been reinforced enough. Someone would be trying to share something and than a new member who come in and talk about something different. Granted this isn’t sharing circle but it’s still a chat room where everyone should feel respectful and should give EVERYONE a chance to talk and chat and share equally.
@Supergirl134679
I am so glad you brought this up. I would like to know if specific room guidelines should appear when entering a room. I understand this would be a technical aspect, not a leader's responsibility. I am just thinking outside the box.
Hello!
What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
Sometimes in the groups, people speak and interrupt eachother , which is easily done when in a group with quite a few people. But this can sometimes cause some people to not be heard, not get a reply.
To handle this I would implement a chat queue - so everyone can answer the question or share how they feel one at a time. This will mean they will all get heard, and everyone will be given the time and be noticed and heard for what they say.
If then, the chat queue isn't being followed, I would politely remind the chat that - to make sure everyone is heard and is not interuptted that wr are sticking to the chat queue, but they can more than happily join the queue (:
Tabby
@TabbyCat97 chat queue is great idea so that everyone can share be heard. thanks for your reply<3
@BlueRivercares
This is the first time I have encountered this. I am surprised that anyone would go purposefully ignored. I would also flag the individuals behaving this way, as this clearly violates the guidelines. I am grateful for your suggestions in how to address this.
@BlueRivercares This is a very good point and I would agree with you
@ASilentObserver
Although posted in a floating link bar below each chat, group chat guidelines are the most likely overlooked parts I have recognized as causing management issues. I have taken to reminding each new member while welcoming them, such as:
Welcome to the chat ___; we are talking/listening about/to ____. You can find the chat guidelines here:https://www.7cups.com/community-guidelines/Member-Chatroom-Guidelines-9de0c9c1b6114d14a130f1b842af36fe
Please let me know if you have any questions/concerns.
This way, each member understands there is a resource to go to when they need clarification. I also have taken to using scripted reminders provided by each type of group; for example, my favourite, the Positivity popups, in making sure that the group goals are restated often so all participating members clearly understand the scope, goals, and expectations of participation.
As for ethical and cultural concerns, I have yet to run into a clear violation or issue with these; I will look for more details about this in the coming weeks and my fellow program trainees' responses to this discussion.
@broadfemmelovelive@broadfemmelovelive. Now I'm wondering if I did this correctly. We have to diagnose what OBS has been discussing in each discussion Post. Am I wrong?
What you said about guidelines is correct. I used to save my Scripps but I want to be as authentic as possible. I've been thinking this whole time that we must digest what OBS says and then interpret in our own words what OBS means by his discussions. Am I wrong? I don't want to fail the chorus because I've been doing the questions wrong😞.
When you have a project like disability support that was your baby, to begin with, I need to see the can you see the Down slide. What is the lack of support because everybody feels stretched thin.? They're a group that you would like to oversee the author of this post? Thank you for PM me the other day. I don't want to. I've done all these questions incorrectly; I hope I haven't. It is a way we all have how our interpretations. However, I would hate to have done all this back when you had so many people that join, 7 cups of all backgrounds. We all have our mission statement.
I want my project to be about empathy because I've seen some listeners' comments that lack empathy, but then again, it's my opinion of the author of this reply. Did I've misunderstood the question?
I am glad that we have collective groups. With that said, I would like to discuss a different name for support plus. To minimize confusion, I want to change the name to support Plus, not out of disrespect. People don't know where to go for autism, ADHD, etc. I have covered this and another discussion, but what do you think?
Donald
@DonaldK
First, thank you for recognizing my point about guidelines being something I like to point new members towards, even new listeners. I appreciate that you feel the same about using scripts, as I also want to remain authentic.
Second, I don't see you doing any of the posts wrong. I am always here if you would like to continue talking about any other points that come up. I appreciate being critiqued and encouraged to elaborate, so please see this as a two-way street where we can learn from each other.
Third, your ideas on your project of empathy are intriguing, I often feel that that is the most robust way we can provide support to her, and I think that it would help the goal of Discussion 05: Ethical, Cultural, and Group Management Issues question which states: What is one ethical, cultural, or group management issue you recognized in the room? What would you do to handle it?
Finally, I am looking forward to discussing this idea of Support Plus. My only thoughts are that it's too vague. You state that you want neurodivergent individuals to have a space, and I agree this would be amazing, but if you labelled it the Neurodivergent Room/ Group Chat or something along those lines. This wouldn't be disrespectful and minimizes confusion. When I read Support Plus, I almost want to say I hear plus-sized bodies, which isn't what you are going for.
Anyhoo, thank you for tagging me; you're almost done with all the discussions. Keep up the great work. I just finished my hours and am planning on submitting my final form.
@broadfemmelovelive my Grammarly app screwed up my reply I can't change it I hope it can be understood. My apologies if a forum moderator can fix fix the username Display twice please help me. Thank you!
@ASilentObserver
When you think about these boundaries don't you think of yourself? What I mean is we all have multiple genetic make up in our lives. Some are Scottish Swedish Indian african-American I can go on.
What do I mean by this question?
As OBS stated we have many cultural diverse members. Please forgive me if I didn't list your ethnic background. It was not my intention to go in a certain order. But it plays right into this discussion. I was brought up to love everybody has themselves. To love him if they would like to be treated so that is what we should do here on 7 cups. If you have a disagreement about something that someone says you are to be professional when doing group session Group support or anything of that nature. This is the only important because of your background but because you represent 7 cups as a whole..
But as a leader of a group you are asked to be unbiased to anyone. For instance it would be ethically and morally wrong for me the only focus on disability support. If I did that it would be unfair to the people of depression support where exactly support I could go on and on. Someone with a certain background Faith or belief deserves as much respect as you do.
Going back to the beginning of my Post I listed off so many cultural differences my brain however Went in the order of my family. Did I mean to do that no it was a reflux call reflex how do you want to say it? We all have verbs or actions that we do and say with our words as group leaders and chat room moderators we need to be respectful of everyone. It doesn't matter what your Family Crest may be like. I may be totally off here about what I am supposed to say in the matter but I can tell you.
In reference to my group we have people from all walks of life physically emotionally mentally I could go on and on once again that's what makes 7 cups so unique. We are not just the helpline or a call center. We are a community who except everyone for who they are.
It's obvious why I choose disability support. But I also support people with depression. And all of the other ones. The only reason I don't put LBGQ+ is I don't know if I could be who they need. It's not because of my faith I just don't know how to help them because I don't know the world. I have a lot of friends that are different I have a lot of friends that don't believe like I do.
I really hope that nobody takes offense to what I mentioned. I love everyone but I'm not going to do a topic that they know and I know nothing about. If I have been did anyone buy what I said I'm sorry I did not mean it.
My point being when you are a group leader you can control the group if it gets out of hand but you are there to look out for everyone not just one set.
Which is part of our guidelines.
When I was a listen a long time ago I had a gay chat once I did my best I didn't share my side but I couldn't empathize like I should've been able to. That's why I don't do those chats. I truly hope everybody understands where I'm coming from I am not trying to be offensive to anyone. But I'm proving a point that if I don't understand something I don't cover it.
It's OK to have boundaries and be respectful at the same time. And I hope that comes across. It is never ever my intention to do that.
I love you all please know that!
Donald
@DonaldK
I liked the way that you mentioned about healthy boundaries.
