Course 1, Discussion 5: 7 Cups Culture

After reading the guide, I connected with three key aspects of the 7 Cups culture. First, compassion being at the core of everything we do is such an important reminder of why I joined this platform—to create a safe, supportive space for others. Leading with compassion builds trust and fosters genuine connections. Second, the focus on inclusivity and respect stands out. It’s so meaningful to create a space where everyone feels valued and heard, regardless of background. Lastly, the emphasis on growth and learning is inspiring. It pushes me to keep improving as a listener and a leader, so I can better serve the community. These values align with my own, and I’m excited to keep modeling them in my role here!

@Hope ✨

-We expect failure, makes me feel safe and at the same time hopeful to be me and strive for the best

-Have fun and be fulfilled, makes me feel that my purpose is to be here and contribute as much as possible 

- Friendliness & conscientiousness to increase trust✨

@Hope

✒️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. 1. Putting importance on finding a persons strengths to find the right work 'fit" for them is amazing! I really wish this was equally prioritized in all organizations. 2. Taking care of self aides a person to be at an optimal state in order to help others safely and responsibly. 3. Failure is expected is a reality for everyone it gives opportunity for growth!

✒️ Please reply to at least 1 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words! Done!

Collaborate: Working together and helping each other solve problems is crucial for any work culture. It improves efficiency and it lightens the load on coworkers and team members.

Accountability: Keeping ourselves and others accountable allows us to get things done and understand our own limits.

Self-care: Making sure we’re caring for ourselves, that our energy is good and our bodies are well-nourished is imperative to our work. If we aren’t caring for ourselves, our work will not be as fulfilling and we won’t be able to contribute as well as we could otherwise.

It's actually surprisingly hard to only choose three but for me:

1. Caring for people with fewer financial resources - This is incredibly important to me as someone who has struggled financially, how much money you have should not define your worth. Every human being is deserving of help, love and support and this community does a fantastic job of trying to level the playing field for as many people as possible.

2. We expect failure - It's incredibly easy to forget sometimes that the majority of the people who come here are volunteers, we are normal people and we can get tired, and burnt out or just have a bad day like anyone else. But failure is just a part of life, it's an opportunity to learn and grow and that's a lot easier with the support of other listeners and reflective exercises here.

3. Have fun and be fulfilled - Nothing feels better than knowing that you've made a difference in someone else's life. While at times of course it can be challenging, I hope that listening remains something that I enjoy doing and that others can enjoy with me.

Three things I learned from the guide was How to set high expectations for yourself. This is important to me so I can strive to be my best self and to meet my goals. I need to make every day one more thing. I learned was trust within the community and to trust yourself that is important because it won't allow me to be a better listener and allow me to be a better leader. The last thing I learned What's to keep your things strength based and be able to do the things you do using your own strength this is important to me so I don't get burned out and I listen to my own body and not take strength based on other people

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.

There are many takeaways from the culture guide. Here are a few-

1. High Warmth & High Expectations: I really like this framework of explaining the expectations of volunteers & leaders here on 7cups, I think this makes a lot of sense to me and fits well with my preferred style of working. I also highly value warmth and I think having high expectations is a great way to be pushed outside your comfort zone and grow as a leader, volunteer, and individual. 

2. Strengths Based: This value resonates with me because it very much aligns with education I received in school when studying social work. I think it is important for us to recognize and utilize our strengths. I appreciate that this recognition is also important here in the LDP and when deciding leadership roles. 

3. We Expect Failure: I really appreciate this value included in the culture guide. To be frank, based on what is discussed in the guide, it is apparent that 7cups does have high expectations, and this can be daunting as a new volunteer or leader.
For example, one of the required strengths listed in the culture guide, staying focused, is not one of my personal strengths. Reading that, "If you are easily distracted...then you will not do great at 7 Cups" is difficult for me to read, because I do think I do good here on 7cups even though sometimes I have difficulties with focus. And, admittedly, I am very sensitive to critique & criticism, and reading those lines felt a bit critical and not very warm. So, reading parts of this culture guide felt a little discouraging.
That being said, understanding that 7cups expects failure, and so long as I am putting in the effort to work on myself in this area, I think my contributions will be appreciated even if I'm not perfect with my focus. I think this is important because nobody is perfect, and knowing that failure is expected to begin with, helps reduce the pressures of not failing. 

Another, last comment, is that I appreciate that 7cups values feedback & accountability. As I mentioned previously, constructive criticism and feedback has always been hard for me, ever since I was little. However, in this warm & encouraging environment, I think I can work towards having a better relationship with constructive criticism and seeing it in a more positive light. 

@Hope

3 most important things to me when reading the guide are: 

1. Taking care of yourself: This is important to me because taking care of yourself allows for you to focus on growing and improving yourself for the better and to fully be in the best space to continue what you enjoy doing.

2. Your Work Matters- This is important to me as it reminds me that the work I do as an intern and listener can make a huge impact not only to me but to those who are struggling. 

3. Accountability- Accountability is important as it makes you aware on the tasks you should complete on 7 Cups but it can also help you realize on if the workload gets overwhelming it's important to take a self-care break until you feel ready to continue your work.

@Hope

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.

I learned (1) Accountability, (2) Solving the biggest problem, (3) Fulfilling work. They are important to me because I learned if we focus on these qualities, they will actually help us in working productively. 

@Hope

I like the ideas of solving problems that matter, trying hard, and collaborating from the guide.