Course 2, Discussion 3: High Expectations and High Warmth
Congrats! You made it the second course in the LDP! In this course, we focus on the specific interpersonal skills needed to be a strong leader on 7 Cups, including mastery of communication skills, time management, conflict resolution, stress management and empowering new leaders.
I know if you are here, you have read our values and culture guide. I would like to start off by further emphasizing one value that's required for a leader to be successful here, and that is balancing High Expectations & High Warmth.
Work environments with high expectations and minimal warmth tend to result in companies that are very driven, rule-oriented and risk-averse. The people do not tend to grow as much personally or professionally. On the other hand, workplaces that are high in warmth, but have minimal expectations, tend to struggle. Everyone is happy and feels loved, but not a lot of effective or focused work gets done.
7 Cups is high expectations AND high warmth. We expect a lot from you. You might feel like we think you are more capable than other people have suggested or maybe even more capable than how you see yourself. That is okay. Every person on the team has outperformed and done better than they expected. This is largely because warmth, patience, and trust help people make much more progress than they have in other environments. We have high expectations, but we will provide plenty of encouragement and guidance to help you get there.
✒️ What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?
✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?
✒️ Please reply to at least 1 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!
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@FrenchToast Thanks for sharing <3
What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth? An imbalance can make leadership less effective. High expectations without warmth can make people feel discouraged or unsupported, while warmth without expectations can reduce accountability and growth. I think the best leaders balance both.
How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?
Impact on the community: Low expectations can reduce engagement and personal growth, while too little warmth can make members feel less supported and less comfortable reaching out.
Impact on working with fellow leaders: It can weaken trust, communication, and teamwork. Balancing encouragement with accountability helps create a positive environment where everyone can contribute and improve.
@talktome610
I like your take on this!
✒️ What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?
An imbalance of expectations and warmth can reduce productivity of teams. It can make the leader seem unwelcoming and unapproachable. Because of this the limited warmth is overridden by a demand of what the leader expects. Makes the task seem more like a chore.
✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?
1.) If you have too low of expectations, then the team will have low motivation, reduced productivity and effectiveness.
2.)Too little warmth will make you unapproachable in the community and make you less easy to work with.
@Lovelywonder
i agree with your take on these questions !!
@FrenchToast
I think it can stunt a teams growth because the leader would seem cold or unapproachable which would not allow anyone to come to them with issues that could better the team
If you have low expectations it can cause the teams growth to stunt since that outlook would reflect on the team. As for the community, it can cause your team not to have as great of an impact because you would seem unapproachable as a leader.
@FrenchToast
✒️ What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?
I think high expectations with little warmth will put pressure on others especially if they don't know me well.
✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?
1) too little warmth will make the community feel unsupported and cold.
2) without high expectations, I might don't feel motivated enough to do actual work.
@FrenchToast
What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?
If a leader has an imbalance of expectations and warmth, it can affect trust and teamwork. High expectations without enough warmth may make people feel pressured or unappreciated, while too much warmth without clear expectations can lead to confusion and a lack of accountability. Effective leadership requires balancing kindness with clear guidance so that people feel both supported and motivated.
2. How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) how you work with your fellow leaders?
Having expectations that are too low can reduce motivation and limit the community's growth because people may not feel encouraged to improve. On the other hand, too little warmth can make the environment feel unwelcoming and discourage collaboration. When working with fellow leaders, this imbalance can weaken trust, reduce communication, and make teamwork less effective. Balancing high expectations with genuine care helps create a positive, productive, and supportive community.
@Brightlynx77
I love how you mention the confusion that can occur if there are low expectations or if we're not treating each other with warmth. I hadn't thought about how much harder it is to collaborate as a team when there is a lack of clarity or you're worried about getting a cold response.
🌟 Joy 🌟
@FrenchToast
✒️ What do you think happens if you, a 7 Cups leader, have an imbalance of expectations and warmth?
I think I could end up becoming rather distant and unfeeling if I lose the warmth aspect - I imagine I'd end up focusing on results and losing touch with the very human part of the 7 cups experience. Alternatively an imbalance could cause me to over commit and end up burning me out or becoming unreliable.
✒️ How do you think having too low of expectations, or too little warmth, will impact 1.) the community, and 2.) impact how you work with your fellow leaders?
1) The community would not feel welcomed by me and ultimately they could miss out on the connection 7 cups brings because of my lack of empathy. The community standards could slowly degrade and 7 cups could end up unsafe and unproductive.
2) My fellow leaders might start avoiding working with me due to my lack of warmth or low expectations. This could cause a cycle of mistrust and erode teams completely.
🌟 Joy 🌟
