Dinner With Our Alumni: Gozzil

Hello all! I am excited to announce a new dinner! For those that don't know, Dinner With Our Alumni is a series of small interviews that I conduct with 7 Cups Academy alumni to know more about their journey in the program - this post is dedicated to the Leadership Development Program! The aim is to spread more awareness about the program and hope everyone gives it a read!

This week we have, @Gozzil!

Where do I even begin? Gozzil has been here since 2016 on and off (oldie xD)! They came back to it properly last September when having a hard time in their personal life and found the evergreen Sharing Circle! They absolutely love group chats and are often doing an absolutely phenomenal job hosting discussions Gozzil, for those that don't know, has already spread their wings (and awesomeness!) to becoming Support Team Leader for Sharing Circles, along with AnnaTess! Their work with the SC team has been an incredible sight to see, especially when SC just celebrated it's first birthday last month ~

What was on the menu? Lasagne! *drools*

Without further ado, here's Gozzil for you:

What made you join the LDP?
I really wanted to understand my Room Supporter role better and be the best leader I could be. I also like structured learning; I’ve learned bits and bobs about leadership in the past, but having all the material in one place and in a sensible order, with explanations and tasks about how it relates to 7 Cups, makes it a lot more accessible and relevant and therefore motivating.

How was your experience doing the coursework?
It was a great experience. The coursework is divided into manageable sections with a short task for each one. The topics are well chosen and it’s clear how everything links back to 7 Cups, which means it really does help you improve as a leader.

Did you find it easy to navigate through the forums for each course?
Yes, having a separate forum for each of the courses, and having everything divided into separate threads meant it was easy to find what I was supposed to be doing next and make a plan for working through it.

How did you dedicate your time to doing the coursework?
At first, I tried to finish one course per week, which is more than you actually need to do each week to get through all the material in time. This meant that as things came up in real life I could take time off here and there as necessary and still get everything done in time.

Which course did you like the most? And why?
My favorite was Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups leader because it has a lot of practical information that is specific to our community. It also contains the servant leadership discussion, which is a concept I hadn’t come across before but that I love and I think is really important on 7 Cups.

How are you liking the role you got into for the LDP?
I was actually accepted as a room supporter on the same day I started the LDP. I loved this role as it allowed me to contribute to the group rooms without the added stress of being a moderator too. After a few weeks, I did the group moderator training and I’m now a moderator and discussion leader in Positivity and Gratitude and Support Team Leader for Sharing Circle. One of the Listener Sharing Circle discussion prompts is “One 7 Cups leadership role I wish to get is…” and I have a hard time answering that question now as I’m in my dream roles! (And nailing it without a doubt!)

If you had to give one tip to the current trainees, what would that be?
Do what you love. During the course of the LDP you’ll probably hear about all kinds of leadership opportunities, and a lot of them you’ll think “oh yes, I could do that” However, you can’t do everything so my advice is to start with what you love. For example, if your favorite thing to do is hang out in LSR and help out new listeners, you could consider becoming Peer Support or Chat Support. If you’re a writer and lose track of time crafting the perfect forum post you’d probably make a great Forum Supporter. If you’re passionate about a particular sub-community, reach out to the CML and ask what areas they need more support in.

What can we do to make the program better?
I would like to see chatroom discussions as part of the program, but I admit that the group rooms are my preferred way of communicating on this site, and discussions wouldn’t suit everybody.

Thank you for reading till here! I would love to hear any suggestions/question ideas that I can add to this series. If you are an LDP graduate and would love to contribute, please PM me so we can set up our dinner! Meanwhile, please give a big shout-out to @Gozzil for doing this, you're amazing!

If you want to apply for the LDP, please click here.