Reflections on Past, Present, Future & A Note On Using Kind Language When Talking to Staff
Hi All,
Some of you have noticed and asked, why I havent been as present around the 7 Cups city lately. I am excited and humbled to share that I have moved into a new role at 7 Cups. I am overseeing our community team - supporting our incredible team of community managers and working to ensure our team operates with distinction and excellence.
This month marks my 5th year working with the 7 Cups community. We have been through a lot together and there have been many ups and downs. Our work here is inherently challenging, we are doing something that has never been done before, we are building the emotional support system for the internet.
Everyday there are challenges, there are mistakes, but there is also incredible beauty all around us. Moments of quiet success and personal triumph. Moments of team work and execution, despite the odds. Moments that embody the best qualities of human nature. Moments that remind us that technology is a great equalizer, allowing individuals all over the world to speak openly about their condition and experiences. These are the moments that have made all the difference in our work and my journey walking alongside you. These are the moments that take my breath away, keep me calm and ensure, no matter what challenges we face, I still wake up and put one foot in front of the other. I keep going.
Moving forward, I promise to be on your team and stear our community ship in a positive, supportive direction that always keeps the needs of our users in mind. I promise to advocate for your needs at every admin meeting I attend. I promise to bring more transparency and communication so you feel connected to our day-to-day operations and you gain a deeper understanding of the challenges my team faces in overseeing our large (and growing) community. So while I may not be as present in the day-to-day community happenings, dont worry, I am paying attention. I am here, I am working hard and I am on your team.
In order for our community to reach its mission, well need to work together. Long ago, I was the solo community manager (some of you may remember those days!), but now we have a team of 5 and growing! I have hand picked each and every member of our community management staff (along with the help of some colleagues). They are experienced and knowledgeable individuals who care deeply for our work and for our community. But we are human. Please treat us with kindness and respect. If you insult us, it does hurt our feelings. Recently, someone made a post referring to me as Lying Laura - this is hurtful. So I ask, please use your words wisely, treat our staff with kindness and professionalism and we will continue to do the same for you.
Here are some of the items our team is working on right now (see full list of q1 2019 goals here):
Updating the FAQ page
Writing a post about sustainability
Creating a learning content calendar
Creating a special events calendar
Sharing new expert blog content in the community & social media
Making our customer support efforts more robust (to include app reviews and social mentions)
Running chat quality experiments
Adding more structure and oversight to the Verified Listener program
Adding more structure and oversight to the Listener Learning & Journey community (including adding more regular learning discussions)
Interviewing, hiring and onboarding the first round of paid intern moderators!
Supporting all of our incredible ambassadors by trialing some project management tools
And so much more!
***Please take some time to review everything outlined here. Id like to hear your ideas and feedback as to how you want me to better support you and our community. I am here for you!
@Laura
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. 7Cups is an amazing community filled with equally amazing people. I think sometimes people lose sight of the fact that we are all humans here with feelings and we need to treat everyone as such. I can't think of anywhere else that people come from around the world and experience such a great equalization; a place where the only things that matter are compassion,sharing, and understanding. 7Cups is truly a great place doing amazing things! I experienced it first as a guest and was touched sogreatly that I became a listener going on 4 years now. I would like to thank you and everyone who make 7Cups possible for giving me a place to give back to others and I am proud to be even a small part of 7Cups, You guys keep doing great things to keep 7Cups strong and I know that the majority of us listeners will continue to support you and the 7Cups mission.
@Laura - I really appreciate this post; it is helpful and encouraging to know some of the goals and projects for this year. I am especially excited about those initiatives mentioned which give more structure and support to Listener training, learning, and ongoing skills support.
I also appreciate the reminder to strive to speak compassionately and with civility to one another; I think this is especially important when attempting to address issues and working towards solutions. In a community such as this it is also important for one to be able to openly address potential problems and at times to (respectfully) express how we feel.
Somewhere along the line I came across the idea that it is more appropriate and healthy to speak in 'I' statements - such as "I -feel- like I've been tricked" rather than to accuse someone of intentionally tricking us through name-calling and labeling. The first maintains ownership of our experience, allows us to explore various reasons and possible contributing factors for the feeling, and to check with other parties to look into what was intended and what can be done to course correct. The second locks both sides into a fairly fixed dynamic which limits opportunities for improved understanding and problem solving.
@Laura this is lovely. I really like how the goals are shared. Wishing you all the luck.
I appreciate what you've done.
I also appreciate you and 7 cups very much. Perhaps we need a self-help guide and a forum for practicing kindness? I know some people feeling powerless in the face of any kind of authority and leadership might lash out in such a way. Let's all learn how to be more kind towards one another, and in doing so, feel more empowered in our own lives.
Thank you for all you do! 
@ Laura
Laura, thank you for sharing all of these goals, and for being open to discussing them with the Community.
I'm really sorry that some people are unable to communicate without using abusive language. You and the other Community Managers are appreciated, even if sometimes we don't understand everything, we know you're doing your best. There's so much more happening backstage, and most people don't even realize it. Thank you for that.
I'm curious to see all the new tools, and how the chat quality experiments will go. Looking forward to that!
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
@Laura
I don't know you well but from what I know I am grateful to have you on 7cups. Really this place would not run without you and all your hard work. Sorry people were calling you mean things but you are amazing and thanks for the update.
@Laura Congratulations on your new role. I agree we should treat each other with kindness and respect. I'm assuming that goes both ways meaning the staff will treat us kindly as well. 😊