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!
hey there @Laura,
i do am really sorry and sad to hear that some people are not treating you respectful or kind, you do not deserve to be treated like that and i want you to know that!
Us listeners appreciate everything you do on here so so much. We are so grateful to have you as our community manager.
These are some awesome goals and i am very excited to see them in the future.
Back to you, If you need us, we are always here to support you as well.
@AveryLove Agreed
@Laura
We are all very grateful for everything that you do for the community. 7 Cups is an awesome community which helps so many people. I feel proud to be part of it. I have met some truly remarkable people here.
I think you have done such a good job in assembling a team of dedicated managers who steer the ship well. People give way more time and effort than in most places of employment and we should all be thankful for that.
I guess some criticism is inevitable. We are all human; we all make mistakes and have opinions. But insulting others is not the thing to do. Insults have no value in our lives and certainly not on 7Cups!!
As a big fan of alliteration, I'm going to take this opportunity to rename you Lovely Laura. Hope you can take to that better than the alternative.
@brilliantTurtle89 love this! Am going to join you on that: Lovely Laura, Light-hearted Laura..... 
@Laura Thank you for the detailed post. It is lovely to have someone managing the community team that has been a part of it for such a long period, it's quite reassuring that the person overseeing the team has worked with this community for years. Its a quite well-deserved change.
Just want to add to what Laura said. I understand that at times feelings get hurt and things get frustrating especially for a volunteer and its easy to point fingers at those who are paid or at times use language that is less than ideal but at the end of the day aren't we all humans? Never has this community not appreciated/welcomed feedback but all that is asked is to put it in constructive words so the management can help rather than feeling attacked.
I just want to take this moment to sort of remind us all that at the end of the day the staff and the volunteers have the same motive and that is to help our community, to support our members/guests and together we live, together we learn. Like a family when conflict/disagreements occur the best thing to do is to protect the privacy of the people involved and to be kind to those who are trying to help.
Its a very well written post, I really like the fact that now community goals are shared with the community.
First of all, I just want to say that your language in this post is so captivating! You had me interested since the first phrase, and your writing is simply beautiful! I love it!
Secondly, we truly appreciate everything that you and all the wonderful community managers do for this community. 7 Cups would not be running without your constant support, dedication and love! I have yet to find a place that is even comparable to this one, because 7 Cups truly stands out in terms of it's services, the community and the team of community managers, admin and volunteers!
We can't wait to see what this new year will bring, and those look like some very interesting and exciting projects that are coming soon!
Thank you for making it possible for us to have a home like 7 Cups
@Laura
@Laura who ever said that, send them to me and I'll lash out my BPD at that :P oh wait I'm not allow to do that :P
On a serious note. I really look up to the staff of 7cups and I really have a lot of respect for you all. I have seen alot of hate and I honestly wouldn't cope with it. I'll be fired on the Frist day :/
You all are strong and amazing and Laura I may not work with you but I see alot of your work and alot you put in and I can say you really are" lovely Laura " keep up the amazing work ! You are amazing !
@Laura Hi Laura, thank you for the informative, compassionate post! I understand the concerns and frustration from many. However, that does not justify the harsh behaviors directed towards you and the admin team. I am so sorry for all the hate. I can't imagine being an admin here (heck, I struggle with my current roles). I really appreciate your forwardness especially in outlining current goals. There is always room for improvement which I hope the community realizes applies to even the admin team. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication! :)
Laura what a great post! I am sorry people have been mean and I hope that they see you guys have a way bigger job than it seems. You have to manage a whole community, make tough decisions, and know that sometimes people will get mad no matter what decisions you make.
Please remember that there is someone at the other end of your messages. It
@Laura laura congratulations for your new role so well deserved and whoever wrote those hurtful words were not correct about you your amazing kind you cheerlead your community on in their roles encourage them to dive in and get onboard wouldnt change a thing about you
@Laura I will always appreciate how you mentored me as a leader and helped me find a course that helped me move into leadership positions with the confidence I can do that.
I was surprised by 5 Community Managers. I know about Kate and Jill7cups. Maybe I just do not think of those others at CMs. Please share their names so I can give them the recognition they deserve.
@soulsings
I thought she meant Power and Heather225, but I could be wrong
@EvelyneRose I was thinking power and Heather 225 and maybe Laura is the 5th?
@soulsings
I thought it was Power, heather, kate, jill and laura makes 5
@EvelyneRose yes I agree.
@soulsings
Yes that's us! The fab five. 
@Heather225 wow that sounds like a singing group from the Fifties. Do you do Do-Wop LOL?
Its a cross metaphor lol it should be . . . .
@soulsings
Listening .... One Step At A Time
But there are only four people on the picture! @MistyMagic
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
@Blaze @mistymagic
The fifth one is the one they are looking at through the telescope lol!
Only four of the five are people—two boys and two girls 
The fifth is Timmy, a dog.
@Blaze
Charlie
Oh nice! Thank for clarifying. 
@RarelyCharlie
Be the change you wish to see in the world.