All,
I will keep this short and sweet. I just want to talk briefly about leadership in this club, what members can do if they have conflicts or concerns with those leaders, and what to expect from me in response to complaints.
Not everyone is going to see eye-to-eye all of the time, and that's okay. But it recently came to my attention that several members have had conflicts with members of their clan summits that have led them to hold back in clan chats or even block their leaders on Discord. I know that this has also happened between members and DCers, but in my experience I am much more likely to hear about these sorts of issues when they involve DC members than when they involve a Consul. I think there are at least two factors contributing to that discrepancy: first, I often get complaints about DCers funneled up from members through their Consuls; second, members may be more likely to feel that they can't speak out again the leaders of their clans than against the DC, who are further removed from the day-to-day interactions of most members than clan leaders.
To be clear, I expect all of the club's leaders to be respectful and professional in their interactions with members and with each other. Leadership positions are not a right, and they come with responsibilities to the membership. First among those responsibilities is to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment. We're all human and sometimes fail to live up to these expectations, but frequent or unrepentant lapses are a problem, and when that happens I would like to know about it. No one should feel like they can't speak out for fear of retribution, even if that retribution is purely verbal.
My door is always open, and I take member complaints about club leaders very seriously. If you come to me with your concerns, I will address them, one way or another. That said, when club leaders need to be corrected or disciplined I prefer to do it in private; you will almost certainly not see me lecture or criticize someone in a public chat. CoJ cases are published, but most problems that arise in this club don't require a public shaming.
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As a valuable learning experience, I hope the DC and the GM's office will disseminate anonymized complaints as learning material to all Clans so they can learn from case examples. Especially alongside recommended means of handling said situations.
I am sure such a resource can be created and again, totally anonymized with neither the complaint subjects or anything of the sort being real. Only the sequence of events, and pointers on how the interactions could have been handled better.
It is easy to say: "Do better", but expectations without guidance isn't going to improve things.
Looking forward to this material in the near future!
Reassuring to hear and a good line to have taken. At the end of the day, we're all serving to make sure the club members are having a greater experience, and none of us are beyond reproach because if one of us starts a fire, we may all have to put it out.
In regards to public complaints dissemination, after what point would such a thing even be viable to report to the public, though, even anonymously? Others outside of the initial may not know, but it would raise the ire between those immediately involved, and in cases where it was a very public thing, lines could be further entrenched if they see that a complaint was placed about a similar situation, even if it wasn't actually the same one.
Vague data can be just as bad as misunderstood data.
Judging by, well, just about every survey I've seen the DB do, there's always going to be one or two people who will use a forum like that to throw just-specific-enough "anonymous" shade at people they don't like.
I think a better idea is to highlight examples of great leadership, whether the leader in question is in a position or not. Every single day, members are providing guidance, mentorship, emotional support, and service to one another and I think those examples are at least as useful as examples of what not to do.
Well said, Arch.
Thank you for announcing your open doors, Dacien.
If you have ever worked in a company, you will have run into HR training courses that have genericized events. I am sure they are based on actual things that have happened to somebody, but to whom is impossible to know.
It really doesn't take much effort to recreate the scenario with a completely different set of flavor to point out the behaviour that was ill-advised and a more productive one instead.
Yes, pointing out good things is good. I'm all for it. But there is much to be said about pointing out the parts where we fall short. It can be a massive blind spot, where things that may come off as humorous to us, end up insulting others. Or where instead of striving to have the patience of a saint, we ought to have words to put our foot down and end the conversation before it gets out of hand.
Just as two generic examples. I'm sure people could come up with real-life events that inspired these, but that kinda is the point too. These things happen, and often they mimic others. We hit the same rakes and someone said stepping into the same rake is the definition of insanity.
Let's by all means laud the people who avoid the rakes. But maybe also point out the obvious ones so those of us who aren't as savvy might be spared a sore nose?
Thank you for addressing the club on the important matter of leadership and member concerns. Your commitment to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment is appreciated. It's reassuring to know that members have a channel to voice their concerns, and your assurance of addressing these matters privately reflects a commitment to professionalism.
I believe maintaining open lines of communication is crucial, and your willingness to listen to members ensures a healthier community. I'll encourage fellow members to approach you with their concerns, confident that you'll handle them with due diligence.
Looking forward to continued positive leadership within the club.
Thanks for the update Bubba. The health of the Clans is directly tied to the overall health of the club. Addressing this was important.
I can't speak for everyone when I say this, but from my experience, I can't think of an issue that I've had with a leader around here that couldn't be adressed with a civil conversation with them. Sometimes I took far too long to have that conversation and I held a grudge for a lot longer than I should have, but when I finally did talk things out, things made a lot more sense. I would say most people in leadership positions here are approachable and will hear you out about things as long as you keep things constructive. It's almost never personal and if it is personal, then that's when it's a problem.