Leadership Development Working Group/Participate

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1. How to participate

You are invited to participate in two ways: give feedback and/or join the working group.

Give feedback[edit]

February 2022: read about the Leadership Development Working Group and share feedback during the Call for Feedback from February 7 - 25, 2022. Feedback will be collected in 13+ languages. The How to give feedback section below has more details about how to provide feedback and what kind of feedback is encouraged
May 2022 - continuous: the working group members are announced and begin their work in May. They will be collecting community input to ensure diverse voices are incorporated in their design and decision-making throughout the process. More information will be announced once the working group begins working. If you want to make sure that you are contacted, add your name to the Sign up for future updates section below

Join the working group[edit]

March - April 2022: call for working group member applications. The application will be publicized at the beginning of March
April 2022: applications reviewed anonymously by a panel
May 2022: working group members are announced and begin work

Apply here!

The application to be a member of the Leadership Development Working Group is open and closes April 10, 2022.

This application will be conducted via a third-party service, Google, which may subject it to additional terms. For more information on privacy and data-handling, see the privacy statement . You can also email the Community Development team to request the questions and share your answers: [email protected].

2. How to give feedback

A. What type of feedback to give?[edit]

Give constructive rather than destructive feedback by offering suggestions and ideas
- Example:
  - Destructive: “I don’t agree” or “this is terrible”
  - Constructive: “I suggest that this point includes X because..” or “This could be even better if…”
Questions that you are encouraged to answer in your feedback include:
- Role and responsibilities: what do you think the role and responsibilities of the working group should be? What should the working group do?
- Infrastructure: the proposal states that the working group will work on “infrastructure,” which includes creating a shared definition and a leadership development plan. Do you think something is missing? What else do you think should be included in “infrastructure” work?
- Drafting a definition of leadership: what else do you think the working group should define? From your perspective, what do you think the definition of leadership should be?
- Leadership development plan: the Leadership Development Working Group proposal states that the working group will create a leadership development plan. What do you think needs to be included in the leadership development plan besides what has already been suggested in the proposal?
- Concerns or opportunities: what concerns or opportunities do you see with the creation of a Leadership Development Working Group?
- Ideas, resources, suggestions for the working group: what ideas, resources, or suggestions would you like to share with the working group that can inform its work?
- Other: are any major needs or priorities missing in this proposal?
- Last thoughts: is there any other feedback you would like to give the Community Development team?

B. Where to give feedback?[edit]

Movement Strategy and Governance facilitators will be reaching out through various channels locally
Talk page
Email: [email protected]

3. Sign up for future updates

Are you interested in future updates? Add your name here so the Community Development team knows to reach out to you directly.

I'm interested[edit]

Add yourself

EpicPupper
FULBERT (talk) 22:49, 9 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Proyezu (talk) 08:49, 10 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Wbm1058 (talk) 13:56, 10 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
B20180 (talk) 23:27, 10 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Rocío Mantis (talk) 17:26, 12 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Nicola Zeuner (WMDE) (talk) 11:35, 14 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Jonathan5566 (talk) 13:04, 16 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Wanderer777 (talk) 15:04, 16 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Erokhin --Erokhin (talk) 14:34, 17 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Ms Kabintie (talk) 08:15, 21 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Valerio Bozzolan (talk) 20:13, 21 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Vincent Vega (talk) 22:08, 22 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
SCP-2000 04:30, 28 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
GavriilaDmitriev (talk) 03:46, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Alhassan Mohammed Awal (talk) 20:55, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Kunokuno (talk)
جار الله (talk)
Didierwiki (talk) 11:25, 16 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

4. Collecting leadership resources

Are you aware of any movement leadership initiatives or resources? Please add them here for others to learn about and reference:

Democracy
[Add initiative / resource name and link here]

5. Summary of Call for Feedback

Overview[edit]

The Community Development team at the Wikimedia Foundation is supporting the creation of a global, community-driven Leadership Development Working Group. The team held a Call for Feedback about the responsibilities of the Leadership Development Working Group in February 2022. A summary of feedback has been written. This summary does not capture all details and the team hopes to support a continuous feedback process when the working group convenes. This summary of feedback and information about past initiatives will be shared with the working group.

The call for feedback announcement was shared in 42 languages. The Movement Strategy & Governance team’s 16 language facilitators gathered feedback in their language and regional communities. Feedback was collected through multiple channels: Meta-wiki, Telegram, 1:1 meetings, community calls, on-wiki discussion boards and others.

The term “task force”[edit]

The team received feedback that the term “task force” is hard to translate into other languages. In the English language, it can also have military associations.

The meaning of leadership[edit]

Community members shared different interpretations of “leader.” Some community members associated “leaders” with people who have followers, create new tasks, or have authority over others. Others shared that “leaders” are people who take responsibility, mentor others, create environments that encourage people, and help the movement stay healthy and grow. In all cases, there is a desire for leaders to facilitate and guide instead of command.

There was a conversation about whether the term “organizer” might be a better word to describe the type of people the movement wants to develop. Another community member shared their opinion that “leader” is a term that is already globally recognized and the movement should continue using this term. Concerns were shared about the movement’s current leaders and the fear that leadership is exercised in destructive or dysfunctional manners. There is a need to define the qualities of good leadership and bad leadership.

Finally, the team heard the need for multiple definitions of leadership in order to include different communities and contexts. There isn’t one definition that is suitable for everyone.

The need for leadership[edit]

Several community members commented on the need for leadership. A few shared the argument that in a decentralized and volunteer movement where all members are equal, leaders are not needed. Others agreed that leaders are needed but not in every context. Some shared that leaders can support newcomers and engage in off-wiki responsibilities such as organizing events, training people, and carrying out collaborative projects. One volunteer from the Russian community shared that there are many examples of leaders already, including those that organize editing contests, facilitate training on editing, and develop on-wiki tools. Supporting and training people in relevant skills such as communication and responding to harassment are needed.

The team received feedback that the need for leadership development differs from community to community. Leadership development may not be needed in communities that are more established, for example in the German communities where leadership roles and support structures exist.

Relationship to Movement Strategy[edit]

A few community members shared the concern that leadership development needs to be connected to an overall Movement Strategy implementation plan. Community members want to feel like movement stakeholders and initiatives are moving in the same direction. This also means that leadership development can’t be top-down, Wikimedia Foundation-led, and completed in isolation from other movement initiatives. Leadership development initiatives should be aligned with new global governance structures. The Wikimedia Foundation’s role should be to support self-sustaining local or regional community structures.

The Leadership Development Working Group[edit]

There is support for the creation of a working group. Despite debates about the term “leader,” some volunteers believe that the creation of a working group is necessary. One volunteer from the Turkish community stated that the leadership development working group encourages opportunities such as cross-project and cross-community collaborations.

In agreement with the proposal, the team received feedback that the working group should define the responsibilities, skills, and pathways to leadership roles. The working group should also focus on evaluating and tracking the progress of leadership initiatives. The responsibilities of the working group should be to coordinate leadership development projects and support regional training and development.

A few community members commented on the composition of the working group. They shared that the working group should include: people with different perspectives outside of leadership development; affiliate members and staff; and people from small and medium Wiki communities. There was also a concern that a 12-person working group can’t fulfill diversity objectives.

Regional lens[edit]

The team heard feedback that a regional or contextual lens is needed. Members of the movement approach challenges and discussions differently. The definition and plans for leadership development need to reflect those differences.

One volunteer from the Arabic community wondered about the creation of regional committees while another from Sub-Saharan Africa proposed hosting conversations with regional representatives to include regional perspectives.

Community feedback[edit]

A continuous feedback process is important to ensure diverse perspectives are considered. This includes collecting feedback from regional and local communities, and from leadership experts and institutions outside the Wikimedia movement. Feedback should be collected with a multi-lingual, localized approach. Any decision making should happen in partnership with broader communities outside of the working group. In order for diverse feedback to be gathered, quality and timely translation is necessary.

Changes made based on feedback[edit]

The feedback will be shared with the working group to review and consider. Based on the feedback, a few changes will be made immediately. First, “Leadership Development Task Force" will be changed to “Leadership Development Working Group.” Second, regionality will be prioritized in the selection process of the working group members. Using the Regional Committees model, the application selection panel will aim to select at least one person from each of the following regions: Middle East and Africa; South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC); East, Southeast Asia and Pacific (ESEAP); Latin America (LATAM) and The Caribbean; United States and Canada; Northern and Western Europe; Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Central Asia. The team acknowledges that this will not solve the issue of diversity and representation, and plans to include diverse perspectives by continuously gathering feedback throughout the working group’s work process.