Thank you Damon! This is indeed a powerful message and I am looking
forward to working with you.
Emily Blanchard
Talent Acquisition Team
Wikimedia Foundation
eblanchard@wikimedia. <eblanchard(a)gmail.com>org
Follow us on Twitter @wikimediaatwork
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share inthe
sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!*
On Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 2:02 PM, Sydney Poore <sydney.poore(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Damon and welcome!
I appreciate your call to action to treat everyone with respect and
dignity. And your desire to be inclusive!
"Call to action: Let's renew our commitment to treat everyone with respect
and dignity. Let's lead by example by choosing our words carefully with
only positive intentions. Open source requires a healthy community, and
respectful interactions are a sign of a healthy community. I pledge to
treat everyone with respect and use respectful and inclusive language.
Please join me." --Damon Sicore
Sydney Poore
User:FloNight
Wikipedian in Residence at
Cochrane Collaboration.
Sydney Poore
User:FloNight
Wikipedian in Residence
at Cochrane Collaboration
On Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 4:43 PM, Damon Sicore <dsicore(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
wikimedia-l,
On arrival I was asked to describe a few leadership principles and
practices I live out. In my response I included a statement about
courage,
honesty, and integrity [1]. These principles are
not effective without
applying them. To succeed, one must transfer these leadership
principles,
to a vast number of people, enabling them to be
more successful.
I’ve found the best method to teach others is to demonstrate [3].
Effective leaders demonstrate correct behavior and they demonstrate
leadership by acting with courage, honesty, and integrity. This is what
I
expect from myself and from those around me who
share our mission.
Here’s
a quote from Ernesto 'Che’ Guevara, a person
who's ability to lead is
unquestionable:
'One of the great educational techniques is example. Therefore, the
chiefs
must constantly offer the example of a pure and
devoted life. Promotion
of
the soldier should be based on valor, capacity,
and a spirit of
sacrifice;
whoever does not have these qualities in high
degree ought not to have
responsible assignments, since he will cause unfortunate accidents at any
moment.' —Che Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare (1960) p. 90 [4].
We are not soldiers, but we are revolutionaries. And as revolutionaries
supporting the Wikimedia mission we must consistently demonstrate the
behaviors that maximize our ability to build the software required to
fulfill our mission. This is important because our users and
contributors
are watching us as leaders. They are watching
our demonstration. And if
we are to support them we must treat them with respect. If we don't,
they
will leave.
Che's policy when asking for help from their community was to always be
courteous, considerate, and just. He emphasized that food, supplies, and
help from the community should be exchanged for fair compensation.
Always. He continues:
'The conduct of the guerrilla fighter will be subject to judgment
whenever
he approaches a house to ask for something. The
inhabitants will draw
favorable or unfavorable conclusions about the guerrilla band according
to
the manner in which any service or food or other
necessity is solicited
and
the methods used to get what is wanted. The
explanation by the chief
should be detailed about these problems, emphasizing their importance;
he
should also teach by example.'
Call to action: Let's renew our commitment to treat everyone with
respect
and dignity. Let's lead by example by
choosing our words carefully with
only positive intentions. Open source requires a healthy community, and
respectful interactions are a sign of a healthy community. I pledge to
treat everyone with respect and use respectful and inclusive language.
Please join me.
While I'm normally on IRC all the time, this last week has been special
as
I'm migrating machines and devices.
Beginning this week I will have a
client on 24-7; however, I will be online for a dedicated IRC Office Hour
on Oct 9, 1-2pm PDT. I would love to hear your thoughts here or in IRC.
All my best,
Damon
VPE, Wikimedia Foundation
[1]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMF_Metrics_and_activities_meetings/2014-10
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