The first three weeks. - Wikimedia-l

28 May 2014

Hello Wikimedians,

I wanted to give you an update on my first three weeks of Wikimedia
immersion -- this will also go on the blog.  As you probably noticed, my
leadership approach is rooted in observation and focused discussions --
this means I watch and listen more than I talk. But I expect that you are
probably curious about what I have observed and learned so far, and to know
a little more about who I am.

 I believe the most precious commodity in life is time. I seek challenges
worthy of it. I do not work for a job, I work for impact and I chose this
role above all others because I believe this is a critical moment for the
future of our movement.

I also believe no one person can be good at everything, myself included, so
I build great teams of people with complementary strengths. This means that
I believe that best decisions come informed by a range of views, and that I
respect a wide plurality of opinions. It also means that I choose to
surround myself with people who are strong, which often requires
negotiating conflicts.

How have I spent my first three weeks at the WMF:

   -

   Reading and watching: wikis, lists, talk pages, annual plans, reports,
   videos, emails and videos
   -

   Dozens of 1:1s with staff, board, and community members
   -

   Attending the Zurich hackathon
   -

   Participating in the recent Board meeting
   -

   Progress with ongoing decisions, such as the Terms of Use discussion
   -

   Deep-dive into product roadmap and data analytics
   -

   Four days of deep-dive and knowledge transfer with Sue
   -

   IRC office hours, writing my first blog, and engaging on my talk page
   -

   Training to be an even more effective communicator for the media
   -

   Review of on-going product initiatives: mobile, Flow, and VE
   -

   Recruiting

What I found to be challenging:

   -

   The extensive documentation, which provides plenty of context, but makes
   it hard to find distilled essences of historical decisions quickly.
   -

   The complexity of the community, roles, differences in points of view
   and perspectives.

What is coming:

   -

   A deep-dive into a few selected projects that are already in the works,
   to understand where they are currently, what the expected outcomes are, and
   how we measure success;
   -

   A retreat with the c-level leadership to align our work, and identify
   and address immediate Foundation priorities; and
   -

   Starting the process for our next strategic planning exercise, which
   will be different from last time, and focused on improving our ability to
   react quickly and adjust as necessary to opportunities and challenges.

These are the things I’ve been working on -- but I know that there’s a lot
more that you as community members have to offer, and much more that I can
learn. Here’s just a few of the things I’m looking forward to from you:

   -

   Engaging with the strategic planning process;
   -

   Continuing to provide feedback and on beta features, products, and
   ongoing projects and initiatives to help make them better, more useful, and
   lead to more successful outcomes;
   -

   Help drive decision-making and consensus across the community through
   your individual leadership;
   -

   Your recommendations on areas you see as priorities for development
   (while keeping in mind that not everything can be a priority at once!); and
   -

   Your recommendations on community and WMF decision-making processes,
   while keeping in mind that no process is ever perfect but there is always
   room for improvement.

The past three weeks have made one thing very clear: it’s because of the
energy and labor of each of you that we’re all here. On May 1st, I said
that this was big in every way. The last three weeks have reinforced this
for me: we have a huge mission, incredible opportunity, a vast number of
users, and a strong unique community. I look forward to facing challenges
together, having honest discussions, and coming together to seize
opportunities in front of us. There will be much for us to learn from each
other as we work together, and even more to do!

Lila