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Guidance /

Community Norms

Community norms are guidelines for groups or meetings to help facilitate conversations in a positive and productive way. Leagues are welcome to use these community norms for their internal meetings or external presentations.

Overview

Community norms are guidelines for groups or meetings to help facilitate conversations in a positive and productive way. These guidelines serve as an agreement and set standards of behavior among participants.

These community norms are broken down into three categories: interpersonal, participation, and conflict. Leagues are welcome to use any of these community norms for their internal League work or external presentations.

Community Norms

Interpersonal

  • Assume good intent and understand impact​
  • Understand privilege and position; check at the door
  • Courage over comfort
  • Talk to each other, and not ABOUT each other

Participation

  • Participate in meetings fully and limit use of personal devices.​
  • Foster an environment of learning (i.e., mistakes are OK)​
  • Step up, step back​
  • Allow space for conversation and flexibility in agenda as needed

Conflict

  • Actively listen; be present, use repeat backs, and ask questions for clarification ​
  • Agree & commit/Disagree & commit ​
  • Allow for new ideas and use positive framing (e.g., "Yes, and..." rather than "Yes, BUT...") ​
  • Embrace hard conversations/conflict 
  • Agree to “intent/impact” resolution
Tags:
Policies & Guidance,
Boards,
Membership Engagement,
Organizing,
Partnerships

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