[Fg-general] Re: My thoughts on today

[Ryan Yeske]

Dina Davidson <birthingway at gmail.com> writes:

> Thank you, rcy, for the prod. I will speak up, even though I feel
> unqualified to do so in many ways. I am too busy in other areas of my
> life to really contribute to the organization, other than to send my
> friends and family to volunteer/donate/shop at the thrift store.
>
> (In the interests of being up-front, I want to say that I consider
> several FG staffers/ex-staffers to be good friends. Further, my
> partner is a director. I often hesitate to offer my opinion about
> sensitive issue, both because of my concern that what I say might be
> misconstrued as speaking for someone other than myself, and because I
> don't want to strain my personal relationships (which are way more
> important to me than any organization, no matter how awesome it is :)

Free Geek is a bit of a minisociety isnt it. 

I very much appreciate your input, Dina, and your respectful, kind
words.

>> I also felt that things were not heading in the direction of getting
>> better. I also saw things happening that I didn't believe were true
>> to the Free Geek principles.
>
> I wonder: can we institute a catch-phrase, or some other way to stop
> and check when this (deviation from FG principles) happens? It can be
> difficult to stop someone and say, "this doesn't seem very free and
> open to me," and yet that is what likely needs to happen. Is there a
> way to put the brakes on a conversation without the speaker feeling
> disrespected? Perhaps in the context of non-violent communication?

Creating an environment where everyone is feels comfortable and safe
expressing an opinion and feeling that may be against the popular (or
unpopular) opinion of the group is something we all need work on, and
all need to take responsibility for. It will never come for free, or be
handed to us.

I understand that the staff took part in some nonviolent communication
training workshops earlier in the year. I had already left the staff
when they occurred. I likely could have benefitted from them. I know
that I have a tendency to avoid speaking up sometimes in order to avoid
the kind of unproductive conflicts I see happen all too often.

> Bickering sucks. Literally, as in, it sucks the life out of those
> involved at both ends of the conversation (and often everyone within
> earshot).
>
> It's also not sustainable to devote your entire life to a cause or
> workplace for very long, and it ultimately does the organization
> little good (or the person(s) who no longer has a life).
>
> That doesn't sound like fun to me, either, and for what y'all get
> paid, this work should IMO at the very least be rewarding and fun.

I should add that it was (and is?) one of the best places that I have
ever worked at despite how negative I may have sounded in my last email.
It's hard to imagine taking on a 'regular' job every again. 

I think its just that the challenges that it presents everyone involved
are not ones that most of us come to with much preparation. As was said
by someone recently, we really are fighting against very engrained
patterns, and we all fall back into them occassionally.

> I have perceived this as well. My 14-year-old son, who is a volunteer,
> also noted this, not realizing that FG isn't supposed to have any
> "bosses".
>
> I worked for several years at a local for-profit, consensus-run,
> high-tech company. It was an awesome place to work. It was not a flat
> organization, but people were tasked with areas of expertise rather
> than in "chains of command", and "managers" were more of the
> camp-counsellor variety than micromanagers.
>
> I wonder if FG would benefit from a role where people felt they could
> go to discuss things of concern, have problems mediated, and ask
> questions about principles, consensus in practice, and so on: a role
> (or part of a role) that isn't a *management* position, but is a
> leader nonetheless--a champion of Free Geek principles, and an
> advocate for all those in the collective community, both staff and
> volunteers.

This sounds like it would overlap with a formal HR committee maybe, if I
understand what you mean correctly, but it would also include general
horizontal organizing counselling. A great idea.

> (FWIW I think that everyone at FG needs to assume leadership in this
> area; it cannot ever fall to one or even a few people, but it may be
> beneficial to have someone who actually has time to spend promoting
> and preserving the FG culture.)

Right, we do need to guard against the possibility of creating a
position where one can just take on the role of dictating the culture or
principles.

> Thank you, Ryan, for the time and energy that you put in to FG, both
> as an employee, and as a member. I am sorry that you got burnt out and
> felt that giving your notice was the best option, but I also
> understand. I also appreciate your willingness to be part of this
> conversation now, to hopefully avoid similar burnout and staff
> attrition in the future.

Thanks Dina.

At this point in my life, I enjoy the opportunity to contribute as much
or as little as I feel like on any particular day :) More than anything,
I do want to see FG succeed, and have it inspire and empower others as
is has for me. 

Ryan