Code of Conduct Template
Every Forum has a Code of Conduct that is signed by all the members and reviewed every year at the Forum retreat. Here’s a template I use for all the Forums I launch. Feel free to use it for your Forum. The areas shaded in yellow are all things for your group to discuss to […]
Emergency Meetings
It would be wonderful if all our career/personal/family challenges happened right around the time of our monthly Forum meeting so that we could bring the challenge to the group and get feedback on solutions right away. But that’s not how life works. Life likes to throw curveballs at us at the most unexpected times. Because […]
Don’t Use Slack As Your Forum’s Group Chat
In a prior post > https://tinyurl.com/yhsssrgs < I talked about the importance of setting up a group communication tool to keep the conversation, connection, and engagement going between meetings. Most Forums use either WhatsApp, GroupMe, Txting, Signal, or Telegram.The conversations that happen in the group chat tend to be things like: Personal Photos Family Events Career Wins/Loses […]
Experience Based Values Creation
Our climbing instructor took out a small hammer and tapped it against the rock. She leaned in with her ear to hear the noise the hammer made against it. “Nope, we can’t climb here.” She then repeated the process in three more spots until she finally turned back to the group and declared an excellent […]
Managing Forum Financials
There is no one right way to manage the financials of your Forum, so let me give you the two most common options I see, and you and your group can decide what works best: Option 1 – Everyone For Themselves: In this setup, there is no bank account, no accounting, and no treasurer. Instead, […]
The Danger of Unsolicited Advice
A core value of Forums is that each person shares only from their own personal experience and doesn’t share advice. I call this, “Speaking From The ‘I.’” In a prior post, I used the analogy of slaying our own dragons to explain why “Speaking From The ‘I’” is an important part of Forum. But there […]
No Business Dealings / Romantic Relationships
The space held within a Forum and between the members is special and should be treated as such. Below are two situations that are well documented ways to ruin the cohesion of the group. Both situations should be included in a Forum’s Code of Conduct and not allowed. [No Business Dealings] While it is extremely […]
Keeping A Quotes Board
“I got here… on a river of tears, but I got here.” “Sometimes I breathe wrong and go up in pants size.” “A croissant is about about as risqué as I get for a dessert.” People say the funniest things…especially when taken out of context, like the three quotes above. Many years ago, I used […]
FMLA Policy For Forums
Typically, Forums allow members to miss two meetings per year. On the third miss, they are removed from the Forum. This policy works for most situations because two misses per year is enough to allow for things to come up while also making sure a member is committed to the Forum. There are some situations, […]
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Every Forum is bound to experience a break up at some point. The break up will come in the form of either one member leaving, or the whole group imploding. The terms of the break up will either be positive or negative, so let’s walk through each situation. Positive Breakup of an Individual Member – […]