متابعة المناقشة من Collecting Feedback: A shared definition of leadership:
Arabic window into Wikimedia 2030 is an ongoing activity to enhance the Arabic community involvement in Wikimedia strategy 2030. @NANöR, @Nehaoua and @Ajwaan has arranged a local community call to collect feedback about the draft definition of leadership.
Time and Date:
October 3, 2022, at 9:00 pm - 10:30 pm.
Moderator:
@Nada_kareem22
@دنيا
Attendees:
Oranizers: @Nehaoua, @NANöR, @Ajwaan
@Inas.khateeb
Abbas Salamat
Ali Khalil
Kholoud Massalha
Mohanad Kh
Format:
- Introduce the leadership development working group to the attendees.
- Explain the reasoning behind choosing leadership and highlight the importance of the 6th recommendation of Wikimedia strategy.
- How was this definition drafted and how to read it in Wikimedia context?
- How this definition would assist in building a leadership development plan.
- Going through the definition with the attendees and discuss it by section with them.
The collected feedback
The term “leadership”
The Arabic translation for this word implies that there are leaders and followers and this doesn’t align with Wikimedia context.
The idea of a leader as an authority and a tool for implementation is well-established in the Arab mind.
Suggestions:
-
Open discussion in the village pump/الميدان to choose an alternative
-
The terms “participative leadership”/ القيادة التشاركية or “cooperative leadership”/القيادة التعاونية were suggested as alternatives.
Feedback about the introduction
Why spend all these words to describe leadership instead of giving a direct definition?
Phenomenon gives the impression that it’s a trend and temporary thing.
Suggestions:
- Remove the word phenomenon and use “ability” or “capacity” instead.
- Leadership manifests differently based on linguistic, socio-cultural and community contexts.
Feedback about the categories
An issue with using “good” as an adjective.
It should be explained that leadership is not limited to what is mentioned here because it sounds like a standard template.
Suggestions:
- Remove the word “good”.
- “Effective” could be used as an alternative.
Feedback about the actions of good leaders
Individualistic actions as in “Creating and sustaining a supportive environment for community members to bring forth creative ideas and new ways of doing things.”
you will ask who is going to do this and probably assign it to a certain name which mean it is not a collective effort.
What if the leaders were the obstructions?
Feedback about the qualities of good leaders: Steady growth
This is not a quality, it is an outcome.
Suggestions:
- Add it as an outcome.
- Should be replaced with continuity and commitment.
- Move “try new ways of doing things” from steady growth to “courage”.
Feedback about the qualities of good leaders: courage
This lies under accountability too. It’s a repetition probably. However, the courage explanation has negative words such as failure.
Feedback about the outcomes achieved because of good leadership: People release creative ideas.
Not only release creative ideas but also have the space to apply and implement these ideas.
General Concerns:
Assessment of individuals to be qualified for these actions and qualities.