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US Black Heritage Project Leadership Path

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Thank you for volunteering to become a Team Leader for the US Black Heritage Project. The leadership team is the grease that keeps the project's wheels turning and is one of the most rewarding jobs you'll ever have!

Before beginning the Team Leader in Training Path, please understand that we are not looking for perfection. We expect mistakes. Every single one of us is still learning something new about WikiTree, genealogy, the processes of USBH, and leadership. What is most important is a willingness to learn, a desire to help USBH meet its goals, and a positive attitude.

We also recognize that you will not learn everything on the list below all at once. The best way to learn is by doing and asking questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question. The more you ask, the faster you will learn and the easier it will be for us to know what you still may not understand.

It is helpful to learn who the team leaders are so when a question comes up about another team that you can't answer, you can reach out to them.


Contents

Outline

You will be asked to show an understanding in the following areas

  1. The project's missions and goals.
  2. Leadership roles and the USBH leadership tier.
  3. Preferred USBH terminology.
  4. The importance and purpose of standardized USBH rules and processes.
  5. The standard rules and processes of the team(s) you will lead.
  6. Communication specific to WikiTree and USBH.
  7. Collaboration.
  8. The WikiTree Problems with Members process, especially as it pertains to USBH.
  9. Advanced genealogy skills, especially as it pertains to your team(s). We understand this may be a continual work in progress.

After you complete each section below (by reading the linked help pages or completing any recommended tasks), please send a short message to your Guide privately on Discord. Ask any questions you might have about that section. Then move on to the next section.

Mission and Goals

Please read the USBH Mission and the current list of this year's goals. Ask your Guide if you have any questions or need clarification.

Two of our largest goals are to:

  1. Connect all 10+ million enslaved ancestors to their descendants.
  2. Make genealogy a more welcoming space for Black American descendants, most specifically at WikiTree.

We also continually educate all WikiTreers on how to create profiles for Black Americans and enslaved ancestors and how to document slavery at WikiTree. One way we do this is by looking for as many ways as possible to collaborate with WikiTreers who aren't members of USBH. (Examples are our open weekend sprints, birthday connection posts, the Connecting Challenge, and the 1880 Census Project).

Once this section is complete, please alert your Guide.

Leadership Roles and Tiers

Please see the USBH Leadership Page that explains the five leadership roles.

Look for rubrics coming soon that will show expectations for each role as well as requirements for moving on to the next role in the tier.

Please ask your guide if you have any questions about each leadership role.

Once this section is complete, please alert your Guide.

Preferred Terminology

Please review the USBH Preferred Terminology page. Please pay special attention to the second half called "Preferred Terminology" which explains which words we use on WikiTree and the reasons why we use the words slaves and slave owners in headings, titles, and categories.

Please ask your guide if you have any questions or concerns about the preferred terminology used by USBH. As a Team Leader, you will be expected to model these standards.

Once this section is complete, please alert your Guide.

Standardized Rules and Processes

The number one outcome for the work of USBH is to link enslaved ancestors and then help descendants to find those ancestors. We have spent hours upon hours discussing and creating standards and processes that will make documenting ancestors and families easier, as well as providing as many ways possible for descendants to find these ancestors.

Every single USBH standard and process has a purpose. This is especially true for slavery era profiles.

As a Team Leader it is important that you model these standards and processes for other project members as well as WikiTree at large. When someone follows their own way of documenting families, it causes two problems: 1) It confuses new members about which is the correct way to do the work. 2) It very possibly makes it harder to achieve the USBH outcomes.

If you ever have a question or concern about a standard or process, please ask in the Google group, the Discord casual chat channel, or send a private message to someone from the USBH Leadership Team.

Please ask your Guide or another member of the Leadership Team if you ever have any questions about USBH standards and processes.

Team Processes

Each team has its own standards and processes in addition to those of the general project. Another leader may need to walk you through your team(s)' processes. Your Guide will assist you with setting this up if needed.

How do USBH members join teams?

  • By expressing interest to you or another leader.
  • By stating team interest on the USBH volunteer sign up form.
  • You can ask people interested in your team's topic to join.

How do I add them to a team?

  • By expressing interest, they are automatically on that team.
  • You are welcome to add USBH member names to your team's home page, but remember you have to keep that updated continually as members come and go.
  • It is helpful for you to send all new team members a short summary of your team's standards and processes, especially what they should do to get started.

Leadership Activities

Things to Do Freely as a Team Leader
  • Anything all project members do freely.
  • Post in g2g, USBH Discord server, or the USBH Google group about what your team is working on. Let others know about your successes!
  • Post in g2g inviting WikiTree members to help your team with shorter tasks that don't require USBH specific skills (such as asking them to help you create profiles for a cemetery or making improvements to a set of profiles).
  • Give polite instructions to WikiTree members at large and USBH project members when they keep making the same mistakes.
  • Guide WikiTreers toward help pages.
  • Invite new members to the project and help get them started by sending them to the Welcome Mat.
  • Create space pages for your team. (please add the project as co-manager if it is to be used for and by the project). If it is a standardized page (there are other pages of the same type), please check how it should be named before creating the page.
  • Recruit! We need both more members of the project and people who will step up into leadership roles.
Things to Collaborate with the Project on
  • Any major changes to current standards or processes.
  • Recommendations for new standards or processes.
Things to Collaborate with USBH Project Leaders on
  • Edits to main project pages and any official pages that had to be voted on (such as Naming Conventions and Terminology pages).
  • Difficult members (either in the project or outside the project).
  • Inviting someone to become a team leader. Project Leaders have to get these approved by the WikiTree Team before we can officially invite someone.


Once this section is complete, please alert your Guide.

Communication at WikiTree and USBH

The following are methods of communication used at WikiTree:

  • Posts in the g2g forum--this is used to ask questions or share information to the general membership. Using tags helps bring more people to the posts.
  • Comments on ancestor profiles and WikiTree member profiles.
  • Comments in the "Change Explanation" field on a profile before saving.
  • Private messages through the WikiTree messaging system sent to WikiTree members. These messages arrive in the recipient's email inbox. When they reply to these messages, the replies come to your email address connected to your WikiTree account.
    • People who are not WikiTree members can send you a private message when they are looking at an ancestor profile. Know that replying to them will expose your email address to them. Use caution when replying in these cases.
  • WikiTree Discord channel. There are many public channels, but most project channels are accessible only to project members.

The following are methods of communication used for USBH:

  • USBH Google discussion group--all project members should be members of this group. Announcements and important discussions should always be posted here.
  • USBH Discord server. It is just like the WikiTree server, except only USBH members may join this server. As soon as a new member receives their project badge, they are given an invitation link to the server. This is used for real time communication while people are working.
  • Posts in the g2g forum which always have the black_heritage tag.
  • Scheduled video team meetings.

Courtesy and Diplomacy When Communicating

Diplomacy: the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way; The art and science of maintaining peaceful relationships between groups, or individuals.

A large part of what we do as USBH members and leaders is work to maintain good relations between USBH and other projects, USBH and WikiTree members, and USBH and groups outside of WikiTree.

To accomplish this:

  • We always follow Honor Code point #4: be courteous to everyone, even those who don't act accordingly. This means if someone is rude, we should either reply with as much kindness and courtesy as possible or we should step back and ask for assistance with the situation. see this help page on Courtesy for some great tips.
    • One question to ask yourself that may help with this is "If my reply were to be posted publicly, would I be pleased with it?"
  • We always consider the perspective of the other party. This is just as true when talking to descendants of slave owners as it is when talking to descendants of enslaved ancestors.
  • We always consider the needs of the other party. We can do this by asking ourselves, "What are they hoping to accomplish?"
  • We always do our best to understand any difficulties that may be preventing the other party from doing better. (Ex: lack of knowledge on the subject matter, lack of experience, accessibility needs). If we can't provide what they need, we do our best to connect them with someone else who can.
  • We embrace Honor Code point #3: We always assume that mistakes are unintentional when others make them and we don't want members to be afraid to make them. This means we see all mistakes as learning opportunities and a chance to collaborate with others. Instead of getting upset about mistakes (after a deep breath or two in some cases), we follow the problems with members process, starting with sending a positive and polite message pointing out the mistake and offering information on the correct process, style, or standard (sending a link to the appropriate help page whenever possible).
  • Before we create a new process or make edits to profiles that may affect other projects, we always talk to those projects' leaders to collaborate on those changes. If it's more than a single profile edit, this is usually done by a Project Leader.
  • We don't WikiTree while angry. This means if a deep breath or two doesn't help you see things in a more positive light, it's time to step away from WikiTree until you can.
  • We recognize and respect that groups outside of WikiTree may use different processes and terminology to document families.

Written Messages (Even Private Ones) Are Not Private

It is important to understand that any time you write your thoughts down and post them or send them to another person, these thoughts are no longer private. This is even the case when sending a private email or a private message (such as in Discord). Anyone has the ability to forward that email, take a screenshot of it, or copy/paste it to share it with others.

  • With this in mind, every time you send a message, ask yourself, "If this is shared publicly, will I feel proud of the words I chose?"
  • With this in mind, please think twice before discussing another person privately with someone.
  • With this in mind, if you do need help with a difficult member, choose words that ask for ideas of how to move forward instead of words of complaint.

Communicating Disagreements with Standards and Processes

Any project member is welcome to post in the Google group any time they don't understand or agree with a USBH standard or process. This gives the leadership team either the chance to explain why those standards and processes are in place and why they are working or to listen to the members thoughts that may lead to a positive change.

You are a USBH member, therefore you can do the same! You can either post these thoughts in the Google group or the Discord casual chat channel. It is best to formulate your thoughts as either a question that shows the difficulty: "Why are we doing it this way, it is causing this to happen (given specific example)?" or as a suggestion: "I know we do it this way, but if we made this change (give specific example), here is how it could be better." If posted in the Discord channel, you can tag your project leaders or a leader of the team it most directly affects (if this applies) to get more direct attention to your question or suggestion.


Once the Communication section is complete, please alert your Guide.

Collaboration

Collaboration is the WikiTree way!

Collaboration means:

  • Asking for feedback before making major edits to a profile.
  • Asking for help with research.
  • Inviting others to participate alongside you or your team to complete work.

Collaboration requires:

  • Flexibility and a willingness to compromise.
  • A willingness to listen.
  • Good communication.

If in doubt, ask questions.

  • If you are uncertain if someone minds you making edits on a profile they manage, send them a message.
  • If you are uncertain about how to collaborate, ask another leader or project member.

Share, share, share!

  • One of the best ways to invite collaboration is to post what you or your team is working on in the USBH Google group, Discord server, or g2g (or all 3) and invite others to participate.
  • Regularly posting what your team is working on and the successes you have achieved, inspires others to join in.



Once this section is complete, please alert your Guide.

Problems With Members

With nearly a million members from around the world trying to work together on over 33 million profiles, there are going to be problems that can't be avoided. This is why we have the Problems with Members process.

Please read the steps in the Problems with Members process. For future reference, this page can be found under the WikiTree Help tab in the menu.

If a situation can be considered an emergency (see 3A.1), please follow the steps on the help page. If it involves USBH profiles or a USBH member, please also inform your project leader(s). If any issue arises that you feel involves racism, please contact your project leader(s) immediately.

If it's not an emergency begin by sending a polite message to the member to explain the problem. You will usually get a better response if you begin with a positive statement, then follow with the instruction.

  • Example: "Thank you for creating new profiles. Just a quick reminder to add the {{African-American Sticker}} to the profiles with Black heritage."
  • Example: "I see how hard you worked on the profile of John Smith. Can you take a look at the location fields? The WikiTree standard is to always spell out location names. See this help page about locations for more information https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Location_Fields#Abbreviations"
  • Example: "I understand your frustration with <name>. Can I offer you some suggestions on positive ways to communicate the problem to them?"

If they respond positively to your message. Your job is done for now. If you see them make the same mistake again later, you can send them a gentle reminder.

If they don't respond, refer to the Problems with Members steps and consider informing your project leader(s).

Some problems are fairly minor and might be considered more of a nuisance than a problem (such as WikiTreers who won't use the project sticker). After a gentle reminder, we might choose to let this go. Other problems however--anything that goes against WikiTree style, standards, or the honor code, need to be addressed and corrected.

If in doubt, ask for help.

  • But please never post problems with other members publicly.
  • Instead, please send a private message to your Guide, someone from the leadership team, or one of your project leaders for advice. Don't feel you are bothering anyone by asking for help with people issues. They are happy to help.

Please ask your Guide if you have any questions about the Problems with Members process.

Requirements for Moving to Team Leader

  • Shows an understanding of the mission of USBH through both their work and their communication with others.
  • Shows an understanding of the preferred terminology of USBH by using it correctly in their work and giving correct directions and explanations about terminology to others in communications.
  • Correctly uses basics of how to process slavery era profiles (uses the higher level HE category and correct naming conventions).
  • Shows an understanding of USBH standardized project processes by putting them into practice when creating profiles and pages.
  • Shows an understanding of "We assume that mistakes are unintentional" means through compassionate communication.
  • Shows courtesy and diplomacy when communicating with other WikiTreers.
  • Shows an understanding of the fine line between asking for help when discussing a difficult member and complaining/insulting when communicating.
  • Communicates when they feel something isn't working or they disagree with a project process or standard.
  • Successfully collaborates with people both within the project and outside of it by working with other project members on shared activities, posting in g2g, or working with people outside WikiTree.
  • Successfully uses g2g and the Google group for communication--both to share information and ask for help. If using Discord, communicates clearly and respectfully.
  • Contacts someone on the Leadership Team when they can't (or shouldn't) handle a situation on their own.
  • Successfully compares multiple sources side by side to determine the most accurate information. Recognizes when there is more than one person with the same name who are in danger of being conflated. Understands the importance of research notes.
  • Shows an understanding of basic copyright rules by posting only copyright free images and documents; by not copy/pasting biographical information unless in quotations with a citation.
  • Correctly nominates new USBH Notables by putting them on the proposed notables tab. If on Notables team, understands desired Notable profile components, formatting and processing using the preferred standards and style help page.
  • Accurately answers questions about the general rules and processes for any team(s) they have volunteered to lead and points people to the help pages pertaining to that team.




Collaboration


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