[SUMMARY]
Curators have worked very hard for us, but they have caused numerous drama because they didn't feel like they were listened at, resulting into them getting an attitude we didn't appreciate. When asked why they got the attitude instead of telling us, they said that they couldn't think of that due to frustration. They continue making comments sparking a potential new discussion.
Now there's tension within the team.
[EXPLANATION]
I'm the non Agent leader on an Amino and we've had a pretty stable new community team for 2 months (which is kind of rare, because most of the new curators we pick out either lose activity or break guidelines pretty quickly). We thought we were so called "safe" until something happened again, although this time we weren't sure what to do.
In the community chat, 2 curators didn't feel like they were listened to so they started to get an attitude. Because "they didn't know what else to do". So when I suggested you could perhaps tell us, or say "listen to me please" or PM me saying that you don't feel listened to, they said that "because we were so frustrated we didn't think of that". It was a very unprofessional way of handling the situation, cussing at us etc. I made my mistakes as well, I have to it that I sometimes just didn't notice them or that my attitude was a bit too much, but I apologized and promised to look after the attitude. They said they would as well.
Their reason behind the attitude was that they wanted to share ideas but they felt like they didn't get their turn, but when I asked for their ideas, they said that I sound intimidating and therefore they didn't dare to share the ideas. (Because I can change my tone if that's the problem, although no one else except those two curators in the team experienced that so I'm still doubting because they've had different motives every time)
We divided our Amino into teams so that get closer to us and give a sense of control over the Amino. One of the teams is responsible for weekly challenges and me and 3 curators were part of that team. I really wanted someone in the team so I discussed with the and that person got like a "free " to the team. That "free " started the new drama (for some reason.)
The same 2 of the 3 curators started getting an attitude, again. A ive aggressive tone to everyone. The "free " got very annoyed by that and confronted them, which resulted into them exploding, in order to continue with an even worse attitude. Not knowing where that came from again, I asked the curators and after a long discussion that lasted 3 days (!) we came to the conclusion that they thought it was our fault for their attitude because we didn't "listen to them" and we thought it was their fault for them not "saying anything" and "having such an attitude", due to the fact that you can share your frustrations in a way more professional way like we've done.
I then asked; "So what does the "free " have to do with this, this time?"
"Yes she just annoyed us, always takes the victim role and doesn't take responsibility for their own mistakes."
We then had another lengthy discussion about being professional and that it was unfair for everyone to try to remain calm when they just exploded for no developed reason whatsoever.
Later on, I asked to share ideas for a space with no judgement, and the same curators started acting up again. Someone shared their idea and it got immediately taken down because it was "too simple, boring, dumb and unnecessary". I understand that you can't like all ideas in the world, but there's absolutely no reason to share it with an attitude like that. It got to a certain point that didn't dare to share their ideas because of them.
Now I've kicked them out of that team of challenges, because the rest of the team didn't understand where they came from and the tension only got worse and worse over time. Kicking that "free " out was also an option, but that would mean that their attitude got what they wanted, to get rid of the annoying member. And that's not something I wanted to do because she didn't do anything (or apologized and stopped)
They apologized for what they've done, and have worked on their attitude, although now they pretty much tease us when we forget to ask about other people's ideas for a quick second for example by saying stuff like "Oh I don't feel listened to but I won't say that because that causes drama". (The first part is fine by me but the second part is so unnecessary). We keep saying "no that's fine, you can tell us, there wont be any drama" but they still repeat that ...
Now there's still some tension so we can't really get back to work.
We have considered kicking them out of the community team but the thing is: they did work very hard for the Amino.
What should we do?
Comments (12)
I made about something similar to this and I see it’s been andwered shich is good.
If you don’t mind me explaining what I’d do in this situation—
So, being assertive is something that should be a switch. Curators causing drama because they don’t feel “heard” is never a reason, and it never will be. This is just an excuse for their behavior and it’s a very obvious lie.
So, in order to notice little lies, just ask yourself if there were other somutions they could have used. A moderation team is built on communication and trust so if they aren’t talking to you because “you’re intimidating” then they don’t really have a reason to say anything.
I definitely understand that intimidation thing because people find me intimidating, including some on the mod team. They never cause drama however, and if they have a question or idea, they still ask.
If your mods aren’t looking for alternative solutions and causing they’re the reason behind a good many of them, it is a good idea to do a Suspension which removes them temporarily.
And if you decide to demote them, you can always make a post explaining why they were demoted without giving explicit details.
For Example
They were unfortunately demoted due their behavior as s. They have received warnings, but they it didn’t seem as though they tried to fix it with the time given which was ‘x amount days/weeks/months.’
So, because of this, we sadly have to let them go. Thank you for the work that you did. It is greatly appreciated but...
And so on.
Doing this keeps the community updated on things as well. Monitoring you is already work, so having drama on the team should never occur.
I hope things works out for you. ^^ Good Luck on building your mod team.
Thank you for helping me :) as to right now, they've not being doing any work so I've asked them to get back to it saying "I don't want to ask again" and next time I'll give them a new deadline to follow. Me and the actual leader are still struggling because we have to do most of the work now but we are giving them all the chances so that they can't report us for power abuse.
Reply to: Can'tRelate
You can only give so many chances. Don’t let the “Power Abuse” thing scare you because they’re the ones actually abusing their powers.
They have the title of a mod but won’t do the work, meaning they just want the rank.
Leading a community means being strict at times, you definitely have to show them that being a a privilege that can be taken away.
They aren’t working? They aren’t fit to be a . Go ahead and demote them and open up applications.
I will definitely offer a helping hand if you all need it. Just pm me and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
If you didn't yet, let them know they're walking on thin ice and give them a demotion warning. Let them know you want to demote them and give them some time to fix their behaviour, and if they don't, then proceed to remove them.
Otherwise, suddenly demoting them will create even more drama, no matter how much you already think they're unfit for their role. Not giving a second chance is frowned upon, and while it isn't power abuse, I got from your post that you're trying to avoid drama so that's the safest course of action.
That being said, I don't think you should keep them if they don't change their actions. They're being extremely unprofessional, and a staff team needs to trust each other and be healthy. They're clearly disturbing that, regardless of how much they did for the community.
Reply to: Can'tRelate
You're welcome! You mean a post here on LA?
Reply to: shion.exe
Yeah!
Reply to: Can'tRelate
There might be? There are posts about everything. They can be hard to find, though.
These Curators are demote worthy on the surface but it is up to you to make the judgement. If not you can PM me and I can advise you on what to do :)
Thank you for helping us :) we will see what's going to happen next and when they strike again, they will be kicked out of the team. We just didn't know if this was power abuse for example.