On 2/26/16 10:39 AM, GorillaWarfare wrote:
> How do you plan to communicate what you learn to the
> rest of the Board of Trustees, and to those who will be instrumental in
> shaping the changes that will happen to the WMF in the near future?

Through email, Google hangout meetings, and in person meetings.

> How do
> you plan to speak to staff members, who have seen many of their coworkers
> leave or be forced out in the last few years?

I'm scheduling 1-on-1 meetings with staff who ask to meet with me.
We'll be in a conference room.  In some cases I'll have particular
questions about things I want to learn more about; in all cases I'll
invite people to say whatever they think will be helpful.

> How do you plan to increase morale among an incredibly demoralized group?

My usual approach is to talk about our mission - it's what we are all
here for and it matters to me more than anything else.  I want to better
understand the outlines of what staff want from their next ED, so that
information can be used to help guide the search.

> But quite
> frankly, Vibber's communications with the Wikimedia community outside of
> the Foundation have far surpassed yours in clarity and transparency. I hope
> that you will improve upon your messaging, but I would like clear
> reassurance that you realize this is necessary.

Yes, this is necessary.  I'm continuing to push for more disclosure and
more openness.

> I would love to know whether you supported Lila Tretikov's departure. It is
> clear that she did not up and resign on her own, and I would like to know
> if you were one of the folks who thought her departure would be beneficial,
> or if you preferred she "weather the storm," so to speak.

I supported it with sadness.  The whole thing is a sad train wreck.

> I would also like to hear a clear statement about what you think can be
> gained from your return to San Francisco.

I hope to be helpful in moving us forward to a better state.  I've not
been as involved as I used to be in recent years, and I want to change that.

In particular, as I have been reflecting on all this, I realized that I
was much closer to Sue and much more involved in her "on boarding" and
learning about our culture.  I think I failed Lila in this regard - we
talked from time to time, but I didn't do enough to help her understand.

I can't speak for Lila, nor should I try.  But I know that for people
new to our world, it's really quite confusing.  You hear a lot of voices
and if you've been around for long enough, you get to know which ones
are important and which ones are going to complain no matter what, with
little substance.  If you listen to those who are going to complain no
matter what, you can end up fearful and burned by communication.  If you
don't listen to those who are only going to complain when it matters,
you'll miss important things.  Knowing the difference is... well...
ambiguous even in the best of times.

So to go back to your question - what can be gained from my visit to San
Francisco... it's only for a few days, but it will be followed by more
visits in the coming months.  And part of what I want to do is get a
better understanding of the specific concerns that serious people have,
so that I can be more helpful to whoever ends up being the interim ED,
and whoever ends up being our next permanent ED.

--Jimbo


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