Mutual Support
Looking after people, being attuned to other's moods, needs and larger realities beyond the collective, caring for our wellbeing are all essential factors for creating a healthy work environment. The collective uses a system of mutual stewarding based on https://loomio.coop/stewarding.html`Loomio's practices]. Every member, whether in the Dating or Fully Committed phase, has a specific person supporting them and every member supports another. Supported members have a safe space to express themselves and to be cared for and heard within the collective (while being reminded of the things things they have committed to, etc.). Conflict resolution is also handled through the mutual support system, ensuring the distribution of personal care work.
While GT Buddies take care of mentoring it is Mutual Support Pals who take care another person's emotional well being. Every person in the collective has a Mutual Support Pal checking in on them regularly. They are always available when their care-receiving pal need someone to talk to. Mutual Support Pals for each quarter are listed in our Roles/Availability Mapping entry.
The following section is mainly extracted from the Loomio Handbook's Stewarding Section with some modifications [1] to fit in with GT's characteristics.
Here are some of the things you Mutual Support pal can do for you:
- be the ones you talk to if your coworker is being a jerk
- support you to meet your personal development goals
- help make sure you do the things you said you were going to do
- put a human face on talking to 'the organisation'
This, of course, has a degree of overlap with what your GT Buddy can do for you. The distinguishing feature is that your GT Buddy takes care of more objective procedural "worky" stuff, while the Mutual Support Pal is there mainly for subjective emotional support. These roles will normally be filled by two different persons but they are not exclusively, you may also give and receive help from other members, but your assigned Buddies and Pals are ultimately responsible for checking in on you with regularity. GT Buddies only last for whole duration of the dating phase, but you will always have a Mutual Support Pal. As we've spoken plenty about what your GT Buddy will do for you during the dating phase, let's now turn to what your pal does and when.
- ↑ These boil down to changing some of the names and the timing of mutual support, as well as distinguishing between GT Buddies and Mutual Support Pals. In GT all members, whether Dating or Committed support each other.