Collaboration Value Questions

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
  2. How do we give negative feedback?
  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.
  12. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
  13. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
  6. When should you use the steel man?
  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
  3. What is permissionless innovation?
  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    Because when you collaborate, you do more than just break down problems into manageable chunks for team members to handle, I regard the term “collaborate” as an improved version of the phrase “Division of Labor.” Much more than that is involved. For instance, suppose you assign yourself the task of coming up with a solution to an issue you ran into while working on a project. There’s a good probability that you’ll spend hours, if not days, trying to figure it out. However, if you work on the same issue as other team members, you’ll likely finish it quickly and come up with much better solutions.
    This allows us to save time and focus our efforts on other activities.

  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
    I am expected to reach out to experts within my function and also team members across departments.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    We give positive feedback publicly; we can do this in the "thanks" channel or endorse someone’s work on a channel relating to that project.

  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    By making sure the feedback is aimed at helping the receiver improve and it can come with suggestions for the improvement.

  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    Negative feedback is aimed at helping the receiver to improve and it also comes with suggestions on how to improve, while disagreement isn’t.

  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    Negative feedback is aimed at helping the receiver to improve and it also comes with suggestions on how to improve, while negativity isn’t.

  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    In a public channel but in a respectful and transparent manner.

  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    On a 1-on-1 call

  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    Managers

  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    Because it is good to solve problems when they are small.

  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    "thanks" channel.

  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    Praising a person should be done sincerely and it is helpful to summarize why you are praising them so the person on the receiving end can easily understand why they are being praised.

  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

  • Focus on the work impact, not the person
  • Focus on providing suggestions that can improve the receiver of the feedback
  • When the criticism is of low value, keep it to yourself
  1. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    Yes, it is okay. And it is a team member’s duty to give feedback to their manager

  2. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    No, it is not okay. The main reason why it is a must for team members to give feedback to their managers

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    Moralis is a remote-based company that uses a lot of text-based communication. And when you know the people behind these texts, conflicts can be easily prevented.

  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    There is a weekly FIKA Session every Thursday.

  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    It means, do not use your position or someone else’s authority to sell an idea or decision.

  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    We assume positive intent by giving others the benefit of doubt when trying to mitigate a bias.
    And we can use this in a situation where there is a disagreement or where we feel our colleague made a mistake.

  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    A straw man is a type of argument and in which the appearance of rejecting an argument is made while the actual argument’s subject is not addressed or disputed but is instead replaced with a false one. And a steel man is the complete opposite of a straw man, in this case the actual argument’s subject is addressed.

  6. When should you use the steel man?
    When there is a disagreement.

  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    It is important to apologize as soon as possible when you make a mistake. And Moralis sees saying sorry as a sign of strength, not weakness. Sharing mistakes allows others to learn from them in order to avoid repetition.

  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    We as a people should not try to defend our points because we want to win an argument or double-down on a mistake.

  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    This means that instead of placing blame on a single or group of people, conduct investigations into errors that emphasize the situational elements of a failure’s mechanism and the decision-making process that caused the failure.

  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    This means we should let go of the notion that we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Instead, we should encourage new members to constantly take the initiative to seek out ways to do things better.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    In contrast to consensus, where all participants’ opinions must be presented before a decision can be made toward the intended goal, collaboration entails people working together to achieve a purpose. However, it doesn’t demand the participation of all participants in order to achieve that goal.

  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
    No, I am not, but people can contribute by sharing their opinion.

  3. What is permissionless innovation?
    Having people contribute without necessarily involving them.

  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    Playing politics is not allowed at Moralis. Proposals should be weighed based on their merit, not who proposed them and this also applies to getting promotions at Moralis.

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Introduction

1. Why do we need to collaborate?
Easy, not a single person has had success on their own. We need to work with other people, since we only have 24 hours in a day. Also, there’s a famous saying in HR that says that 1+1=3, and I find that to be completely true.

2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
Always rely on others for help or advice. I find this important because sharing if you’re stuck on something will sometimes unblock you very quickly rather than spending days trying to work it out.

Feedback

3. How do we give positive feedback?
Make it public. The more public the thank you is, the more the receiver will appreciate it and get motivated.

4. How do we give negative feedback?
In the smallest setting possible, ideally in a 1-to-1. Make sure it helps the receiver improve, and it’s not just destructive.

5. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
The feedback is aimed towards helping the person improve or change something that could be done better in your opinion. Disagreement is sharing your opinion opposite to that of the receiver. If it’s discussion rather than feedback, do it on a public channel, with transparency and respectfully.

6. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
Negative feedback has to be actionable by the receiver, always aiming to help him/her. Negativity will not improve the person’s skill, just make her feel bad.

7. Where should disagreements be discussed?
Public channel with transparency and respectfulness.

8. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
In 1-to-1s, or the smallest setting possible.

9. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
If it’s aimed at someone higher in the management chain, we can do it in a group.

10. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
To address the problem as quick as possible while it’s still small. If not, it will create a snow-ball effect.

11. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
We have a thanks slack channel.

12. What should you think about when praising someone?
Make it in a way that’s honest and clear to that person why they’re being thanked.

13. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.
· Make it about work, not the person, focusing rather on the business impact.
· Provide at least one example.
· Make sure that giving the feedback actually provides value.

14. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
It’s our job to do so.

15. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
Of course not, they are people and make mistakes, just as the rest of us. They might be more experienced in some cases, but they don’t know it all.

Working Together

14. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
Knowing the person differently than through a screen, makes it so much easier to deal with conflicts, since the relationship completely changes.

15. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
Weekly session on Thursdays. We also have company retreats to meet in person.

16. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
If your position is the only argument you have to get a decision through, it’s not the right one.

17. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
This is to avoid the attribution error. Give the rest the benefit of the doubt when there’s a disagreement or mistake from a colleague.

18. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
Steel man is when the “opponent’s” strongest points and best case scenario is addressed in a discussion, while straw man is when the discussion is rather to reject the other person’s weakest points.

19. When should you use the steel man?
Every time there’s a disagreement.

20. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
It’s not a sign of weakness but of strength. Apologize as soon as you realize you’ve made a mistake.

21. What do we mean by “no ego”?
Don’t just try to win arguments, if you’re in the wrong admit it and let go. We as people have to hold ourselves accountable for this principle.

22. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
Investigate mistakes not to find out who the one to blame is, but to find out the situational aspects of a failure.

23. What do we mean by “short toes”?
Always take initiative here, don’t be afraid to step on someone’s toes.

Collaboration

24. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
We don’t have to wait for people to provide input, as Moralis believes in “permissionless innovation”.

25. Are you expected to ask people’s opinions always?
No, but any one can feel free to contribute - and I’ll be happy to accept and discuss those contributions.

26. What is permissionless innovation?
You don’t need to involve people in your work, but anyone can contribute.

27. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
We don’t want anybody to play politics at Moralis. This can be easily spotted when someone supports an argument just because of who said it rather than the argument itself. The proposals should be weighted on merits rather than who proposed them.

  1. Big goals require teamwork

  2. Participate and cooperation

  3. With a good talk (public)

  4. With a good talk (private)

  5. Feedback is a comment from an experience, a disagreement is a position from a point of view.

  6. Feedback is a comment from an experience, negativity is a though about an argument.

  7. In private

  8. In private

  9. To the specific person by private

  10. To avoid communications issues or problems

  11. Public

  12. Your experience about why you felt good

  13. Simplicity

  14. Yeah

  15. Always and whenever it is an example of a lesson

  16. To know each others, know your teammates naturally

  17. Be naturally

  18. No ego

  19. When selling an idea

  20. Character?

  21. When we are doing something acceptable

  22. Is natural, we should do it

  23. Forget about positions

  24. Find solutions, not problems

  25. Not pointing at others

  26. Doing something and voting

  27. Yeah

  28. Lack of creativity

  29. Ok with them, seem fair enough

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    We win big when we work in a team, as popularly said we only have 24hours to work so we can only make tiny achievement on our own when we work along so to collaborate mean to achieve big with just 24hours that turn to a thousand of hours.
  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
    I am expected to reach out to experts for help within my function and also team members across departments with open mind everyone response is important.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    We give positive feedback as much as we you can and do it IN A PUBLIC WAY and thank someone in the #thanks channel on Slack. By doing so it can motivate people to do good more.
  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    Negative feedback needs to be given in the smallest setting possible.
    Ideally in a 1-on-1 call. With the aim of making sure the feedback is targeted at helping the receiver improve and it can come with suggestions for the improvement.
  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    Negative feedback is aimed at helping the receiver to improve and it also comes with suggestions on how to improve, while disagreement isn’t.
  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    negativity is not aimed to improve the person and is not actionable, while negative feedback is to help the receiver improve.
  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    In a public channel but in a respectful and transparent manner knowing that we are a team made from a cross cultural background.
  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    On a 1-on-1 call
  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    Managers
  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    our aim is to solve problems when they are still small.
  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    #thanks channel on Slack.
  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    Thanking a person in #thanks should be done sincerely and summarize why you are thankful so the person on the receiving end can easily understand why they are being thanked. Even while assuming positive intent, not all folks are comfortable with public praise. Help this person understand how they went above and beyond and why you felt it was important for the team member to be recognized.
  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.
  • Focus on the work impact, not the person
  • Focus on providing suggestions that can improve the receiver of the feedback
  • When the criticism is of low value, keep it to yourself
  • focus on the purpose of that feedback: to improve the team member’s performance going forward.
  1. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    Yes, it is okay. it is my duty as a team member to give feedback to my manager
  2. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    No, it is not okay. That is why it is my duty as a team member to give feedback to my manager

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    Moralis is a remote-based company that uses a lot of text-based communication. And when you know the people behind these texts, conflicts can be easily prevented.
  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    There is a weekly FIKA Session every Thursday.
  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    It means, at Moralis we don’t use position to sell any idea to people as it will not have a good merit on what you are doing.
  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    In order to mitigate this bias, we give people opportunity to prove themselves. In your interactions with others, respecting their expertise and giving them grace in the face of what you might perceive as mistakes.
  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    A straw man is a type of argument and in which the appearance of rejection on an argument is made while the actual argument’s subject is not addressed or disputed but instead replaced with a false one. And a steel man is the complete opposite of a straw man, in this case the actual argument’s subject is addressed. is one where the other person feels you’ve represented their position well, even if they still disagree with your assumptions or conclusion.
  6. When should you use the steel man?
    When there is a disagreement.
  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    It is important to apologize as soon as possible when you make a mistake. At Moralis saying sorry shows a sign of strength, not weakness. Sharing mistakes allows others to learn from them in order to avoid repetition.
  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    We as a people should not try to justify our points because we want to win an argument or double-down on a mistake.
  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    This means that instead of placing blame on a single or group of people, conduct investigations into what happen, emphasize the situational elements of a failure’s mechanism and the decision-making process that caused the failure.
  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    At Moralis, we should be more accepting of people taking initiative in trying to improve things.
    As companies grow, their speed of decision-making goes down since there are more people involved.
    We should counteract that by having short toes and feeling comfortable letting others contribute to our domain.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    When collaborating, it is always important to stay above radar (it staying focus on the why will make a great impact) and work but collaboration is not consensus.
  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
    No, I am not, but people can contribute by sharing their opinion.
  3. What is permission-less innovation?
    Having people contribute without necessarily involving them.
  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    Playing politics is not allowed at Moralis. Proposals should be weighed based on their merit, not who proposed them and this also applies to getting promotions at Moralis. Moralis always promote keep your political ambiguity at home.

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?

alone we are like droplets, together we are tsunami!
collaborate is important to accomplish great things as group

  1. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?

ask, it’s ok to not know. reach people with more experience to contribute with ideas or tasks, hints, etc.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?

give as much positive feedback and in public, endorse someone that accomplished something. say Thanks!

  1. How do we give negative feedback?

provide negative feedback in the smallest setting as possible. in 1 on 1 session is recommended.
if the disagreement is on public be transparent and respectful

  1. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?

negative feedback can be accepted or received and make changes to improve ; disagreement is where the negative feedback is not accepted;

  1. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?

negative feedback can be received and take action to improve; negativity by itself won’t help the other person to improve

  1. Where should disagreements be discussed?

in a public forum in a respectful way and transparent

  1. Where should negative feedback be discussed?

in the smaller frame possible: 1on1 is best.

  1. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?

to managers or someone with higher position of the organization.

  1. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?

to address problems quick and when those are small. to avoid cascade problems.

  1. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?

@slack #thanks chat channel

  1. What should you think about when praising someone?

start with Thanks, acknowledge the impact, priority, or important of the action or job done and how you, everyone or the organization benefits out of it.

  1. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.
  • it has to be business related.
  • not make it personal
  • have a clear example on what has done and how to do it different to be more efficient, reliable, accurate or less mistakes, etc
  1. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?

yes it is okay, it must be my job to give feedback.

  1. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?

no, if the direction is deviating from the original goal or plan or not following the mission or vision. i’ts time to break, grab the wheel drive and suggest to correct the course. :wheel_of_dharma:

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?

best things happen when we talk informally; helps with curiosity, interest in others, breaks the ice, builds camaraderie, help to alleviate or prevent conflicts.

  1. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?

weekly Thrusday calls ; since mostly we work remotely, is goot to have meetings like this to know someone behind the text :person_in_steamy_room: that we interact with.

  1. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?

if you try to make a point by using the rank or a current position; then it becomes pointless. authority is gain by merits not the other way around. :necktie:

  1. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?

it means not be of a double standard, blame a circumstance to own fails. and blame others for their own fails. “Fundamental Attribute Error” :balance_scale: Assume Positive intent should be use to avoid bias, give people the benefit of the doubt, assume they have positive intentions, identify the situational details and get the bigger picture.

  1. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    "english is not my first language so straw or steel can’t be something i understand first sight "

straw man is an informal fallacy of refuting an argument. the initial point is not discussed so it is weak.
steel man is the practice of making someone’s argument stronger which is encourage to all of us to do so.

  1. When should you use the steel man?

when there are disagreements in assumptions or conclusions.

  1. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?

we all make mistakes and aknowledge; if I make a mistake I should say sorry; specially if i were unkind with someone;
saying sorry enforce values, team trust and learn from our mistakes.

  1. What do we mean by “no ego”?

we hold ourselves as people; don’t defend a point just for the sake of winning; I am not my work, we have to look for the right answer within the team. in the other hand, we have to see others succeed and don’t let them fail.

  1. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    it means do not point fingers, look a root cause or a solution to the situational aspect but not to blame a team or a person
  2. What do we mean by “short toes”?

always take the initiative ; don’t hesitate to step on other’s toes.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?

collaboration is working together, consensus means is team’s unanimous agreement on a decision.
it is expected to work in a permissionless framework, work above the radar but transparently: thus don’t need to involve people but anyone can contribute. :coconut:

  1. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?

you don’t need to ask people for input; however in the habit of good values, want to work with no ego and want to see others succeed; with this synergy someone would contribute without asking :bulb:

  1. What is permissionless innovation?

don’t need to involve people, but everyone can contribute.

  1. What can you say about politics at Moralis?

don’t play politics at Moralis, People are promoted or weight their proposal or ideas based on previous merits and accomplishment.

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Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    Because crowdsourcing is probably the best and most efficient way to achieve a goal. To work together on a big project definitely requires a big effort, and I loved the way Ivan put it by talking about the 24hrs we each have in a day vs the thousands of hours we all have if we combine them.

  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advice?
    We are all expected to collaborate. I am expected to be active and take initiative, also when needing help. Reaching out to ask for help and provide help when someone else needs it.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    Preferably public and as much as possible because it helps motivate one another to keep working and doing a good job.

  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    We give negative feedback effectively and only about the work itself so that the focus is on the business impact and doesn’t become something personal.

  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    Disagreement is simply when we don’t agree with something another person does, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is wrong while negative feedback is like constructive criticism.

  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    Negativity is nothing like negative feedback because negative feedback should be based on good intentions to help the person it is directed towards to do something better. Negativity is not constructive and it is not something the person can work with.

  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    In a public platform, where we can get other people’s insights and resolve the disagreement as efficiently as possible and in a respectful manner.

  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    Preferably on a 1-on-1 call or chat, directly with the person, to who we intend on giving feedback or in the smallest setting possible.

  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    It can be done if the negative feedback is aimed at a superior so that we promote the notion that no one gets a free pass from it.

  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    Because we want to catch issues when they’re still small so that they can be solved in a sensible and timely manner.

  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    The #thanks channel, but it’s not limited to it. We can also use another channel if it’s more relevant to the project that we’ve worked on, or if that’s where the communication is happening at that point.

  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    That it should be sincere and descriptive of the reason we’re thankful, so the other person understands what they did right.

  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

  • Focus on performance and the impact it has on the job itself.
  • Be kind and constructive.
  • Consider someone’s circumstances and whether there is real value in pointing out the mistake.
  • Give the person something tangible they can work on to do things better or some advice.
  1. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    Yes! Like, "Hey @ivan. The list should start with 16 under “Working Together” :stuck_out_tongue:

And it is part of the job description because… (see below).

  1. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    No, because all of us will be putting a lot of work into this project, and it is up to us to keep it alive and thriving.

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    Because having a good personal relationship with others within the company will make it easier for us to work together since it’s all remote. And to make it a bit fun too :slight_smile:

  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    FIKA Sessions on Thursdays.

  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    Don’t use our or someone else’s position to try to sell an idea or get something done. Our ideas or work should be strong enough without needing to resort to that.

  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    It means respecting the other’s expertise and giving them the benefit of the doubt in the face of the perceived mistake. We do that when we disagree with someone and we’d like to address that disagreement, and we always try to argue against the strongest part or version of their position - or even a better one if we can imagine and project it into the conversation.

  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    When we try to discuss a disagreement, we can choose to argue against the weakest or the strongest version of our opponent’s position. The weak version is the “straw man”, and the strongest one is the “steel man”.

  6. When should you use the steel man?
    In general when interacting with others or when discussing disagreements.

  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    It is highly encouraged to apologize ASAP if you made a mistake because when we share our mistakes, it will most likely prevent others from doing the same mistake. Recognizing mistakes can include if we were not kind to someone and can be done publicly :blush:

  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    To understand that we are not our work, and therefore, don’t need to defend anything, especially not only to win an argument or double down on a mistake. In the same way, asking for help to find the right answer with help from the team is also a way of “no ego”.

  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    To focus on treating mistakes according to the situation where a failure took place and how decision-making led to said failure instead of simply casting blame on a person or team.

  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    It means to not mind if people take initiative in trying to improve things and contribute to our domain, and so we have “short toes” because we welcome others to do just those things.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    Collaboration is about helping each other when we need help or have questions in a transparent manner. Consensus is to “do with two what you can do yourself” like brainstorm or wait for someone else’s approval to do something.

  2. Are you expected to ask people’s opinions always?
    No, but we can do it if we’d like. However, we don’t need to wait until they reply to take a decision, and asking others doesn’t necessarily mean we will do just that.

  3. What is permissionless innovation?
    Permissionless innovation is the core of iteration aka “smaller teams moving quickly rather than large teams achieving consensus slowly”. It is having the freedom to make the best decision we think is relevant without having to involve others, although all are welcome to contribute.

  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    Moralis wants to steer clear of people playing politics. Ideas and proposals as well as people considered for promotions are weighed on their merits and not on popularity. People get promoted based on their results and ideas get picked based on their real potential and merit.

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    Nobody can achieve the level of success that Moralis envisions alone.The more people involved in a project, the more hours of productivity there are in a day.

  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
    I can refer to Moralis’s values for guidance on how to approach any issue, but if something requires advice from the wider team then, in the spirit of cooperative collaboration, asking for help and relying on others for advice is part of what’s expected at Moralis.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    Publically

  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    Privately. It must be both constructive and actionable and should come from a place of genuinely wanting to help.

  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    Negative feedback is aimed at helping the person improve with a constructive critique of an element of that person’s performance, with an actionable outcome at the end. A disagreement is simply differing points of view on a given issue or approach.

  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    Negativity is not intended to improve or offer constructive solutions, it is usually only meant to belittle and dismiss, which should never be accepted in a healthy collaborative environment.

  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    Ideally in a public channel. Respectfully and transparently.

  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    In a private 1-on-1 situation, ideally a call.

  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    Someone higher than you in the management chain

  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    To solve problems while they are still small.

  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    The #thanks channel

  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    Why is it important that this team member be recognised? Are there real, tangible examples of how this person went above and beyond to help you? Even while assuming positive intent, not everyone is comfortable with public praise.

  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

  • Focus on the work itself and the business impact rather than the person.
  • Provide at least one clear and recent example
  • Bear in mind that the person may be going through a hard time in their personal life
  • Is the value gained from providing this feedback worth the impact it could have on the staff member’s morale?
  • If feedback must be given, focus on the purpose of that feedback. I.e. to improve the staff member’s long-term performance
  1. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    Yes

  2. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    No. It should never get to this point if effective feedback is being given and received.

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    If you know the person behind the text, it’s easier to prevent conflicts

  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    Encourage everyone to participate in weekly fika sessions on Thursdays

  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    If you have to resort to reminding someone of your position in the company, then you’re doing something wrong and it means your point probably can’t stand on its own.

  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    To prevent bias, we must always assume that someone had positive intent in any given interaction and give them grace in the face of what you might perceive as a mistake.

  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    A “straw man” argument is when one person considers only the weakest points of a person’s argument, often constructing an imaginary position out of it, and basing their counter arguments on that imagined position. A “steel man” is the opposite of that, where one assumes the strongest conceivable version of a person’s argument and offers a counter to that.

  6. When should you use the steel man?
    Steel man should be the desired approach in any disagreement.

  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    If an apology is necessary, it should be given as soon as possible. Apologising is a sign of strength, not weakness.

  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    Don’t double-down on a position just to save face if someone else has a genuine counter point. Concede arguments when you’re wrong and admit it and let it go. An individual person’s ego is not to be confused with pride in Moralis as a company.

  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    We should focus on the situational aspects of a problem and the decision-making process that led to it, rather than seeking to place blame about why it came about.

  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    People shouldn’t worry about “stepping on people’s toes”. At Moralis, you are expected to make an impression and share your opinion from day 1.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    While we work together as a cohesive team, it is not necessary to consult the team on every decision. Independent decision-making is encouraged.

  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
    No

  3. What is permissionless innovation?
    You don’t need to involve people, but everyone can contribute.

  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    Consensus is not playing politics. A point of view should not carry more weight because of the person it came from, rather it should carry weight based on its own merit.

Introduction

1. Why do we need to collaborate?
Great impact is made in a team, great aims are achieved collectively. A team of professionals can achieve bigger goals in a smaller amount of time, which contributes to the efficiency, accuracy and reliability of work.
2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
I can rely on others’ feedback, help and advice, as well as can and need to provide the aforemntioned myself.

Feedback

3. How do we give positive feedback?
We encourage public positive feedback to boost motivation and emphasise we are making a meaningful impact on how the team works.
4. How do we give negative feedback?
Negative feedback should be given in the smallest setting possible. It should be strictly connected to a work and not a personal matter, with a professional message and no negativity. Very beneficial to accurately and respectfully propose relevant suggestions for improvement for one’s consideration.
5. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
While negative feedback is provided to help the person improve, both individually and in teamwork, a disagreement comes from a place of not seeing eye to eye. It is very important to remember it’s not a boxing ring: discuss the disagreement with a professional attitude, transparently and preferably publicly.
6. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
Negative feedback is aimed at genuinely improving the working process of the recipient, expressed with best intentions and some action points for further improvement. Negativity only comes from someone who has not had their cup of coffee in the morning and has no place in a professional workspace.
7. Where should disagreements be discussed?
Preferably in a public channel.
8. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
In the smallest setting possible, preferably in a 1-1 call.
9. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
Someone higher in the management chain to show everyone is equally applicable to receiving feedback.
10. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
It is important to solve the problems while they are still small, so they do not grow into something more significant. Speaking up about issues enahnces the transparency within the organization and contributes to a happier and easier way of working, since I am a big believer that all problems can be solved.
11. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
#thanks channel but not limited to it. We can express We are looking to get this resolved as soon as possible. We can express gratitude in the project chat, personal chat or any relevant communication channel.
12. What should you think about when praising someone?
The message should outline the exact points we are thankful for and be sincere. We should also consider how comfortable the person will feel receiving this message publicly and choose the communication channel accordingly.
13. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

  • Focus on the work impact, not the person. However, very important to take turbulent personal life moments into consideration.

  • Always back up the feedback with examples to make it more tangible.

  • Deliver the message kindly and respectfully, so that the person understands your main intention is to help them improve.

14. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
We are ought to provide feedback to the managers. Feedback = learning, and learning = progress. For managers to be able to drive the team to success, they, as we, should always strive to improve our skills and approaches.
15. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
Certainly not. Which is why it is important to collaborate as a team, continuously evaluate the results, check if we are on the right track and provide feedback to improve and outline the strengths.

Working Together

14. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
It is an important part of communication. Once you get to know the person, their interests, you can establish a trustworthy relationship, which makes collaboration more resilient in an all-remote setting. This also breaks the ice once you meet each other in person during company retreats.
15. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
Organize FIKA sessions on Thursdays and getting into personal meetings.
16. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
Backing up a decision or an idea by throwing the position card. If you choose to resort to this, simply reconsider, as you might not be exactly on the right track.
17. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
This means acknowledging and respecting one’s expertise and intentions and giving the person the benefit of the doubt. We tend to do that when we disagree with the points of the argument.
18. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
Arguing agains the strongest of the opponents’ points in an argument.
19. When should you use the steel man?
During a disagreement.
20. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
An apology is a sign of strength. It is absolutely humanly normal to make mistakes as long as you acknowledge and act upon them as soon as possible, starting by apologizing. If something unkind was said publicly, it is iomportant to also address it publicly.
21. What do we mean by “no ego”?
Back up your point of view and admit when you are wrong. Ask for help if you need it, don’t be scared to admit you don’t know something, do not try to prove a point - try to search for the correct answer to bring the team to success.
22. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
Investigate the problems to find the faulty process or link chain in the porogress, not to point fingers and find out who is to blame.
23. What do we mean by “short toes”?
Feel free to speak up, bring a fresh look and contribute to the team to accelerate the growth process.

Collaboration

24. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
Collaborating means achieving the common goal without the constant permission, participation or verifications from all the team members.
25. Are you expected to ask people’s opinions always?
No, but we are not limited in doing that. Additionally, people are welcome to share their opinion and input.
26. What is permissionless innovation?
Having people contribute without the need to directly involve them.
27. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
There is no room for playing politics in Moralis. The proposals should be weighted on merit, rather than on the one proposing. Propotions are given based on performance and achievements.

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Introduction

1. Why do we need to collaborate?

  • To achieve great things we have to effectively work together
  • Each of us only have 24 hours a day but in teams we have thousands of hours to accomplish meaningful things

2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?

  • you are expected to collaborate and help others
  • even if not related to the goal you are trying to achieve
  • you can rely on others help and advice

Feedback

3. How do we give positive feedback?

  • give public positive feedback
  • post in the #thanks channel on Slack
  • or endorse someones work in the relevant project channel
  • positive feedback gives your team motivation to do more great things

4. How do we give negative feedback?

  • give in the smallest setting possible
  • ideally 1-on-1 call
  • negative feedback is not the same as negativity or disagreement

5. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?

  • negative feedback is constructive actionable critic directly to a team member aimed to help the member
  • disagreement is when you have a difference of opinion
  • if no direct feedback, discuss disagreement in public channel respectfully

6. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?

  • negativity is never accepted
  • negative feedback is constructive actionable critic directly to a team member aimed to help the member
  • negativity is not aimed to improve a person and not actionable

7. Where should disagreements be discussed?

  • in public channel respectfully and transparently

8. Where should negative feedback be discussed?

  • give in the smallest setting possible
  • ideally 1-on-1 call

9. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?

  • someone higher in the management chain

10. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?

  • to solve a problem while they are small

11. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?

  • #thanks slack channel

12. What should you think about when praising someone?

  • thanking in #thanks should be done sincerely, summarising why you are thankful to a person so they can understand why they are being thanked
  • we shouldn’t limit saying thanks to just the #thanks channel
  • being thanked at the company level for what you view to be small contribution can feel awkward

13. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

  • make it about the work itself
  • focus on business impact, not the person
  • focus on the purpose of the feedback
  • provide one clear recent example
  • managers: team members react to negative incident 6 times more strongly than positive
  • managers: if an error is inconsequential, that the value gained from critic is low, maybe keep it to yourself

14. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?

  • Yes, it is your job to give feedback to managers

15. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?

  • no, therefore we must give them feedback as fast as possible

Working Together

14. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?

  • all remote company with lots of text based communication
  • if you know the person, its easier to prevent conflict

15. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?

  • weekly FIKA Sessions on Thursdays

16. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?

  • pulling rank is when you remind a person the position you have within the company
  • don’t do this, instead explain with respect why you’re making a decision

17. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?

  • Fundamental Attribution Error - blame circumstances for our mistakes but individuals for theirs
  • To mitigate this, always assume positive intent, give the other person the benefit of doubt and assume they meant no harm.

18. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?

  • straw man - arguing against the weakest point of an argument
  • steel man - arguing against the strongest point of an argument, and taking that perspective. Make their argument even stronger than what they made, and argue against that

19. When should you use the steel man?

  • always

20. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?

  • if you made a mistake apologise as soon as possible
  • this is not a sign of weakness, but strength
  • we can learn from our mistakes and share that learning
  • the one that does more work, more likely to make mistakes
  • if you’ve been unkind publicly, then apologies publicly

21. What do we mean by “no ego”?

  • you are not your work
  • you don’t need to defend your point
  • We recognise our mistakes
  • No Ego - is something we hold ourselves to, but also Moralis as a company

22. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?

  • we do not blame teams or people
  • we investigate mistakes in a way that focuses on the situation, decision making process and failure mechanisms

23. What do we mean by “short toes”?

  • be more accepting of people taking initiative
  • as a company grows its decision making speed goes down
  • to combat this we have short toes, and feel comfortable to let others contribute to our domain

Collaboration

24. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?

  • Collaboration is about working as a team, contribution and knowledge sharing
  • Consensus is asking permission, waiting for others input .ect
  • small teams moving quickly rather than large teams with slow consensus

25. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?

  • No, only when you want/need their expertise

26. What is permissionless innovation?

  • We want a permission-less innovation environment
  • don’t need to involve people, but everyone can contribute

27. What can you say about politics at Moralis?

  • We don’t want people to play politics at Moralis
  • One example, focusing on whose proposal it is rather than speaking about the proposal
  • Belief Bias - judge an argument not by how strongly it supports the conclusion, but how strongly we support the conclusion.
  • Proposal should be weighted on their merit, not who proposed it
  • Another example, whether people are being promoted based on others liking them, and having alliances
  • We want promotion based on results.
2 Likes
  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    all of us have just a limited daily time bank. there is a slang which says “if you want to go fast do it lonely but if you want to go further find some colleagues”.if we are to create a big thing that needs thousand of hours to spend on it we need to collaborate in small and big scales with each other.
  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
    I simply find the right person to ask my questions. no one know all the things.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    we try to do it publicly via “Thnaks” slack channel or other related places
  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    with the smallest possible setting (1 to 1)
  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    the disagreement comes from ego and it is not actionable but negative feedback has aimed to suggest some solutions and is some kind of help.
  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    negativity doesn’t offer any actionable insights but negative feedback seeks to help the receiver.
  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    In a public channel but in a respectful and transparent manner.
  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    1-on-1 call
  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    Managers
  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    to fix the problems when they are small.
  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    thanks
  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    Praising a person should be done sincerely and it is helpful to summarize why you are praising them so the person on the receiving end can easily understand why they are being praised.
  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.
    -have some suggestion to improve it
    -my feedback must have something actionable
  12. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    it is our duty to give feedback continuously in moralis
  13. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    all of us are humans and we are not immune from making mistakes. absolutely it is not ok.

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    because most of the time text-based communications can create some misunderstandings
  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    FIKA Session on every Thursday
  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    It means, do not use your position or someone else’s authority to sell an idea or decision.
  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    if some one is trying to give us a feedback we must understand that it does not come from the ego there is something constructive in it.
  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    A straw man fallacy occurs when someone takes another person’s argument or point, distorts it or exaggerates it in some kind of extreme way, and then attacks the extreme distortion, as if that is really the claim the first person is making.
    A steel man argument is the opposite of a straw man argument. The idea is to help one’s opponent to construct the strongest form of their argument .
  6. When should you use the steel man?
    When there is a disagreement.
  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    it a sign of strength and it must be done as soon as possible.
  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    when you feel you are arguing to win the argument it comes from ego and it is not constructive.
  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    This means that instead of placing blame on a single or group of people, conduct investigations into errors that emphasize the situational elements of a failure’s mechanism and the decision-making process that caused the failure.
  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    this means if you find some thing that is not correct you should not avoid to engaging with it

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    collaboration mean interacting to each other to get thing done consensus is a point of view which all members have agreement on it
  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
    I am open to hear all the perspectives but I the final decision is making by myself
  3. What is permissionless innovation?
    Having people contribute without necessarily involving them.
  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    Proposals should be weighed based on their merit, not who proposed them.
1 Like
  1. Why do we need to collaborate? We need to collaborate together to get the mission together!
  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise? I’m expected to ask others as we cannot understand everything.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback? I can give positive feedback by Thanking co-workers at the slack channel or public thanks.
  2. How do we give negative feedback? With a 1-1 call and giving a small setting or forwarding them a Collaboration item he/she is not getting from the workspace.
  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement? Negative feedback gets the other the oportunity to change and motivate, a disagreement stands a difference on the opinion and might bother the other.
  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?The diference is that a negative feedback as prompted before, is a constructive channel to change and understand while a negativity is a close door to change or to continue working along.
  5. Where should disagreements be discussed? In the public workspace
  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed? In a 1-1 call
  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting? A manager
  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible? To quickly solve the issue
  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone? #thanks channel!
  10. What should you think about when praising someone? That the other person will be really glad that he/she helped you and that contribuited on your career and on the business.
  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients. i can give feedback effectively by having a clear understanding on how this person is affecting the business and the team, with a clear basis, examples.
  12. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager? Yes, absolutly so they can notice quicly on how the team goes.
  13. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff? No, we need to feedback them quicly!

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally? Firstly to understand better whom is working with me and easily understand how he/she will react.
  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible? At Moralis we have weekly FIKA Sessions each Thursday.
  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”? Is when you remember anyone what role they have on the company, so this way they will understand why you are taking decisions at your role.
  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that? Is to blame individuals for errors instead for the circunstances. Asuming doubt or that they didn’t meant to mistake.
  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man? A straw man is who argues to the weak point of an argument and a steel man is who argues to the strongest points of the argument afirming that they understand really why they are strong on this .
  6. When should you use the steel man? Everyday!
  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis? Saying sorry at Moralis is an important way to asume errors and progress, understand how it happened and also show strenght!
  8. What do we mean by “no ego”? You mean that you are not working, that you recognise mistakes.
  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”? It means that firstly you try to understand how mistakes happened, decision making progress and that we don’t blame teams!
  10. What do we mean by “short toes”? Accepting who is taking iniciative and when the decision speed goes down we combat it by short toes letting other to interact and contribuite in our fields.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus? Collaboration is to work together, contribuite and share the knowledge inbetween the team while consensus is asking permission for inputs.
  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always? No, just when I need to understand anything for my work that other knows.
  3. What is permissionless innovation? It’s an OpenSource enviroment where everyone can help with their point of view without asking permission.
  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis? At Moralis, it’s prefered to not play politics, it’s a WE company so it’s better to keep that on mind. We want results by merit and results!
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of course i let my subscription lapse, then you start speaking my language…

  1. Collaboration is essential to any organization because it provides access to the depth of time, something that an individual does not have access to on their own.

  2. If you need help or advice you are expected to reach out to your peers or other co-workers rather than keep it to yourself and struggle with something. Establishing meaningful relationships in the workplace can be born from a place of reliance and a sense of trust with those around you to help you when you are in need and knowing that you would do the same for them.

  3. Positive feedback is highly encouraged, give praise to others in public, in a highly visible manner, and do so in a way that lets them know exactly what it is you are thankful about and why.

  4. Negative feedback is also necessary but need to be done carefully and in a constructive, respectful manner. Always try to provide negative feedback in the smallest setting possible, one on one is preferred. Let the person know exactly why you are providing negative feedback and also make sure they understand it is not personal, but simply for improvement.

  5. Negative feedback is given to improve and critique whereas a disagreement more closely aligns with personal beliefs about how something should be done according to your own opinion.

  6. Negativity is focused on an individual and provides no value or improvement to the situation. Negative feedback is given with the intent of improving upon a situation and not focused on an individual person, but instead on the output they are providing.

  7. If at all possible disagreements should be handled in the most appropriate way possible, given the situation. The less people involved the better, only involve others if it becomes necessary.

  8. Negative feedback should be discussed in the smallest setting possible.

  9. If at all possible negative feedback in a group setting should be avoided, but if it is necessary, anyone is capable of receiving said feedback, including management.

10.The faster you provide someone with feedback the faster improvement can be made, which has a compounding effect on the business in a number of ways. The sooner you decide to help someone when you notice something is amiss, you can praise them for their improvement, it’s a win-win scenario.

  1. #thanks channel on Slack

  2. When praising someone you should be absolutely sure what you are saying is not easily misunderstood, be clear and concise in your praise and elevate that person for whatever noticeable deed they have performed.

  3. Effective Feedback - Focus on the problem not the person, provide reassurance, make sure they understand why you are giving feedback, allow yourself to be open to further discussion and ensure you present yourself in an approachable manner should that person need feedback again.

  4. It is absolutely necessary to give feedback to the manager, they need it just as much as everyone else. You are robbing them if you do not provide them with valuable feedback.

  5. Under no circumstance should anyone allow the manager to sabotage the entire operation. Approach them in accordance with the same values you would anyone else in the company, they are no different, they are a part of your team and deserve feedback just as much as anyone else.

  6. Having an informal relationship with someone allows the formation of meaningful collaboration, we are humans after all, not robots, it is important to get to know the people that are a part of your company, you can learn and grow together in ways you never imagined if you allow yourself to be open and understanding of others.

  7. Every Thursday there is time set aside for FIKA sessions to allow employees to get to know each other better outside of the normal meeting environment.

  8. Not pulling rank means that you will not use your position within the company as a position of power to boss people around or using your position to justify why something needs to happen.

  9. Assuming positive intent means that you are always looking on the bright side of the scenario and not assuming someone to be operating from a place of malicious intent. If someone is coming to you with negative feedback, you need to trust that they are doing it to help you and not because they dislike you or some other silly reason that is made up inside of your head.

  10. A straw man is where you intentionally replace some element of the argument in an effort to divert the topic off course to benefit your point. Steel man is respecting the argument of your opponent and seeing it for it’s strengths and when choosing rebuttal rather than go after the weak points you choose to attack it head on because you also believe your counter argument is just as quantifiable and well grounded.

  11. You should always strive to use the steel man when arguing a point, it ensures that the discussion is kept within reasonable bounds and also assists with staying on topic.

  12. Saying sorry is a part of life, and it is definitely a part of working at Moralis. It is ok to make mistakes, but apologizing to someone when you know you are wrong is critical to maintaining positive working relationships. It is good practice to apologize as soon as possible and let the other person know that you really mean it.

  13. Regardless of how important you think you are, it is beneficial for everyone to maintain a neutral or no ego stance when it comes to working environment. Your past accomplishments and where you find yourself are nothing to be ignored, but certainly have no place in collaboration within a team. Leave the chip on your shoulder somewhere else, it is not acceptable at Moralis. Not having an ego also resonates closely with showing respect for others, the more humble you are and less ego-driven, the easier it is for your message to be heard by others.

  14. Getting to the root cause of a problem needs to stem from understanding how and why it went wrong, not in placing blame on the person or persons responsible. When focusing on solving a problem, the most important factor is not about placing blame, but more about taking the steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again or how to prevent it from happening.

  15. Having short toes is allowing others around you to proceed and succeed without having them feel as if they are imposing on you or the nature of the work taking place.

  16. Consensus is agreeance amongst a group. Collaboration has much more depth than agreeance, collaboration is about understanding the team you are in and why there may be disagreements, taking the time to respect differences of opinion and learning how to leverage the thoughts, minds and expertise of everyone present to drive forward and produce an outcome that is beneficial.

  17. Definitely not, it is ok to ask someone’s opinion but it is far from necessary. That is the beauty of decentralized decision making, you don’t always need someone’s opinion to move forward, but if the situation arises someone else’s opinion may bring value to the situation.

  18. Permission-less innovation is about creating and providing an environment where decisions can be made in small teams in a quick fashion rather than holding up the entire operation just to move forward on small front. Getting to the right outcome with as little friction as possible is what drives things forward.

  19. Politics come from a place of judgement. This only serves to stagnate innovation and will ultimately hurt those involved. Politics are unnecessary and do not focus on results but instead, on other external factors that are irrelevant.

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Intro:

  1. Radical change is achieved by collective groups compounding their hours and resources - something impossible to achieve alone.
  2. You’re expected to reach out and collaborate.

Feedback:
3. Give as much positive feedback as you can and do it in a public way as much as possible. Not only are you celebrating their hard work but also motivating them to continue to do good work.
4. Deliver it respectfully and from a place of caring.
5. Negative feedback allows for improvement whereas disagreement allows differing views to respectfully co-exist.
6. Negativity is not actionable whereas negative feedback is more constructive and designed to improve the individual.
7. In public settings with the utmost respect and transparency.
8. As private as possible, ideally in a 1-1 setting.
9. Someone higher in management.
10. The saying goes, “nip it in the bud”. The sooner we act, the easy it is to course correct.
11. #thanks channel.
12. Receiving praise in a public setting can be awkward/embarrassing for some people. It’s helpful to help the recipient understand why is it so important for you to share your thanks.
13. Focus on the business impact versus making it personal. Provide at least one example to help paint a clear picture. Lastly, be mindful of the mental impact (is it worth it?).
14. It’s our job to do so. The business impact is greater than not speaking up.
15. It’s definitely not ok, that’s why we must help each other with constructive feedback.

Working Together:
16. It’s easier to prevent conflicts when we get to know each other beyond the surface level.
17. Weekly FIKA sessions.
18. If you have to use authority to get your point across, there’s little merit to your argument.
19. Give others the benefit of the doubt when you find mistakes.
20. A straw man is an easy target and a steel man is the opposite.
21. Every time, even when in disagreement.
22. It’s a respectful and courageous act. It’ll always help others to learn from the incident.
23. Letting go of being right and focusing on recognizing our mistakes for the betterment of ourselves and others.
24. To focus on root causes and solutions rather than cast blame.
25. Don’t give off “stepping on toes” vibes. To continue rapid growth, we need constant feedback and contribution from all.

Collaboration:
26. Working together versus getting everyone’s sign-off. It’s ideal to collaborate but don’t let it stop you from moving forward.
27. It’s encouraged but no.
28. It’s the culture to be open to others’ inputs but know that it’s not required.
29. It’s not a crowd favorite. People and proposals are measured by their merits and results, not for their popularity.

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Introduction

Why do we need to collaborate?

To achieve great, monumental things we have to work together effectively. All meaningful things are done in teams where instead of 24 hours in a day we collectively have thousands of hours.

What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?

Feedback

How do we give positive feedback?

We give positive feedback in a public way.

How do we give negative feedback?

Negative feedback needs to be given in the smallest setting possible.

What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?

The feedback is aimed towards helping the person improve or change something that could be done better in your opinion. Disagreement is sharing your opinion opposite to that of the receiver.

What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?

The difference between negativity and negative feedback is that negativity is not aimed to improve the person and is not actionable, while negative feedback is.

Where should disagreements be discussed?

In a public channel.

Where should negative feedback be discussed?

Ideally in a 1-on-1 call.

Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?

Managers.

Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?

We want to solve problems while they are small.

What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?

Thanks channel.

What should you think about when praising someone?

Help this person understand how they went above and beyond and why you felt it was important for the team member to be recognized.

How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

When providing feedback, always make it about the work itself; need to focus on the business impact and not the person. Making sure to provide at least one clear and recent example. If a person is going through a hard time in their personal life, then take that into account.

Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?

Yes.

Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?

We can’t allow our managers to drive this company off a cliff.

Working Together

Why is it important to get to know each other informally?

Moralis is an all-remote company and we use a lot of text-based communication.

What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?

Get to know the team during our weekly FIKA Sessions on Thursdays.

What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?

If you have to remind someone of the position you have in the company, you’re doing something wrong. Explain why you’re making the decision, and respect everyone irrespective of their function. This includes using the rank of another person to sell an idea or decision.

What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?

We should always assume positive intent in our interactions with others, respecting their expertise and giving them grace in the face of what we might perceive as mistakes.

What is a straw man and what is a steel man?

Assume the points are presented in good faith and instead try to argue against the strongest version of your opponent’s position. We call this arguing against a “steel” position. When disagreeing, folks sometimes argue against the weakest points of an argument or an imaginary argument, that is the straw one.

When should you use the steel man?

A “steel” position should be against the absolute most effective version of your opponent’s position — potentially even more compelling than the one they presented.

What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?

Saying sorry is not a sign of weakness but one of strength.

What do we mean by “no ego”?

Don’t defend a point to win an argument or double-down on a mistake. You are not your work; you don’t have to defend your point. You do have to search for the right answer with help from others.

What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?

Investigate mistakes in a way that focuses on the situational aspects of a failure’s mechanism and the decision-making process that led to the failure, rather than cast blame on a person or team.

What do we mean by “short toes”?

People joining the company frequently say, “I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.” At Moralis, we should be more accepting of people taking initiative in trying to improve things. As companies grow, their speed of decision-making goes down since there are more people involved.

Collaboration

What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?

When collaborating, it is always important to stay above radar and work transparently. We don’t have to wait for people to provide input, as Moralis believes in “permissionless innovation”.

Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?

No.

What is permissionless innovation?

you don’t need to involve people, but everyone can contribute.

What can you say about politics at Moralis?

We don’t want people to play politics at Moralis. We want people to be promoted based on their results. We do value collaboration, but that’s different than being promoted just because people like you.

1 Like

Introduction

  1. We need to collaborate to achieve more collective goals within lesser time
  2. It is expected from me to provide help when it is needed from me or if it’s needed by others and it’s something I could offer help with based on the skills and knowledge that I have. I am also expected to ask for help not to waste time figuring out something that others would already have knowledge about

Feedback
3. We give positive feedbacks by publicly acknowledging others and could also use channels such as #thanks in slack
4. We give negative feedbacks in a more private setting.
5. Negative feedback is given to help while disagreement is having an opposite idea or opinion on a certain topic.
6. Negative feedback is actionable and helpful while negativity is not aimed to improve others
7. Disagreements could be discussed publicly if the goal is to come to a common ground and inputs from the group will be collectively weighed from the pros and cons of each sides as long as the discussion is healthy and respectful.
8. Negativity should be discussed privately and maybe include someone from a senior position to settle or guide whoever is causing negativity to avoid adding the weight or gravity of the negativity to spread in the group.
9. A group can give negative feedback to someone in a higher/management position.
10. It is important to provide feedback as fast as possible because it’s healthier to open up a problem the soonest and smaller it is so it could be fixed instead of keeping things to yourself and carrying this problem while working. It doesn’t also help with the productivity.
11. We use the #thanks channel to praise someone
12. We should think about the summary of the reason why we are thankful for that person. It should also be done sincerely.
13. Context, Empathy, Purpose
14. Yes
15. No

Working Together
14. It is important to know each other informally because we are a collection of people coming from different background and culture and that is how we get to know more how to respect the others.
15. We have weekly Fika sessions
16. Respect regardless of position for selfish gains
17. Respecting others idea and giving them opportunity to explain their ideas open-mindedly. It usually best to assume positive intent when we have a disagreeing idea of something and letting the other explain their thoughts on the topic so we could understand where they are coming from even tho the idea might still be different from ours.
18. A straw man is arguing using the weakest point of an argument and a steel man is arguing using the strongest point of the other.
19. We should use steel man when assuming positive intent
20. Saying sorry is necessary to learn from them and to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
21. Being humble
22. Blameless problem solving is figuring out a fix on a problem rather than blaming it to someone
23. Taking initiative to speed up something and letting others contribute to our domain without feeling like one is stepping on someone else’s domain out of disrespect

Collaboration
24. Collaboration is taking initiative independently and consensus is being dependent.
25. People can ask for opinions but not always have to wait for others opinions
26. Letting others contribute but not feeling the need to involve others
27. Moralis’ politics is justified based on the work and not by friendships or the person

1 Like

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    Because we as a group have a lot more bandwidth to achieve meaningful things

  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
    To rely on others, as they, the same way as we, are expected to collaborate and help others and care about them

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    In a public way, as much as possible. As it will boost motivation

  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    On the smallest possible setting

  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    Disagreement doesn’t require feedback and should probably be discussed publicly

  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    Negative feedback is aimed to help, we want the receiver to improve on actionable things. Negativity on the other hand is not actionable nor aimed to improve

  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    In a public channel publicly, transparently and respectfully

  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    In a 1-on-1 call ideally

  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    To someone higher in the management chain

  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    Because we can fix problems easier when they are small

  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    #thanks

  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    It can feel akward if it is a small thing. It should be done sincerely and summarize why it is important to recognize their effort

  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.
    Focus on the work done and not the person. Provide an example. Consider the gain, cost and purpose of the feedback

  12. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    Yes. Because they can make mistakes too and it is part of our job secure the global goals

  13. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    No, we should help them see we are heading in the wrong direction is we consider so

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    Because that is how we can communicate better and prevent conflicts just because we are from different cultures

  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    We have Fika, HIIT, Yoga meetings and more

  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    If you need to name the position of someone to prove a point, then there is likely little value on the point. It should be able to prove itself regardless of who made it

  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    When in disagreement, we assume they are doing their best and respect their expertise regardless of what we might perceive as mistakes

  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    A straw man is the weakest version of an argument, and a steel man the strongest, even if they are not what the proposer mean

  6. When should you use the steel man?
    When arguments are presented in good faith

  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    It shows strength in recognizing you were wrong and improvement, not only for yourself, but for others as well

  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    We mean that you have to search the best answer with the help from others, that is likely a better approach than putting your ego over the group and trying to defend a point just for the sake of it

  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    We should investigate mistakes without focusing on the person or team that fell into it. We should focus on the root cause

  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    We mean that there are no toes to be step over, a trend that newcomers tend to avoid making them keep things for themselves. As companies grow their speed lowers and having a new vision and the confidence to speak up what they see is beneficial

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    Collaboration invites anyone interested in participating that they do so but that they are not required, but consensus looks to align everyone before moving forward with a decision

  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
    No, it is better to not wait until we get their feedback

  3. What is permissionless innovation?
    Anyone that is interested can contribute if they believe in doing so

  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    We want people to have merits on their results and not on their connections with others

1 Like

Introduction

  1. Why do we need to collaborate?
    Not much can be accomplished alone, but on a team we can build great things.

  2. What are you expected to do if you need help and advise?
    Ask for it.

Feedback

  1. How do we give positive feedback?
    In a public setting, e.g. in the #thanks channel

  2. How do we give negative feedback?
    As discreetly as possible, ideally 1-1

  3. What’s the difference between negative feedback and disagreement?
    Disagreement isn’t direct feedback - it is a difference of opinion over something.

  4. What’s the difference between negative feedback and negativity?
    Feedback is aimed at improving the recipient, and is actionable. Negativity is not.

  5. Where should disagreements be discussed?
    In a public channel.

  6. Where should negative feedback be discussed?
    In a small setting, ideally 1-1

  7. Who can you give negative feedback to in a group setting?
    To someone higher up in the management chain.

  8. Why is it important to provide feedback as fast as possible?
    So that problems can be solved while they are small, before they can have a large negative impact.

  9. What channel in slack can you use to praise someone?
    #thanks

  10. What should you think about when praising someone?
    You should think about what you’re praising them for, be confident that it will be well received and deliver it sincerely.

  11. How can you give feedback effectively? Write some important ingredients.

  • focus on the business impact and not on the person;
  • consider also what’s going on in the person’s life;
  • consider that negative feedback is 6-times more strongly received than positive;
  • if the error is inconsequential, consider keeping the feedback to yourself;
  1. Is it ok to give feedback to the manager?
    Yes, it is expected.

  2. Is it ok to let the manager drive us off a cliff?
    Absolutely not. Speak up if it seems they are doing that.

Working Together

  1. Why is it important to get to know each other informally?
    It is easier to prevent conflicts if you know the person behind the text.

  2. What do we do at Moralis to make the informal meetings possible?
    Meetups, culture of reaching across departments.

  3. What do we mean by “don’t pull rank”?
    Don’t use your rank in the heirarchy to push your point of view or diminish someone else’s - let your view ride on its own merit.

  4. What do we mean when we “Assume Positive Intent”? In what situations do we do that?
    Don’t assume that the person is trying to be a nuisance or disagreeable. They are trying to do good or raise a point that they view as important.

  5. What is a straw man and what is a steel man?
    A straw-man represents the weakest part of the opponent’s argument - easiest to defeat.

  6. When should you use the steel man?
    When rebuking a position, argue against the most effective version of the opponent’s argument. It gives them the most respect and allows the most fruitful dialog.

  7. What can you say about “saying sorry” at Moralis?
    If you’ve made a mistake, you should apologize publicly as soon as possible.

  8. What do we mean by “no ego”?
    Don’t argue to defend a point, but to find truth. No attachment to our own point of view in light of a better one.

  9. What do we mean by “blameless problem solving”?
    Solve problems at the root, and not by punishing or blaming the individual who surfaced the problem.

  10. What do we mean by “short toes”?
    Let others step into your domain without making them feel as if they have to tread lightly to avoid offending you.

Collaboration

  1. What is the difference between collaboration and consensus?
    You don’t require consensus to proceed, so long as you are working transparently.

  2. Are you expected to ask peoples opinions always?
    No, but be open to contribution from someone else.

  3. What is permissionless innovation?
    You don’t need to involve people, but everyone can contribute.

  4. What can you say about politics at Moralis?
    We don’t play politics. Ideas are weighted on merit, and not based on who proposed them.

1 Like
  1. If you want to go far, you need to go together :slight_smile:
  2. Cooperate, ask questions, do research etc.
  3. Public and private.
  4. Private (1-2-1 etc).
  5. Negative feedback - something that you can improve (or a situation), disagreement - a difference of opinions.
  6. Negative feedback - something that you can improve (or a situation), negativity - only focusing on the bad parts, blaming etc, not coming to any positive outcome or alignment.
    7&8. Private.
  7. To the specific person, in private, by anyone.
  8. To avoid misalignments, communication issues or problems.
  9. The thanks channel.
  10. Why that person does a public recognition, how they helped you etc
  11. Stick to the facts, situations, don’t use posh words or sentences, be kind and helpful, listen to the other person’s thoughts.
  12. Yes.
  13. No.
    14 Working Together: To create stronger bonds and connect as humans and colleagues.
  14. No ego culture and we try to speak up whenever we need help or need to sync about a topic.
  15. Don’t try to use your title or someone else’s title, in order to push forward a decision.
  16. When trying to provide feedback or give a suggestion, we need to assume that we are trying to help each other and come with good ways of working and have the best intent when doing so.
  17. A steel man - A “steel” position is basically against the absolute most effective version of your opponent’s position, while a straw man - is when people disagree, what usually happens is that sometimes they argue against the weakest points of an argument, or an imaginary argument, instead of focusing on the end goal.
  18. The steel man should be used when one of your colleague feels you’ve represented their position well during a discussion, even if they still disagree with your assumptions or conclusion.
  19. Saying sorry shows strength and courage and the willingness to do better in the future and to also treat people nice (if you messed up and been disrespectful with someone).
  20. You don’t need to defend a point to win an argument until the end of the world, but what you do need to do is to search for the right answer to help others and yourself.
  21. It’s about investigate the mistake in a situational way, focusing on fixing and mitigating the issue, instead of blaming the issue on someone.
  22. We need to feel comfortable and embrace other people’s opinions who want to contribute and improve our domain, even from DAY 1 :smiley: (see the pun here hehe)
  23. Collaboration is not consensus.You don’t have to wait for people to provide input for a situation , if you did ask them.
  24. No.
  25. You don’t need to involve everyone, but everyone can contribute.
    27.We don’t want to have political games at Moralis. Proposals should be valued based on their outcome and effectiveness, not because of who proposed what solution.
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