QOTW – leader promotion

We do things exclusively via Curators. We both review our current Curators and determine who should be a Deputy Leader in case one of us step down. From there they receive training and are included in Leader-only conversations. Once we think they're ready, or one of us step down, they become a Leader.

We let them know beforehand so they can opt out & are more focused on longevity than their current activity. We also keep in mind their other responsibilities (like Leading other communities) to see if they'd be the best fit or if they'd be strained for time.

I look for a combination of leadership qualities, time spent, work ethic, personality and experience … generally Leaders and Co-Agents are hand picked by myself and or our team based on that criteria after a team member has gone above and beyond for an extended period of time..

Personally I find that those who seek to lead usually don’t make great leaders lol so holding applications can (not always) sort of call forth those who want the title more than the job..

But then I expect leaders and agents to be putting forth the most effort, producing the most and best content and to be strong and experienced independent personalities who know how to engage with others well and keep things interesting.

Many leaders of larger communities somewhat separate themselves from their community and I personally don’t prescribe to this method- leaders should be the most involved and hands on with every aspect of the community…

The best leaders imo lead by example, not by title.

I don't think leader applications to the public are a good idea. Leaders hold more power than curators do, so being well acquainted with the community and how the mod team works is even more important. Imo for a leader position you need someone who is already familiar with how things work, from the perspective of a of that specific community. So we promote people who are already curators.

I only promoted a leader once, before I myself became the agent in my community. I was the most active so I had a pretty good overview of how things were going. I believed we needed one more active leader, so I messaged the agent and we agreed on who to promote. I reached out to the person in private, asked them if they would be interested in the role, which they accepted.

I was promoted to become a Leader the same way.

Now that I'm the agent, if I were to decide to promote a new leader, I would start a conversation with the other leaders to discuss how many leaders we need and who the most ideal candidates are. Then reach out to the mod in private and promote them if they accept.

I usually hold Applications that only our curators can participate in. But outside of the Applications, I also take into the opinions of our staff( if provided with a reasonable argument), how much effort they have been putting in, etc.

I do it after a year of consistent work. I take into how much they help with moderation, events and ideas, and helpother s, stuff like that :].