Humbly kind 🧸

Be empathetic, support, teach. Everyone makes mistakes. Accepting flaws with kindness leads to unity and trust.

What this means in practice

Psychological safety: Team members feel safe to ask questions, admit mistakes, and propose new ideas without fear of judgment. This is especially important when working with sensitive bee colony data where errors can impact real livelihoods.

Constructive feedback: When giving feedback, focus on behavior and outcomes rather than personal characteristics. Help others grow by pointing out both what they're doing well and how they can improve.

Learning from failure: When someone makes a mistake, the first question is "what can we learn?" not "who's to blame?" This creates an environment where people take calculated risks and innovate.

Cultural humility: Recognize that beekeeping practices vary widely across cultures and regions. What works in one context might not work in another, and local expertise often trumps theoretical knowledge.

Behavioral expectations

• Listen first: Seek to understand before seeking to be understood, especially when working with beekeepers who have decades of hands-on experience
• Amplify quiet voices: Notice when someone hasn't spoken up in meetings and actively invite their perspective
• Admit when you're wrong: Model vulnerability by acknowledging your mistakes and what you learned from them
• Support during stress: When deadlines are tight or systems are down, increase your support of teammates rather than adding pressure
• Teach without condescension: Share knowledge in ways that respect the learner's existing expertise

Examples in action

• A beekeeper reports that our recommendations didn't work → we investigate with curiosity rather than defensiveness, often discovering important local factors
• New team member asks basic questions → experienced members take time to explain context without making them feel inadequate
• Deployment causes production issues → team focuses on fixing the problem and improving processes rather than finding who to blame
• Code review includes both appreciation for good work and gentle suggestions for improvement

Conflict resolution

• Address issues early: Don't let small irritations grow into big problems
• Separate people from problems: Attack the issue, not the person
• Find common ground: Start with shared goals and values before addressing differences
• Apologize when appropriate: Take responsibility for your part in misunderstandings

As opposed to

Do not work with assholes Do not hurt Do not be silent