US Local Champs

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US Local Champ(LC) Guidelines and Voting Process

US LC Definition

The following are examples and qualifications that make a US Local Champ. By no means is this a list of checkboxes for someone to complete in order to be considered for US LC, but instead should be seen as guidance to help understand involvement and leadership expectations. US LC’s are amongst the highest regarded editors in the community. Everything below here is an example of a quality that makes up a US Champ but is not only limited to these qualities. In order to become a US Local Champ, you should actively exhibit the below qualities and must be voted on by the US Champ group. While an editor may display many or all of these qualifications, it does not make their promotion automatic. Editors looking to become a US Champ should strive for these examples while also setting themselves apart by making their own path. Collaborating with your leadership is strongly encouraged and is the starting point for consideration.

USA LC Qualifications:

What is a Champ?

  • An exceptional Country Manager who has gone above and beyond in terms of contributing to the map and/or community-at-large
  • Positively engaging in discussions on guidance at the regional and national level.
    • This does not mean they need to write guidance but actively join discussions in Discord/Forum and provide input when needed. They assist leadership to help shape guidance.
  • Prefers to work through collaboration and consensus rather than dictate
  • Keeps up to date on latest features and how they work
  • Excellent attention to detail
  • Well known within the community while also being an active leader. Assists Champs with leadership responsibilities in their region as their RCs see fit (e.g. helping determine promotions, AM requests, etc.)
  • A desire to plan, attend, and present at in-person events like meetups, cafes, or workshops
  • Consistently participating in national level projects as well as taking the lead on projects not only isolated to their region
    • Examples include: Beacons, Toll Prices, Mapraids, Mentoring, new editing guidance, new features, script writing, localization, Wiki editing, VEOC, etc.
  • Consistently mentoring and sharing their extensive knowledge with newer editors
  • A voice of reason and stability within community
    • Willing to hear opinions different than their own
    • Willing to admit when they may be wrong
    • Willing to acknowledge there may be a better option or options
    • Willing to accept that facts or features may have changed since they gained knowledge on a topic
    • Willing to provide sound reasoning and experience in their discussions to not only support their position but to also help provide logic to the outcome of the conversation
  • Mastery of the relevant skills, and an aptitude for the roles and responsibilities the role demands
    • Strong communicator and takes initiative
    • Careful and critical thinker
    • Attentive listener and able to give constructive feedback
  • Branching outside their own region to collaborate with other regions.
    • This should be more than 1-2 regions. An effort should be made to create positive relationships with all regions
    • Champs continually work together as a group on various aspects in the community. Not having a prior relationship with regions can hinder this process. Building these relationships beforehand brings a positive benefit to the group
    • Remember the US in US Local Champ does not stand for one region, but for all regions. “Local” means local to the US, not to the region.
    • Some examples of regional collaboration:
      • Acquiring an AM in another region and actively editing/maintaining the area. This will help gain knowledge on how regions may differ in some aspects of guidance
      • Helping work on URs and PURs when needed
      • Participating in MapRaids and being a group leader
      • Assisting with nationwide campaigns (EVCS, Subway pins, etc.)
      • VEOC (helping enter closures, find closures, shelter information, etc.)
What is not a Champ?
  • Focused solely on editing the map. (this is not an editing role)
  • Acts unprofessionally with community and staff
    • Belligerent, condescending, dismissive, bullying, rude/terse, confrontational, etc
  • Unnecessarily territorial in location or topic/domain, for instance where no one else can touch a certain area or type of thing at all
  • Egregious repeated editing errors or actions that could damage the map or reputation of Waze
  • Prefers or tends to exhibit contention instead of collaboration
  • Shows/has minimal leadership skills or does not display many leadership qualities
US LC Role Expectations:
  • Help develop and effectively communicate national level editing guidance, overall structure of the community and set policy for the benefit and understanding of the community.
  • Serve as liaison between Waze staff and the volunteer community of editors for the entire country
  • Attend monthly virtual meetings with NA Champs and the NA Staff Community Manager
  • Help plan in-person events such as cafes, Local/Regional meetups, and other Waze events
  • Attend annual NA Mega Meetups
  • Take the lead on various staff projects/initiatives that involve WME, Editing Guidance, the Community, nationwide MapRaids, etc.
  • Provide input and feedback for US Champ nominations, US CM discussions, and any other US Champ level leadership discussions brought up by other Champs or Staff members
  • Positively engage in various conversations amongst the Champ group
  • Be respectful, inclusive, cautious, and humble in being a Champ and using Champ influence
  • Represent the US Champ group and engage in a positive manner to the rest of the worlds leadership and communities
  • Be up to date and current with new editing guidance, features within the App and WME Beta
US LC Role General Comments:
  • The LC role is not an award for progress or time committed to the community. Champs are the leaders of the community and as such are subject to the highest standard and conduct of the community. LC’s represent the entire editing community and should that person not reflect what the community is about, they should not be recommended as an LC
  • Not every Editor will become a US Champ, Coordinator, or GC. These roles are granted to volunteers who have shown dedication and go above and beyond for the community
  • The jump from CM to LC is the biggest and most consequential of all promotions we have in this community. Champ is not earned by time served. Some will never get there or will choose not to pursue the role. Others will achieve it early. Champ is about the national community recognizing someone’s commitment, contribution, and reliability
  • Certain individuals stand out and we see they are skilled, level headed, and trustworthy being in a position of leadership that can handle the sometimes undesirable situations that we as leadership encounter
US LC Promotion Steps:
  • Should be a US CM ~12 months.
    • While not a requirement, time spent as a CM should be a strong consideration for potential candidates
  • The candidates’ (A)RC will open up informal discussion amongst the other RCs for informal discussion surrounding the candidate
  • After the informal discussion with the (A)RC group, the nominating RC can choose to continue with the nomination through a formal US Champ Forum Poll

US LC Voting and Promotion Process

After an informal discussion with the (A)RC group, the nominating (A)RC, may decide to proceed with the nomination and create a poll in the US Champ Forum to nominate the candidate

  • The poll title must include the username of the candidate and what the vote is for
    • At its conclusion, the title must be updated to reflect the result
  • The nominator should be the (A)RC from the candidates region
  • The Wazeume of the candidate (or a link to it) should be included in the forum post for the nomination
  • Polls will run for 7 days from the time of the posting
    • The nominating (A)RC may cancel the nomination at any time during the 7 day vote
  • When creating the poll, there should be four voting options:
    • Yes
    • No
    • Abstain
    • Postpone
  • The poll should be set to “public” (upcoming feature in Discuss)
  • Each voting option should be defined in the original post (word for word) to indicate what the vote means and to avoid any misunderstanding of the voting options
  • The following four voting options are defined as such:
    • Yes - this candidate should become a US Champ
      • Example: I have countless great examples of this editor and their leadership abilities
    • No - this person should not be considered for US Champ at this time for the reasons I will include in a comment
      • Example: There are some major issues with this editor that should be worked on before consideration
    • Abstain - I do not have enough information about the candidate to make a decision and will rely on others who know them to decide
      • Example: I have not worked much with this editor and do not know them well enough to give an opinion, however, I trust the rest of the group to decide without my opinion
    • Postpone - This person has the potential to be a US Champ but I don’t feel now is the appropriate time, for reasons to be stated in a comment
      • Example: I might really like what I’ve seen from an editor and don’t want to vote no because I can see where they are going, but if I had the option, I would push the nomination back a bit
  • After voting, it is strongly encouraged that a follow-up comment is made on the post, regardless of your vote. This gives the candidate feedback they can take back and work on, or gives the candidate recognition and shows the support the group has with their nomination
US LC Voting Results:
  • If, after the 7 day period, greater than or equal to ⅔ of the submitted votes (excluding abstain votes) are for “Yes”, the candidate is approved for US Champ and must be notified within 48 hours of the poll ending, unless an agreed upon time is indicated in the original post (i.e. saving to announce during a meetup)
    • Editor will receive promotion to rank 6 and the title of US Local Champ
  • If, after the 7 day period, less than ⅔ of the submitted votes (excluding abstain votes) are for “Yes”, the candidate is not approved for US Champ. Whether the candidate is informed about the poll or not is up to the nominating RC, but should be done so within a relatively timely manner. It is recommended that feedback be given to the candidate on the areas they are lacking with suggestions on improvement.