Hey World Bladers!
It’s been a while! Today, I’m pleased to announce two additions to Fighting Spirits Inc.’s Director team, and thereby, the World Beyblade Organization’s team as well.
Dan and Shindog have recently completed their on-boarding, and have now joined myself and Kei as Directors of Fighting Spirits Inc. Please join us in giving both of them a warm welcome to the team! We’re excited to have them on-board!
We’re sure you have several questions regarding this addition, including some confusion on a “Director”, so without further ado…
Wait, what’s a “Director”?
A great question, and you’re right to be confused! After all, during during our Project AIDA announcement back in 2020, we flattened our Staff structure to only feature one role: Staff. So what exactly is a “Director”?
Our longer-term users will remember that staff roles were previously split between Committee, Contributor, Moderator etc, which we felt undervalued the contributions of our staff, held the Committee on an often unhealthy pedestal at times, and created a hierarchy which did not empower Contributors to make decisions when needed. Thus, we flattened the roles and adopted a new mantra: we are all Staff together, and all Staff can help you.
This change was applied both internally and externally, with our internal structure following the same switch. However, the need for a role to represent organization directors was still required in some areas, thus we implemented the Directors role internally.
Directors are, as the name suggests, the Directors of Fighting Spirits Inc., the not-for-profit organization we also announced in 2020. Directors are also Staff, but have a number of additional responsibilities, such as legal liability and connection to the organization, and therefore have a suitably higher level of authority to steer both the team and organization as required.
That said, Directors really are still Staff. While they do have additional authority as noted above, the expectation is that all Staff are treated and respected equally regardless of their role, and this is the shared view expected of all Directors as well.
What does this mean?
There will not be an obvious change throughout the platform. After all, we try not to call attention to Directors in any way! This might even be the first time we’ve spoken openly and officially about their existence!
However, with the addition of Dan and Shindog as Directors, this provides several immediate benefits internally:
So while the benefits might not be immediately obvious, we’re confident that the above will allow us to enable and support the Staff team in bringing forward impactful projects and improvements that you will notice throughout the coming months and years!
But otherwise, nothing changes! Dan and Shindog have been part of the Staff team for years, and they’ll continue their great work in their respective areas too. If anything, we’re just giving them more power to help the whole team make an even bigger impact.
And as a side note from me: keep reaching out to the staff team like you always have. The new Directors are here to boost the team’s support and efficiency, but it doesn’t mean you should start messaging them specifically to “skip to a Director”. That is not our intention, and we respectfully ask that you stick to your usual contacts and support channels when needed!
And… a note on myself!
Not to steal the spotlight - this is very much about Dan and Shindog! However, I would like to take this opportunity to speak openly regarding my own position within the Staff team.
Since August last year, I have been on an official hiatus from most staff responsibilities while I focused on various life events and stresses that were popping up quickly and rapidly. Truthfully, I probably started an unofficial hiatus even earlier than that, which I’m sure the team can attest to; from January 2023, it is probably fair to say that I was “present”, but not really there at the same time!
This led to the team being short in multiple ways; the team was down to just Kei as a Director, several of our internal divisions lost their “reporting director” (for context, Directors have historically overseen specific divisions and loosely managed their actions and plans), and much of the technical knowledge of our entire platform - including our site and Discord - disappeared with me, hampering certain projects that were in the pipeline.
I have returned to the team this month following this hiatus, fresh faced and ready to get stuck in once more. Much has changed, and there is plenty for me to be getting caught up on (including an exciting announcement which you should see in the very near future!).
That said, while I have the opportunity, I just want to give a huge shout-out to the whole Staff team for persevering and stepping up in my absence! Your hard work and dedication have been amazing and clearly show, and I’m really glad to now see everything you’ve done to keep things running smoothly in that time. Thanks for all of your efforts as always!
And in the same spirit, I want to give a huge thanks and props to our new Directors, Dan and Shindog. Since the beginning of the year, they’ve stepped up to the plate, taking on numerous Director responsibilities either with minimal direction or entirely on their own. Your support from day one (or zero!) has been immensely appreciated, and I’m excited to move forward with our future plans together and work with you on a deeper level!
Thanks all! And please once again join us in welcoming our new Directors to the team!
It’s been a while! Today, I’m pleased to announce two additions to Fighting Spirits Inc.’s Director team, and thereby, the World Beyblade Organization’s team as well.
Dan and Shindog have recently completed their on-boarding, and have now joined myself and Kei as Directors of Fighting Spirits Inc. Please join us in giving both of them a warm welcome to the team! We’re excited to have them on-board!
We’re sure you have several questions regarding this addition, including some confusion on a “Director”, so without further ado…
Wait, what’s a “Director”?
A great question, and you’re right to be confused! After all, during during our Project AIDA announcement back in 2020, we flattened our Staff structure to only feature one role: Staff. So what exactly is a “Director”?
Our longer-term users will remember that staff roles were previously split between Committee, Contributor, Moderator etc, which we felt undervalued the contributions of our staff, held the Committee on an often unhealthy pedestal at times, and created a hierarchy which did not empower Contributors to make decisions when needed. Thus, we flattened the roles and adopted a new mantra: we are all Staff together, and all Staff can help you.
This change was applied both internally and externally, with our internal structure following the same switch. However, the need for a role to represent organization directors was still required in some areas, thus we implemented the Directors role internally.
Directors are, as the name suggests, the Directors of Fighting Spirits Inc., the not-for-profit organization we also announced in 2020. Directors are also Staff, but have a number of additional responsibilities, such as legal liability and connection to the organization, and therefore have a suitably higher level of authority to steer both the team and organization as required.
That said, Directors really are still Staff. While they do have additional authority as noted above, the expectation is that all Staff are treated and respected equally regardless of their role, and this is the shared view expected of all Directors as well.
What does this mean?
There will not be an obvious change throughout the platform. After all, we try not to call attention to Directors in any way! This might even be the first time we’ve spoken openly and officially about their existence!
However, with the addition of Dan and Shindog as Directors, this provides several immediate benefits internally:
- A more appropriately spread workload amongst Directors.
- More combined time available for assisting within the organization.
- Enhanced decision-making capabilities due to diverse perspectives.
- Increased capacity for strategic planning and long-term vision.
- Improved mentorship and support for all staff where needed.
- Greater resilience and continuity in leadership during absences or transitions.
So while the benefits might not be immediately obvious, we’re confident that the above will allow us to enable and support the Staff team in bringing forward impactful projects and improvements that you will notice throughout the coming months and years!
But otherwise, nothing changes! Dan and Shindog have been part of the Staff team for years, and they’ll continue their great work in their respective areas too. If anything, we’re just giving them more power to help the whole team make an even bigger impact.
And as a side note from me: keep reaching out to the staff team like you always have. The new Directors are here to boost the team’s support and efficiency, but it doesn’t mean you should start messaging them specifically to “skip to a Director”. That is not our intention, and we respectfully ask that you stick to your usual contacts and support channels when needed!
And… a note on myself!
Not to steal the spotlight - this is very much about Dan and Shindog! However, I would like to take this opportunity to speak openly regarding my own position within the Staff team.
Since August last year, I have been on an official hiatus from most staff responsibilities while I focused on various life events and stresses that were popping up quickly and rapidly. Truthfully, I probably started an unofficial hiatus even earlier than that, which I’m sure the team can attest to; from January 2023, it is probably fair to say that I was “present”, but not really there at the same time!
This led to the team being short in multiple ways; the team was down to just Kei as a Director, several of our internal divisions lost their “reporting director” (for context, Directors have historically overseen specific divisions and loosely managed their actions and plans), and much of the technical knowledge of our entire platform - including our site and Discord - disappeared with me, hampering certain projects that were in the pipeline.
I have returned to the team this month following this hiatus, fresh faced and ready to get stuck in once more. Much has changed, and there is plenty for me to be getting caught up on (including an exciting announcement which you should see in the very near future!).
That said, while I have the opportunity, I just want to give a huge shout-out to the whole Staff team for persevering and stepping up in my absence! Your hard work and dedication have been amazing and clearly show, and I’m really glad to now see everything you’ve done to keep things running smoothly in that time. Thanks for all of your efforts as always!
And in the same spirit, I want to give a huge thanks and props to our new Directors, Dan and Shindog. Since the beginning of the year, they’ve stepped up to the plate, taking on numerous Director responsibilities either with minimal direction or entirely on their own. Your support from day one (or zero!) has been immensely appreciated, and I’m excited to move forward with our future plans together and work with you on a deeper level!
Thanks all! And please once again join us in welcoming our new Directors to the team!
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