Purpose
- Describe the main elements of the culture of Ihsan
- Assist in guiding individuals and leaders in asserting the Ihsan culture in events and program
Guidelines
- Accepting without judgment
o Offering safe environment to people from different backgrounds and levels, to be welcomed and not to be judged
o No one has the right to enforce or direct others to dress or behave different than who they are
o Everyone is expected to follow the guidelines established in this manual. Other than that, Ihsan is a welcoming environment for all
o Enforce the policy (operation manual) but not personal opinions
- Transparent
o Everything is shared in a suitable manner to inform the different stakeholders of Ihsan
- Mainstream
o Ihsan is not a cult or a closed group and thus refrain from using prefixes, speeches or other elements that makes Ihsan a foreign culture
- Open to change
- Respect
o Staff, Volunteers and Leaders should all strive to make the right choices by thinking what’s right and matter the most for Ihsan
§ Be responsible
· Avoid the blaming game.
· Practice to admit to your mistakes and face the consequences, this will help earn the respect of those around you.
· Walk the talk – to earn your team’s trust you must do what you tell them to do, and be the example. This will help your team work harder to achieve the goal.
§ Be Calm
· In difficult situations be aware how you act, write your emotions on paper and rip it off, practice deep breathing, and be fair. People tend to remember what you write and how you act when you over react.
· Practice the advise of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: “do not make judgment (make decisions or actions) when you are angry”
o Respect people’s time
§ When you are leading a team, try not to waste your team’s time and clearly communicate what you need from them
- Safe Learning Environment
o We offer a safe environment for people to learn and make mistakes. Those who are in charge should take that into consideration and work patiently to guide volunteers, staff and other leaders to improve through learning from their own mistakes. In other words, we need to allow mistakes to happen, in a safe environment, for our people to truly grow and improve.
o Conflict Resolution
§ When conflict among people arise, we should calmly and wisely address it through:
Actively listening to people’s concerns
Avoid making judgments
Seek common areas of interest and find middle ground
Refer to the Conflict Resolution document for detailed steps