This document communicates in brief what happens in a 6-week “EA Crew”. If you’re going to participate in a crew and you’ve been sent this by the scheduler, we strongly recommend you read it till the end.

🌻 What happens in a crew?

1. The scheduler helps the crew organise a regular 90min time slot to meet each week for 6-7 weeks (see scheduler onboarding doc for advice on scheduling and running crew sessions).
2. Everyone gets to know one another in an intro session (intro template)
3. Everyone gets their week to receive support on a life challenge using the case clinic format (case clinic template). These sessions run with strong norms of:
   • Unconditional compassion
   • “Intereo-curiosity” (curiosity about the how it feels to be together)
4. The crew finishes with a retrospective (retro template)
5. ???
6. Vibes, Belonging, maybe even some Impact 🌈🚀🔅

🎯 Why do this?

• Good Vibes: Sharing and receiving emotional support affords an opportunity for a deeper connection with peers than we generally get at parties, conferences or virtual programs. This is generally a positive, often profound experience for those involved, and is alone often sufficient to make the experience feel worth the investment.
• Sense making: Sharing challenges with an attentive value aligned group can be surprisingly helpful for unsticking / clarifying difficult problems.
• Practice: Most of us don’t get regular opportunities to provide significant emotional support for someone in an ongoing challenge. Many find this exercise good practice for interpersonal relationships/
• Bonding: Bonds formed in crews often develop into high-impact professional and social connections.

❓ F.A.Q

Q: Can I try it to see if it’s for me, rather than committing for a full 6 weeks? A: If after the intro session you decide it’s not for you, you’re welcome to bow out of your crew. One of the organisers will replace your slot or the crew will disband.

Q: What kind of problems do people share with crews?

A: All kinds! Here are some examples:

• Relationship difficulty stemming from misaligned values with a partner
• Feelings of overwhelming upon leaving home to “go do EA in a hub”
• Struggling with status anxiety at conferences
• Upset around difficulty emotionally connecting to long term
• Confusing feelings about the passing of a family member

We’ve noticed people find case clinics helpful for making progress on problems difficult to make sense of from the inside. Problems brought to a case clinic often involve:

• Multiple contingent details that affect the whole
• Challenging emotional content that makes it difficult to grapple with
• People involved with life perspectives the case bringer may not have access to

Q: Does a problem have to be solvable to be worth sharing in a crew?

A: Not at all, the point of a case clinic isn’t to solve problems (although they can), it’s to give a new / broader perspective on an issue by communicating an issue and having it reflected back.

Q: Is a crew a safe space to share details of severe trauma?

A: No. We do not recommend sharing details of severe trauma such as childhood abuse in this format.