Pillar 5 - Credit Sharing

Cre·dit-Shar·ing / kredit-sheər'ing /– Gerund: The act of generously praising partner efforts, or raising awareness regarding favorable project outcomes.

Credit Sharing is the fifth of seven pillars in our Methodology for Compassionate Work. In a nutshell, the pillars are: vision, special skills, non-duplication, partnership, credit sharing, feedback and staying power.

Credit Sharing is a key pillar of the Seven Pillar Methodology for Social Entrepreneurship. In a nutshell, the pillars are: vision, special skills, nonduplication,partnership, credit sharing, feedback and staying power.

Credit Sharing is an act of graciously giving recognition, rather than withholding it for oneself, and it makes good common sense. E mployees, partners, and congregations appreciate being noticed and given the chance to shine. It boosts morale, helps build team cohesion, and can spark passion in the way no other reward can do. One question to ponder is how you might build credit sharing into your daily life, and into the "DNA" of your projects, from their very outset.

Teachable Examples

Here are three teachable examples, all organizations that name projects in a way that allows for credit sharing with partners. You may highlight one or all of these, or choose an alternative from our spreadsheet [PDF]:

  • Former U.S. President and First Lady James Earl "Jimmy" and Rosalynn Carter co-founded The Carter Center. There at the Center, they are very intentional with their program names, such as "Global 2000," so any organization involved can easily say assume credit for their local project.
  • Rosanne Haggerty's organization Common Ground, likewise, named a national campaign, simply, 100,000 homes. Doing so, they built credit sharing into the project from the outset.
  • We at The Elfenworks Foundation are intentional about the naming of our project, to allow for the sharing of credit. For example, we have a project entitled "The Butterfly Project".

See the book, entitled Intelligence & Compassion in Action; The Seven Pillars for Social Entrepreneurs for additional details on this pillar, including teachable questions.

About This Page

NOTE: This is a sub-page with details of one portion of the "Seven Pillars" methodology we use and teach. It is not meant as a standalone.