Eagle Bucks allow our young heroes to hold each other accountable when community standards or individual rights are violated. Roughhouse in the studio and it costs you an Eagle Buck.  Interrupt my “flow” and I can ask you for another Eagle Buck.

Today in a closing discussion, Eagles reflected on “lessons learned” from using Eagle Bucks to encourage high standards of self governance.  Below are some of our Eagle’s  tips if  you want to install a similar system in your business, home or learning community:

1.  Eagle Bucks can be used to defend your rights, but using them will not increase your standing in the learning community. Social standing in a community comes from using your gifts, working hard and being kind – not from enforcing rules. In other words, Eagles Bucks are a way to communicate, not a source of power.
2.  Eagle Bucks help set clear boundaries for community life. Run in the studio, and any Eagle can and should as for an Eagle Buck.   Eagle Bucks also protect an individual’s personal space, but this is a private matter.  If you see someone violating the rights of another, leave it to that Eagle to solve the problem ( unless bullying or coercion are involved.)
3.  If you are younger or new to the group, asking someone older and more established for an Eagle Buck probably isn’t a good idea. Let someone with more social status draw the line,  especially if it’s a trivial misstep. Unless, of course, the violation is serious and clear cut. Then calling out an Eagle with more status will elevate you for having the courage to “speak truth to power.”
4.  If you want to stop a slide in studio behavior, convince several people to agree to tighten up the standards and announce it as a group to the studio. This way, asking for Eagle Bucks will be seen as helping the Tribe rather than a petty act.
5.  You don’t need Eagle Bucks for close friends. If you ask a close friend to stop bothering you, he or she will respect you enough to listen.   A real friend will ask you for an Eagle Buck to improve your behavior, but only if you give them explicit  permission to do so.   You should see a friend asking for an Eagle Buck as an act of kindness, if you want to be held to high standards.
6.  Eagles Bucks do not work well for revenge or solving a serious relational problem. If you find yourself in a tit-for-tat battle or becoming angry, call for a face to face dispute resolution instead of continuing to ask for Eagle Bucks.
7.  If you are an established leader in the studio, you have a special responsibility to use Eagle Bucks to communicate your commitment to high community standards.  If you see a line being crossed – especially by a younger Eagle – you have a duty to ask for an Eagle Buck, using a voice and words that say – “You are better than this.”