Lead Steward for Unlock DAO (adapted proposal from Jan 2024)

Proposal Background

*This is an adaptation to the previous proposal, which can be found in the same discussion thread.

A Lead Steward acts as a key coordinator and facilitator within a DAO, bridging various internal and external elements of the organization. Internally, they oversee the coordination of projects and initiatives, ensuring that they align with the DAO's overall strategy and goals. They facilitate communication and collaboration across different teams and community members, helping streamline decision-making processes and enhance operational efficiency.

Externally, the Lead Steward represents the DAO in public forums, industry conferences, and in negotiations with potential partners. This visibility helps in building relationships and expanding the DAO's network, which is crucial for its growth and success. They also play a significant role in public relations, shaping the DAO’s external image and managing its brand perception.

As an active member of the Unlock DAO community for over eight months now, several observations have led me to conclude that having a DAO representative would benefit the DAO in more than one way. In a nutshell, the role of a Lead Steward in Unlock Protocol is vital for ensuring that the organization remains focused, effective, and dynamic in its pursuit of providing decentralized access control solutions. This leadership role not only helps in managing day-to-day operations but also in shaping the future direction of the DAO.

In the following paragraphs, I created a much more focused scope for the Lead Steward Role and hope to see some discussion around it:

Role Description

The role of Lead Steward should have two perspectives and two types of fulfillment: one for the outside world and one for the inside world of Unlock Protocol DAO. The following clarifies further:

Outside Focus - The Role of an Official Representative

• Representation and Visibility: Benefit: The DAO Lead Steward acts as the face of Unlock Protocol DAO, representing it in public forums, industry conferences, and negotiations. This visibility ensures that the DAO has a consistent and professional presence, which can attract partners, investors, and new community members. Currently, the only people associated with the protocol are the team from Unlock Labs, which doesn’t create any awareness around the DAO who is supposed to run the protocol eventually.
• Liaison for Partnerships and Collaborations: Benefit: By having an official representative, the DAO can facilitate smoother communications and negotiations with other organizations and projects. The Lead Steward can work on supporting the Unlock Protocol team with further establishing partnerships that align with the DAO's objectives, enhancing growth and opportunities.
• Public Relations and Media Engagement: Benefit: The Lead Steward can manage interactions with the media, presenting a unified and strategic message. This role can help shape public perception and effectively manage the DAO's brand image, which, as mentioned before, not many people are currently aware of.

Inside Focus - Enhancing Internal Operations and Governance

• Coordination and Strategy Alignment: Benefit: Internally, the Lead Steward ensures that various initiatives within the DAO are well-coordinated and align with the overarching strategy. This role facilitates communication between different teams and workstreams, helping maintain focus and efficiency.
• Governance and Decision-Making Support: Benefit: The Lead Steward plays a critical role in governance, helping to streamline decision-making processes and ensuring that these processes are transparent and inclusive. They can guide discussions, moderate debates, and ensure that all voices within the DAO are heard, leading to more democratic and effective outcomes.
• Mentoring and Community Development: Benefit: Internally, the Lead Steward can also mentor newer members and teams, providing guidance and support. This role enhances community engagement and fosters a supportive, inclusive culture within the DAO. At the same time, DAO documentation helps facilitate a more seamless onboarding experience.

Qualification

As the Lead Steward, some qualification criteria that are important to fulfill this role should be in place. I bring the following skills, and these should be mandatory. That is not to say I can’t or won’t improve. Life is a continuous learning journey, and this role is no exception.

• Leadership experience, ideally from working/ leading in a DAO or similar decentralized or blockchain-based organization. Experience in leading teams, coordinating projects, and guiding strategic initiatives is crucial.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills will act as the bridge between internal teams and external parties. The ability to articulate ideas clearly, negotiate with stakeholders, and mediate discussions will be vital. Interpersonal skills will also help build relationships and foster a collaborative environment.
• A decent understanding of blockchain and decentralized governance will ensure that informed decisions are being made. It will also allow for discussions with a wider scope.
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving ability to align various initiatives with the DAO's long-term goals. Problem-solving skills are also crucial, as the Lead Steward will need to address challenges that arise within the DAO and in interactions with external entities.
• Commitment to the DAO’s Values and Vision: It’s important that the Lead Steward deeply shares the Unlock Protocol DAO's values and vision. This alignment ensures that the steward will act in the community's best interest and uphold the principles that guide the DAO’s development.

Responsibilities

While the scope could always be bigger, I suggest the following key tasks for now to move forward in our collective goal to make Unlock Protocol more known:

• I will continue hosting or co-hosting our weekly DAO calls and Town Halls to keep the community informed and involved in DAO activities.
• I will keep contributing to the DAO docs with the implementation support of another member of the DAO. The docs are extremely important to ensure a more seamless onboarding experience and ensure more DAO members will join us.
• Whenever an opportunity arises, I will facilitate communication channels between the Unlock Protocol team, the DAO, and external stakeholders, such as partners, investors, and community leaders.
• I will regularly meet and chat with various DAO members to ensure alignment and discuss ongoing projects, proposals, issues and other concerns related to Unlock DAO.
• I will engage with the community through our various channels (Twitter, Discord, Farcaster, and other social platforms) to gather feedback, answer questions, and foster a collaborative environment.
• I will keep developing further proposals and execute them (if voted through successfully) to initiate long-term marketing initiatives to elevate Unlock Protocol.
• I will keep developing further proposals and executing them (if they are voted through successfully) to provide a cleaner structure for the DAO as a respectable organization.

KPIs to Measure Success

The main KPIs I would like to suggest would also be part of my quarterly report:

• DAO Call Documentation: The DAO Call documentation will help to witness that the weekly calls have been hosted and made accessible for all DAO members.
• Partnership Development: I will track the number of new strategic partnerships and collaborations established with my support as the Lead Steward, and their impact/ quality.
• Visibility and Representation: I will deliver evidence concerning industry conferences, public forums, and negotiations where I have been representing Unlock DAO in my capacity and track the number and reach of media interactions that effectively communicate the DAO’s message.
• Social Media Engagement: With the support of Unlock Inc. we can use the DUNE Dashboard and Social Media channel metrics to verify the new following and rise in engagement with Unlock Protocol and its platforms.
• Proposal Success Rate: Track the number of proposals the Lead Steward initiates, and the percentage successfully passed and implemented within a quarter.
• Impact of Implemented Proposals: Assess the tangible outcomes and benefits derived from these proposals in terms of DAO objectives.
• Operational Improvements: Document instances where internal processes have been improved, leading to more efficient operations or wider participation.
• Resource Utilization: Evaluate how effectively resources (both human and financial) are allocated and used under the stewardship guidance.
• Outreach Initiatives: Number of strategic outreach initiatives taken to enhance DAO’s presence and influence in the blockchain ecosystem.

Rewards & Recognition

Payment: As per the discussion I am adjusting this part of the proposal as follows: I am receiving 100 UDT/ month by the DAO after every month that I am staying in this position. At the same time, I will receive 4.000 USDC/ month from Unlock Labs, which will subsidize this position for the moment. I will receive both at the end of a month to this wallet: 0xD2BC5cb641aE6f7A880c3dD5Aee0450b5210BE23

Recognition: As the Lead Steward represents the DAO, it should come with an official role recognition. The following ideas came to mind, and I would love to see them through for other roles in the future as well. These little things should also help to bring more awareness to the fact that we are a DAO:

• An official post from the official Unlock Protocol social media accounts to welcome the new Lead Steward for the DAO
• A membership NFT that will expire after I get voted out of this role or we collapse the Lead Steward role into a dedicated council role.
• An interview via the Livestream series for Unlock Protocol.