Code of Conduct

WHY THIS EXISTS

Franklin started the original Junto in 1727 to argue well with people he respected. Ours runs on the same premise. This code exists to protect that room — it's not a legal document, and it's not a list of punishments. It's a plain statement of what we expect of every member, and what every member can expect from us and from each other.

It applies at every Junto gathering — dinner, activity, or social — at every venue, in every format. It applies after the event too, in how members treat each other once a conversation continues outside the room. If you're wearing the Junto name, or you met someone through Junto, this code travels with you.

1. Kindness & Tact — lead with warmth, not wit at someone's expense.
2. Show Up Real — honesty is what makes real connection possible.
3. Give Before You Get — support the people around you from a place of genuine care.
4. Make Room — every voice at the table deserves space.
5. Connection, Not Conversion — Junto is about people, not pitches.
6. Stay Curious — come open to a perspective that isn't yours.
7. Keep Your Word — commitments are what let a room full of strangers trust each other.

1. Kindness & Tact

lead with warmth and respect

• Basic decency, no exceptions. No harassment, no discrimination, no cruelty dressed up as humor. This is the floor, not the ceiling.
• Read the room before you push it. Humor and challenge land differently depending on who's listening — tact is knowing the difference.
• Extend it to everyone in the building. The same warmth applies to venue staff, not just the people you came to see.

2. Show Up Real

honesty over performance

• Come to participate, not to be entertained. Ask questions, listen as much as you speak.
• Be honest about who you are. Use your real name and represent yourself accurately — Junto works because people can trust who's across the table.
• Let that honesty carry past the event. Be the same person in a follow-up message that you were at the table.

3. Give Before You Get

genuine care, not transaction

• Honor the room. What's shared in conversation — especially anything personal — stays with the people who were there, unless someone's clearly said otherwise.
• Take care of your guest. If you bring one, they're your responsibility — brief them on this code before the event, and know that their conduct reflects on you.
• Assume good-faith privacy. Don't record or photograph people without asking first.

4. Make Room

share the stage

• Don't dominate the table. A Junto dinner works because a small group goes deeper than a crowd allows — don't let a quieter voice go unheard.
• Welcome the newcomer. At socials, don't let the night default to people who already know each other. Include whoever's on the edge of the room.
• Make space for disagreement. Stay curious rather than shutting a topic down, and let someone opt out of a subject without pressure to explain why.

5. Connection, Not Conversion

people over pitches

• Mentioning what you do for a living is conversation. Steering the evening toward a sale, a recruit, or a follow request is something else.
• No pitching someone else's room. A member's dinner or a Junto activity isn't the place to promote something without an invitation to do so.
• Ask before you solicit. Genuine interest in someone is welcome. An agenda isn't.

6. Stay Curious

growth mindset

• Sit with a different opinion before you argue with it. Dinner debates are the point — treat disagreement as an opening, not a threat.
• Know your own limits. Many gatherings serve alcohol — drink in a way that keeps you a good conversational partner, not a liability to the table.
• Read consent, not just interest. Expressing interest in someone is normal. Continuing after they've signaled otherwise, verbally or not, is not.

7. Keep Your Word

commitments hold this together

• An RSVP is a commitment. It's a seat someone else could have had — show up, or cancel with enough notice that the seat can go to someone else.
• Follow through for hosts and fellow members. If you say you'll bring something or be somewhere, do it.
• Respect a member-hosted space. Arrive when you said you would, and don't overstay a clear signal that the evening's ending.

• Rooms curated with care, not left to chance.
• A baseline of psychological safety — you won't be mocked, dismissed, or excluded for who you are or what you believe.
• Genuine diversity of background and viewpoint, and room for disagreement even when it's uncomfortable.
• A host paying attention to the room, not just running the clock.
• The same discretion and respect for your privacy that this code asks of you.

The seven principles are about the spirit of the room. These are the hard floor beneath them — they don't flex for venue, gathering type, or how the rest of the evening is going:

• Harassment of any kind — unwanted sexual attention, persistent contact after being asked to stop, or targeting someone with hostility.
• Discrimination and hate speech — slurs, dehumanizing language, or exclusion aimed at someone's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, or age.
• Physical aggression or threats — violence, intimidation, or a credible threat of harm toward another member, host, or venue staff.
• Stalking or unwanted pursuit — using something learned at a gathering to locate, contact, or show up on someone outside of Junto after they haven't invited that contact.
• Non-consensual recording or sharing — photographing, recording, or distributing images of another member without their agreement, especially anything intimate or identifying.
• Tampering with food, drink, or safety — interfering with anyone's food or drink, or otherwise creating physical risk at a gathering.

If a gathering doesn't feel like the room described above — for you or for someone you were with, tell us. This code only means something if members are willing to say when it hasn't been honored. What happens next is a separate matter; the first step is always just telling us.

Reply to any Junto email, write to members@juntoboston.com, or text (978) 91-JUNTO.

Junto is for adults 21 and older. Read our Child Safety Standards.