By Cyndi Jones, Publisher
A few years ago, I wrote an editorial about a friend of mine who is the model for teaching leadership development. About 18 years ago she believed it was time for her to move from center stage and begin giving away her roles and responsibilities. Whenever anyone showed any interest in any of the tasks she did, she would simply say, "I give you double my spirit to do that task."
Whenever she did this, the person receiving the new responsibility would back up a bit, suddenly feeling the weight of the task he or she had only casually been interested in. They would then begin to grow into the job.
This is a model for mentoring that we need to utilize in the disability rights movement.
The people who are in positions of leadership in the community MUST make way for new leadership. Leadership doesn't just happen, it is developed and grown.
I admit it is hard for me to allow, much less recruit, a new person to take on a task that I have been doing for a while. I know my abilities and the people who can help get a job done. Sometimes it is easier to "just do it myself." But this is not a winning strategy. The amount of advocacy work to be done since the ADA was enacted has expanded exponentially. If we have even a hope of keeping up with the need for advocacy, then we must make room for new leadership.
About the time of that previous editorial, the disability community here in San Diego had made a commitment to developing new leaders. The hardest part for the existing leaders has been resisting the urge to volunteer. Even though all of us had complained about how much work there was to do, we were always the first to volunteer, never stopping to see that others wanted an opportunity to participate. They were not given a chance because we were crowding them out. It is a lot like a playground where the older kids won't let the younger ones play.
Recently, some of us were reflecting on how much had been accomplished this past year. So many things. Big things. The disability community has become a player in local civic affairs. As we take our citizenship seriously, we are beginning to be taken seriously. The people in the city (or county) now know who to call when they need advise or want to discuss disability concerns. It has not been easy to make our way onto the radar screen. It was a concerted effort over a four-year period. And it would have been impossible to accomplish without making room for new leaders.
As 1997 began, Bill Stothers and I were going to go to the demonstration at the Supreme Court on the issue of assisted suicide. Having thought it over, we decided to enable a younger member of the community to go to Washington instead.
I can't tell you how wonderful it feels. It is kind of like the birthing process. There is pain in the letting go, but there is joy in the new life.
Cyndi Jones is Publisher of MAINSTREAM.
Back to the MAINSTREAM Home Page