Congratulations. If you are reading this, the National Federation of the Blind has called on you to serve in a leadership position. If you are anything like me, the Federation has believed in you more than you have believed in yourself, and the spirit and mission of our organization—especially the difference it makes in your own life—has motivated you to want to be in the leadership. My own experience also tells me that you are probably wondering how you will manage what you do not yet know and how it appears to be so natural to long-time leaders of our movement. I understand that uneasiness. I remember that feeling, and there was no written guide for local leaders at the time. It is our hope that through this guide we can make the pathway for the next generation of leadership in our organization slightly easier to navigate.
While this guide is written with elected leaders in mind, I wish to caution you that election to office is not the only indication of leadership in our organization. In fact, many of our leaders are not elected to office but they serve in capacities that support our elected leadership. Furthermore, the job of every elected leader of this organization is to plan for the leader that will take their place and that means supporting a new leader when we leave office. Thus, when we talk about the "leadership" of the Federation, you should understand that we speak of the committed core of individuals who coordinate to build the National Federation of the Blind.
Let me start with the good news, I believe you have the capacity to acquire the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to be an effective leader within our movement, and I pledge my support and time to assist you in that journey. For that matter, there are dozens of other Federationists who you can call on for support—a strong value of leadership in our movement is passing the knowledge forward to others.
Next let me share the news that may disappoint you; this guide will not answer all of your questions about being an effective leader in the most dynamic civil rights membership organization of the blind in history. Notice above I emphasize that you will need "skills, knowledge, and experience"? In fact, I think experience is the most powerful tool you have in your training as a leader in our movement.
Understanding the structures we have, the terms we use, the culture of the organization, and the procedures we prefer will all help you. However, we are a dynamic peoples’ movement operating in a society that continues to change, and experience will be your best guide. That experience will include building a network of friends in the National Federation of the Blind who can support you and share their talents with you. You should know that nothing in this organization happens because of one person; it requires a team. By the way, if this journey was easy we would already have all the leaders we need, but we have never had enough people in the leadership of the Federation.
Now that I have shattered your expectations for this guide, let me raise your expectations by reassuring you that if you apply your heart and mind to being part of the leadership of this organization, you will open yourself to great friendships, unimagined experiences, and fulfilling work that will change the world. Being part of the leadership of this organization is an experience I would not trade for anything. It has made me a better person—strengthening my heart, mind, and character—and it has also challenged me to struggle through a number of situations I would have never anticipated. In those situations, I have relied on other leaders of the Federation for perspective and wisdom. Sometimes other leaders have relied on me. Sometimes the decision to be made was mine and other times my role was to advise a leader. In each instance, I have tried to do what is best for the organization even if it was difficult for me personally.
Before you get into this guide, I would invite you to ask yourself why you want to be a leader of the National Federation of the Blind. I would also challenge you to ask yourself whether you are prepared to change and grow in your leadership journey. If, first and foremost, you are prepared to do this for the advancement of our movement, and if you are prepared to be a better person through this journey, then you are as ready as you can be to join with me in making our dreams come true.
Let me say that there is not a formula to being a leader in this movement. I was highly motivated to begin contributing to this movement as soon as I found it in 1996 because I so desperately needed what the Federation offered in my life. Yet, I have observed outstanding leaders who emerged after a long time in the background or at a critical moment when a new leader was required. Whether you were elected to a local office after just a couple months as a member of the organization, as I was when I helped organize a student division in Wisconsin, or if your decision to get into the leadership came after many years or decades of just being a member, what is important is that you have made the decision to join with us in leading the National Federation of the Blind.
Finally, as President of this organization, I expect to hear from you about this guide. What was helpful, what was missing, and what other tools or training would make a difference? Leaders of the organization are expected to help steer the organization, and information sharing is critical. I anticipate that you will come up with things that will make the leadership development program of the Federation stronger. Furthermore, I need your help in making my leadership more effective.
Your continued support, feedback, and information sharing with me are critical in helping me fulfill my responsibilities for our great organization. Thank you for being there for me and the thousands of other members of our movement. We will likely never know about the hundreds of little things you do to improve the lives of blind people, but you should know that we appreciate them as they fill our hearts along with the hundreds of things we have had the opportunity to contribute that have gone unnoticed. Keep in mind the promise we make to each other every day in this movement: Together with love, hope, and determination, we transform dreams into reality.
Let's go build the Federation,
Mark A. Riccobono, President
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314
[email protected]
Twitter: @Riccobono