"Only in community can we discover the best course of action, claim our power, and act in unity."

-Margo Adair and Sharon Howell

 

Focus Group Summary

 

Two focus groups were held prior to the start of the project - young leaders and mentors. Each group was asked about leadership, how to develop leadership skills, challenges to leadership, creating systems change, and mentoring. Below you will find some of the themes identified by the focus group participants.

Young Leaders

Understanding "leadership"

      • One can be a leader in various settings
      • One can be a leader and not acknowledge it
      • Different forms of leadership (leading as a listener, leading based on strengths, leading as part of a team)

 

Understanding "effective leader"

      • Need a variety of skills and attributes
      • Must have passion, positive sense of identity, confidence, and ability to take risks
      • Have an understanding of issues outside of self
      • Becoming an effective leader takes time
      • Need to know how to address an issue
      • Need to know what people to contact and involve

 

What training is needed to develop leadership

      • How to advocate
      • How to work with various people
      • Systems change

 

Supports needed to develop leadership

      • Supportive environment
      • Positive social support
      • Necessary accommodations to fully participate

 

Challenges leaders should expect

      • Social stigmas
      • Geographic issues
      • Social and physical disconnections from efforts
      • hierarchy within the disability community
      • Limited availability
      • Time management issues and needs
      • Limited public awareness of the issues

 

What it takes to create systems change

      • Training on systems change is complex
      • Educate on existing change efforts
      • Need collaboration with allies
      • Need to be focused
      • Need to be backed by funding
      • Need ongoing advocacy efforts
      • Need results and numbers to support efforts
      • Need a long-term vision

 

Understanding "effective mentoring"

      • Mentors are needed more when just starting out
      • Peer mentoring can be very helpful
      • Qualities of a good mentor include being supportive, linking you to resources and opportunities, having patience, and knowing how to work with others
      • Need mentors with and without disabilities

 

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Mentors

Understanding "leadership"

          • Leadership comes in different forms and styles
          • Leadership specifically for the disability movement
          • Building a sense of community is key
          • Leadership for people with disabilities begins with self-advocacy

 

Understanding "effective leader"

      • Knows how to act in certain situations
      • Leads others down a path of discovery
      • Motivates and makes room for others to act
      • Willing to do the work that's needed
      • Ability to connect with an audience
      • Effective leader in disability community must maintain a positive identity with the disability community and have passion for the work

 

What training is needed to develop leadership

        • Train people with disabilities like anyone else
        • Allow for self-discovery
        • Individualize trainings
        • Take an action learning approach
        • Link leaders to the disability community
        • Train particular content of the disability movement (oppression, disability experience, history)
        • Train on the important of coalition building
        • Train that systems change is incremental

 

Supports needed to develop leadership

      • Social support
      • Emphasize hope and opportunity

 

Challenges leaders should expect

      • Increased inequality due to having a disability
      • Feeling burnout
      • Beware of taking on too much
      • Understand despair and oppression

 

What it takes to create systems change

      • Systems change is incremental
      • Change is slow so celebrate small wins
      • Coalitions are key to systems change
      • Systems change takes many approaches

 

Understanding "effective mentoring"

      • Need to know what the mentoring is really about
      • One-on-one mentoring is important
      • Set an example of what is possible
      • Mentors can do many things for mentees (encourage involvement in new challenges, help them understand the importance of focus and balance, support them and work to build their confidence, instill a passion for the movement, help them become more self-aware, help them develop a resource network)
      • Two approaches to mentoring (bring them along with you, share stories, and make a little plan of action to do it together; and lead from behind the scenes
      • Assigning mentors to mentees does not work
      • Practice network idea

     

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