by Stephen Speicher
(Excerpted from a February 14, 2004 post to the ACB-Leadership list, with a P.S. for “Braille Forum” readers)
Yesterday I spoke with Chris, M.J., Paul and with several others to let them know that I had decided to resign from the position of ACB’s first vice president. I’m writing now to let you know why I reached this decision. Please feel free to share this post with any ACB member you wish.
A French writer once said that the heart has reasons which reason knows nothing about. Yesterday when I told my wife of 25 years that I would not be with her for Valentine’s Day, when I walked out the door to the waiting cab and started for the airport to go to the midyear meeting in Birmingham, I felt something was wrong, and not just about being away from Kate on Valentine’s Day. Finally, my reasons of the heart started speaking so loudly that even I could hear them. I listened as we reached the airport, as I checked in, as I went to the gate. By the time security arrived to open it, I knew I would not be going to Birmingham that day after all.
And then there are the reasons of the head, with which the heart sometimes has little patience. Working together, here’s what my heart and head pointed out to me yesterday morning.
1. The working relationship between Chris and me is not producing good things for ACB. Since fairly early in his first term, Chris has less and less frequently talked with me about pending issues or decisions. A president has, of course, the right and prerogative to choose the members of his working team. Chris seems to have decided that I am not on that team. I do not pretend to know his motives or reasons; he has not discussed them with me. But I can witness the effects of his decision, which is to leave me more and more frequently with the following choice: rubber stamp a decision made by the president without full knowledge of the background or circumstances, or voice public opposition to the president’s publicly announced position. In the first case, there is no point in my being present. I might as well give Chris a signed, blank proxy and save the travel expense. In the latter case, it’s all too easy for anything I say, regardless of its merit, to be painted as either bad manners or sour grapes. Any skill I have in planning, looking ahead to foresee and avoid possible problems, gathering points of view and building consensus, helping disputing parties focus on substance rather than personalities — this skill is not sought and is very difficult to bring to bear at any time before positions have already become entrenched. If it is at all useful to talk about fault, which I doubt, let’s say that all the fault lies with me. Still, under current circumstances, I find it nearly impossible to deliver value for the votes of those who elected me. Another person might, as some have, build a better working relationship with Chris.
2. There are things which need to be said and which I can say more freely while not serving as an officer of ACB. There is a difference between loyalty and obedience. I do not believe I was elected in order to be obedient, nor would I have asked to be elected for that purpose. My loyalty runs not to any person or governing structure in ACB, but rather to the organization as a whole and to its potential for carrying out the mission stated in its constitution. Some might say that this disqualifies me from serving on the board in any capacity. But the whole loyalty issue just diverts us from what we need to be doing just now, which is learning from our past (including the recent past) and applying that knowledge to improve our present and plan for a more effective and pride-worthy future.
3. Since the early 1990s, planning for ACB’s future has been one of my main interests. But look at the board’s decisions, or inaction, over the last several years in the areas of personnel management, financial management, affiliate health and development, leadership training, membership development, support and training of national staff, presence or absence of priorities for the national office, development of a proactive advocacy strategy, formation of alliances with other organizations and other areas — look at the record and then persuade me that preparation for ACB’s future is high on a majority of board members’ personal agendas. It may be just a failure of perception on my part, but I don’t see it. If Chris has a plan for moving us to a more positive, productive future, I don’t know what it is; and I can’t seem to figure it out by looking at the agendas for board meetings over the past several years.
4. When I left the ACB board four and a half years ago, it was to find a way to be more positive about my relationship with the ACB leadership and about ACB in general. I leave the board now with the same intention. As proof of my good faith on this point, I offer you, ACB’s leaders, the following plan for your consideration. The goal is to bring ACB to a more positive, productive, effective, inclusive, collegial and enthusiastic future. The plan for taking the first step has three parts: First, use the upcoming convention and the time between then and now to identify the best possible board we can put together, then elect the people necessary to have that board be in office. Second, give that board clear instruction about what we want for ACB's future, not just by resolutions passed on particular topics, but in every way we can think of that makes sense. Third, revise existing policies or establish new ones to ensure that the work of the board — all the work of the board — will be accessible to review and examination by any member and to ensure that any member who wishes to know can easily find out the position of any board member on any motion passed or defeated by the board.
If we want good things to happen in ACB, I believe that as many voters as possible need to work harder to select the best available candidates, to tell those elected what we want, and to hold them accountable for their response to those instructions. Just as the convention is the ultimate authority in ACB, so we, the voters, are ultimately responsible for whether our leaders take us where we want to go. We have to choose those leaders well, give them clear direction and hold them accountable when they stray from acting in our best interests. Only if we take these responsibilities seriously do we have much chance of arriving in the future we want. I have chosen to take my responsibilities in these areas more seriously, and I have concluded that at the present time I can best pursue these goals by leaving the ACB board. I hope that those who elected me will feel that, in making this decision, I am still pursuing a significant part of the mission they had in mind for me. I look forward to working with any of you or your members who find some value in the plan I propose. I hope we can improve on my plan and make the improved plan work for ACB.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for caring about ACB.
P.S. I think of this decision not as “stepping down” but as “stepping across.” I hope our president and a majority of the board shift their focus and the use of their considerable talents toward more positive and productive goals. If they do, and if they pursue the necessary work with organization and tenacity, I look forward to applauding their successes and cheering them on. The purposes stated in our constitution remain important; our potential for serving those purposes is great. But so is the potential for turmoil, stagnation and decline.
As individuals, as chapters, as affiliates and at the national level we can choose our future. What do you want that future to be? In Birmingham you will be able to discuss this topic with others who care about it. If you can’t join us there, consider sending a message with your delegates.
We face big problems; but we can learn from them and fix them. Be of good cheer; get involved. National leadership needs to hear from you more often.