LEAGUE at AT&T  

I am very excited about the slate of candidates we have so far for the upcoming elections.  When the nominating period closes in a couple of days, you are going to see a diverse slate of candidates and I personally wouldn’t want it any other way.  We are an organization whose mission revolves around diversity so it’s important that we encourage diversity in our own organization and its leadership.

As you think about and discuss who you will elect to the board of LEAGUE (either by direct election to the board or by electing people to national office), I hope that you’ll think back to some of my earlier blogs on leadership and that you’ll also consider the following questions for each candidate.  This is a long list but I believe that these are important things to consider and discuss with others:

• Does this person embrace the vision and mission of LEAGUE at AT&T? 
• Is this person effective at both verbal and written communications and will this person use those skills to not only share the vision of LEAGUE at AT&T but to persuade others to adopt the vision, embrace new concepts and become a change agent for LEAGUE at AT&T as well?
• Would electing this person contribute to creating a board that is truly diverse in terms of the following?
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Level of management (including non-management &. management)
  • Sexual orientation
  • Length of service with LEAGUE (both locally and nationally)
  • Active employment
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Experience (LEAGUE vs. other LGBT organizations and LEAGUE vs other ERGs)
  • Disability
  • Geography
  • Other factors
• Will this person participate fully in all meetings of the Board (including studying all relevant documents prior to meetings in order to provide input in the decision-making process)?
• Does this person exercise critical thought, discernment, and a questioning attitude?
• Will this person ensure that LEAGUE at AT&T is complying with tax and legal requirements, and using funds efficiently for the organization’s priorities?
• Does this person have the ability to represent and promote LEAGUE at AT&T publicly, as a Board member representing the LGBT community at AT&T?
• Does this person possess diplomatic and strategic political skills, including the capacity to think and work strategically and the ability to negotiate win-win solutions?
• Is this person not only committed to partnering with AT&T to achieve LEAGUE at AT&T’s goals, but someone that you would feel comfortable representing you (and the LGBT employees at AT&T) in a face-to-face meeting with the Chairman of AT&T or other senior level managers?
• Does this person practice contagious optimism while demonstrating persistence in staying focused on their goals?
• Will this person be willing to allow new people to have real responsibility?
• Does this person support other volunteers so they can successfully contribute to the organization’s work by making sure that people volunteering to do the work of LEAGUE understand the responsibilities they have taken on, and that volunteers have what they need (skills training, background knowledge, ongoing coaching) to do their jobs well?
• Will this person mentor and empower others to do the work of LEAGUE at AT&T, ensuring that LEAGUE at AT&T’s mission will live on after all of us are gone?
• Will this person use a network of friends, confidants and mentors to achieve the goals of LEAGUE at AT&T?
• Has this person demonstrated their personal commitment to the vision and mission of LEAGUE at AT&T either through work in the organization or within the LGBT community at large and what have they achieved in this work?
• Is this person currently active as a national or local LEAGUE at AT&T leader and if not, why not?
• Is this a persuasive person who is capable of seeing the big picture, keeping the ball moving forward towards the goal & using creative problem solving techniques to create win-win strategies for accomplishing goals?
• Is this a person who will set examples for us that we will follow every day, consciously or unconsciously?

I know this is a long list, but you deserve to ask these questions not only of people seeking to represent you on the board of LEAGUE at AT&T but of your own local leaders.  I also hope that these questions will spark dialogue that will continue long after these elections are over.