Road Map to Accreditation
Kate Holly
York ME USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 40 No. 4, August-September 2004, pp. 88-89.
"Working
Together toward La Leche League Leadership" is a flow chart (or
map, if you will) depicting the voyage from being a mother interested
in LLL leadership to becoming a Leader. There are many facets to the
journey of becoming a Leader. From deciding to take this journey to
arriving at the destination of being an accredited La Leche League Leader,
there are various roads to travel. Leader Applicants, though they follow
the same general route to reach their goal, may travel at different
speeds and use different "vehicles" along the way.
The mother begins
with an interest in LLL. She enjoys Series Meetings; she has perhaps
been helped by a Leader; she devours THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING,
NEW BEGINNINGS, and LLLI pamphlets and tear-off sheets; she sees LLL
philosophy in her mothering through breastfeeding experiences. These
facets of LLL bring you and the Group member together to discuss the
member’s interest in LLL leadership.
You and the
Group member will meet to discuss the LLLI Prerequisites to Applying
for Leadership, LLL philosophy, the work of a Leader, and the application
work. The application can begin if the prerequisites have been met and
it has been determined (by discussing each of the LLL 10 philosophy
concepts in depth) that there are no areas of disparity between the
Group member’s philosophy and LLLI philosophy. If you are unclear
about whether these prerequisites have been met, this is the time to
dialogue with a member of the Leader Accreditation Department (LAD).
When you are
comfortable that the prerequisites to applying for LLL leadership have
been met, you will complete a Leader Recommendation form, and the Group
member will submit her Application form and fee. All three items will
be sent to the local Coordinator of Leader Accreditation (CLA) or other
LAD representative. The Group member becomes a Leader Applicant when
the CLA receives these three items and confirms that the mother meets
the prerequisites.
The Leader-Leader
Applicant-LAD triad has been formed. The CLA or an Associate (ACLA)
will write to welcome the mother, congratulating her on her decision
to apply for leadership with LLL. She will send the Request for Personal
History (either within her letter or as a separate page) to the Leader
Applicant and will write to the Leader, congratulating her on the new
Leader Applicant in her Group, offering ideas, and establishing rapport.
During the next
part of this expedition, the Leader Applicant writes her personal history
of breastfeeding and mothering, continues reading LLL books and others
to meet the required reading criteria, may take a series of Communication
Skills Enrichment sessions, completes the Breastfeeding Resource Guide
(or otherwise demonstrates knowledge of the information within it),
and meets with you on a regular basis to discuss the items on pp. 150-152
of the 2003 LEADER'S HANDBOOK. You, in addition to discussing the items
on the checklist with the Leader Applicant, might invite her to planning
meetings and will send feedback regarding the Applicant’s progress
to the LAD representative.
The LAD representative
will dialogue with the mother once she receives all or part of the Applicant’s
personal history. She will ask questions, elaborate, and clarify LLLI
philosophy, may suggest exercises (Listening Exercise or Bias Exercise,
for example) or additional reading. How much dialogue and how many letters
are written varies. (See "Why All These Letters?" LEAVEN,
June-July 1999, p. 56, for further explanation.)
Keeping you
informed, the LAD representative will continue to offer suggestions
and encouragement to help with the Leader Applicant’s preparation
for leadership as the Applicant continues to respond with her thoughts
and reports of her work with you.
At some point,
the LAD representative sends "A Preview of Mothers’ Questions/Problems
and Group Dynamics/Management" (Preview) to the Leader Applicant
and "Leader’s Guide to the Preview" to you. This is a
tool that can be used by the Applicant to get a feel for the kinds of
questions and Group situations Leaders address and gives practice in
using the Leader’s printed LLL resources. When appropriate, you
and the Leader Applicant will do the Preview. When you, the Applicant,
and the LAD representative agree that the Applicant has met all the
accreditation criteria, the LAD representative sends the Statement of
Commitment for the Leader Applicant to sign and return with her accreditation
fee and first year’s Leader dues. The LAD representative will notify
you (and the appropriate Area personnel) and the Statement of Commitment
and fee will go to LLLI.
While there
are definite criteria for accreditation as an LLL Leader, the format
has built-in flexibility. Leader Applicants set the pace, and their
experiences during preparation for leadership are as varied as the mothers
who apply to become Leaders. When the journey is complete, the new Leader
has arrived at her destination—LLL leadership—with the experience,
knowledge, and skills necessary to help mothers as an LLL Leader. An
even more enriching expedition has begun.
Kate Holly
lives in York, Maine USA with her husband, Jim. They have two daughters
and three sons ranging in age from 15 to one. She was accredited in
1992 and has been leading meetings in York and working in the Leader
Accreditation Department since 1993.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:58 UTC 2007.
