When I'd
Rather Not Recommend
Trudy Hart
Transition Director of the Leader Accreditation Department
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 30 No. 2, March-April 1994, p. 28
A signed recommendation form
is usually considered a Leader's endorsement of an application. But
what does a Leader do if she doesn't endorse the application? What can
she do if she has reservations about a mother's philosophy or approach?
There isn't a "no-recommendation form" in the Application
Packet. Does that mean the Leader Accreditation Department isn't interested
in anything but approving comments?
In addition to "endorse,"
recommend also means to "advise." You can use the recommendation
form to advise us of your support of an application or that you do not
endorse it, or of concerns you think need to be addressed during an
application.
If you find yourself in a
position of objecting to an application, your objections are important.
Voice them first to the sponsoring Leader. She might not have observed
what you have and will return to the potential Applicant to discuss
it. They might decide not to go forward with the application or to consult
with the A/CLA, or they could decide to proceed and will explain their
decision to you. Another possibility is that the sponsoring Leader and
the mother already realize that there's a problem and, on their own
or after consulting with the A/CLA, have decided that it shouldn't threaten
an application. Perhaps they have planned how they will work during
the application to remove the cause for concern and/or they'll invite
your suggestions and assistance.
Suppose you've voiced your
concern and the sponsoring Leader isn't interested, or that you've discussed
your objections and even after listening to her explanation, you have
reservations about the application. Tell the A/CLA. Use the recommendation
form and a letter or note attached to it. Be specific: identify and
describe your reasons for not supporting the application or the item(s)--information,
approach, skills--that you believe need specific focus for the mother
to be ready to be a Leader. If your objections relate to the Prerequisites
to Applying for Leadership, we will consider them immediately. Even
though we would rather work through these questions when we're still
exploring possibilities, before a formal application is submitted, we
can address them at any time. If your concerns relate to requirements
for accreditation or an individual's ability to carry out one or another
responsibility of LLL leadership, we will address them as part of the
application. We might ask you to talk with the Leader and/or Applicant,
or we might ask for your suggestions as we work with them.
When we talk about our observations
and express our concerns, we help to clarify issues. Sometimes agreeing
or disagreeing with an application derives from personal preference.
But we have an obligation, as representatives of LLLI, to assess an
individual's suitability for leadership in terms of the organization's
prerequisites and requirements. Whether they relate to a decision to
invest time in helping a mother through a breastfeeding problem or to
our support for an application for leadership, we need to put our preferences,
assumptions, and expectations in the open where they can be examined.
Talking or writing about your concerns can help you to decide whether
they're personal or professional. Personal considerations might confine
you to a working relationship (rather than a friendship connection)
with another Leader. It can be a relief to realize that. And when you
express professional concerns, you are taking an active interest in
potential Leaders, fulfilling one of your primary LLL Leader responsibilities.
There are many ways to help
another person achieve her goals. An individual who is thinking about
or working toward La Leche League leadership deserves to know what is
expected and how this relates to her past experience or current endeavors.
If she does not have the prerequisites to applying for accreditation
as an LLL Leader, our best service to her is to identify other roles.
If she has the prerequisites but there are other hindrances to her accreditation
(for instance, if she needs to develop an information base, communication
or organization skills, or approaches and attitudes conducive of mother-to-mother
help), she deserves to know about them and that she can count on the
assistance of Leaders and their resources, and the A/CLA, to help her
to overcome them. Our shared goal is to accredit Leaders who have the
experience, knowledge, and skills they will need to do their job with
confidence and pleasure. Whether an application is in the discussion
stage or has been going on for a while, if you have apprehensions, voice
them.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:09 UTC 2007.
