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Members of an educational community, business, or agency can all have the best intentions when it comes to creating a Web presence that is accessible to those with disabilities. Too often, however, these individuals with good intentions wait for someone to come and help lead them. Change is a difficult path. It is common to be told to acquire new skills because change is going to happen. So you do just that...you obtain the skills you were asked...you wait for some new policy, some new set of procedures, someone who will support what you were implicitly asked to do...yet nothing happens. This scenario occurs frequently when nobody takes a leadership role. Even when leadership will occur within a group, the group will be more effective if someone takes the responsibility of 'carrying the flag' to it’s intended destination. You probably remember the famous line, 'If not you, who? If not now, When? If you truly believe that accessibility to your Web site is important (or required) for your organization, then I ask you to answer this question for yourself. Your own actions or inactions will speak louder than any voice you give to this effort. You should not assume that someone else would take this role. You should not assume that it would happen in the near future. The only way you can assure that Web accessibility will become a part of the path of change in your organization is if you consider taking the lead, now.
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The Importance of Leadership
http://www.webaim.org/articles/imp_of_leadership/
WebAIM
2003
Abstract: Members of an educational community, business, or agency can all have the best intentions when it comes to creating a Web presence that is accessible to those with disabilities. Too often, however, these individuals with good intentions wait for someone to come and help lead them. Change is a difficult path. It is common to be told to acquire new skills because change is going to happen. So you do just that...you obtain the skills you were asked...you wait for some new policy, some new set of procedures, someone who will support what you were implicitly asked to do...yet nothing happens. This scenario occurs frequently when nobody takes a leadership role. Even when leadership will occur within a group, the group will be more effective if someone takes the responsibility of 'carrying the flag' to it’s intended destination. You probably remember the famous line, 'If not you, who? If not now, When? If you truly believe that accessibility to your Web site is important (or required) for your organization, then I ask you to answer this question for yourself. Your own actions or inactions will speak louder than any voice you give to this effort. You should not assume that someone else would take this role. You should not assume that it would happen in the near future. The only way you can assure that Web accessibility will become a part of the path of change in your organization is if you consider taking the lead, now.
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