On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 6:41 AM, Alec Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
> But going forward, the idea that a "stranger can ride into town" and > instantly lead a global movement-- that's not gonna be sustainable, I > don't think. > > This central thought resonated so strongly with me that I had to write in. I came on to the Board last year in much the same way, and until I went through the full appointment process, I too could not fathom why the Foundation would even consider an 'outsider' for a role such as this. Going through the process put most of my doubts at rest: it was very obvious that this was well thought out, in terms of the composition of the Board, its current strengths, what was missing or needed, how to fill this gap etc. (I'm not doing Board public relations here, just telling it how I see it). What I still find amazing is the amount of trust and faith that is reposed in someone coming from the outside; this is part of wikip/media's unique model of collaboration, and this also pushes us to live up to it. At the same time, those of us who start off as outsiders also struggle to establish our credibility with the communities and the larger movement and breach the outsider/insider divide. Since I live in India, it was easier for me to build a relationship and gain acceptance within the indic language editing communities, but I am well aware that I am still a stranger to the larger community (strengthening this relationship is one of my personal goals for this year as a Board member). In my early days, one of the concepts that I found very useful was that of "how to lead with a community", which I saw on Phoebe's userpage. [1] I personally think the sentiment you identify above is totally valid in the context of a movement that does not work on the principle of 'authority' per se - and that as chapters come up in many different parts of the world, and appointed Board members also come in without prior wikimedia roots, this question will recur. It is essential that we find ways to address this. Cheers Bishakha [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Phoebe _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
