The Managing Director of Caribbean Catalyst, Rosalind Jackson (right) presenting a certificate of participation in the ‘Leadership and Succession Planning’ sessions to Terry Hope of the M.S. Society of Barbados Incorporated yesterday, at the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD).
PWDs told: Take your place in society
Stand up for your rights and take your place within your organisation, your communities and this country.
This is the advice that the Managing Director of Caribbean Catalyst, Rosalind Jackson, is giving to the community of persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Speaking with the Barbados Advocate yesterday after the presentation of certificates for the ‘Leadership and Succession Planning’ at the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD), she stated that having a disability does not mean that you do not have any ability and must instead sit down and wait for things to fall into your lap.
“As they go forward, to understand that … to have the confidence to take their place in society and not to wait for anybody to hand it to them, that is my bottom line for working with the disabled community…,” she said.
When it comes to taking their rightful place in their organisations, Jackson stated that as leaders they must focus on how they can first improve themselves and then, by extension, go on to improve the organisation that they head.
“The first session was focused on ‘How do I improve my personal leadership? So it was very much about ‘How do I succeed in spite of circumstances; How do I see challenges as opportunities for growth; [and] How do I take responsibility for me?’ because we felt that until leaders are personally responsible for their actions and not be blamers of situations, that organisations would go nowhere.”
When it comes to enhancing their organizations, Jackson said that there are certain critical areas they have to focus on, such as ‘What is the purpose of their organisation; What are their values; What is the mission they would like to accomplish; and How exactly do they plan on accomplishing this mission?’
Jackson said that the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) approached her earlier this year to see if she could assist them in hosting a session that would enable them to enhance the leadership of their respective organisations whereupon she coordinated with them to develop the objectives for this workshop. (PJT)