On Transition
Dear leaders of the RC Community,
First of all, I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation for the work you have done in being part of the leadership of the RC Community. Our Community has continued to develop well and grow throughout the past decades, including in the very challenging last couple of years. Thank you.
The thought and effort needed to function in the last two years because of COVID has put demands on all of us. It has changed the ways we could function and slowed down the implementation of some of our plans. We delayed the Pre-World Conferences for a year, and now they have to be online. This worked, and is continuing to work, but it has changed many things. I missed getting to be with people at the first two Pre-World Conferences, and at this point it appears that I will not get to be with people in person at any of the Pre-Worlds nor at the World Conference.
Because I won’t have the same opportunities at the Pre-Worlds as in other years, I want to turn your attention now to an issue we have been working on for many years. I would like all of us who are leading to turn our minds toward encouraging more RCers to lead and take leadership roles in RC.
We have always believed that everyone is capable of leading, and that anyone with a solid knowledge of RC is capable of leading in RC, though they may need to first discharge distresses that would interfere with their leading. We also know how to do the discharge work to clear the paths to leadership. From our Guidelines, “The RC Community wants to provide this opportunity to more people and to an increasingly diverse group that is representative of the general population (including people of different ages, races, and classes and from other under-represented groups), without losing the leadership abilities and experience of existing Reference Persons.”
Teaching fundamentals classes still seems a good place to begin one’s leadership in RC. And it encourages the growth of the Community, so there are more places for people to use their leadership. Also, people who have been leading in various Reference Person roles need to be encouraging experienced Co-Counselors to prepare themselves to replace them in those roles. This has been gradually happening, but I think with more thought and discharge it will move more quickly.
Some people have found it difficult to think about giving up an official reference role. Some of this comes out of distresses, but also people continue to get better and better at fulfilling the role, so it stays attractive and interesting. I want Reference Persons to prepare replacements for themselves not because I want them “out of the way” but rather because I want them to take on [undertake] other ways of leading the RC Community, in particular the growth of the RC Community. I also want them around for many years to support their replacement. I think each of us has an important role to play in supporting the person who takes over our role.
Five years ago, at our last World Conference, I told you all that I intended to retire from my role of International Reference Person in eight years. The COVID disruption of our schedule makes it unclear whether that will end up being eight or nine years, but it is still my intention. I want to be in good enough health to support my replacement and the Community for many years after I step away from the role.
The day after I became International Reference Person when my father died (I had been Alternate International Reference Person), I selected Diane Shisk as my Alternate. It was a good decision. Both she and I have since been confirmed by five World Conferences and have functioned well together for more than two decades. This length of time has been useful in many ways, including in helping us plan for the future of many aspects of our Community, such as the ongoing replacement of leadership.
Diane and I have had discussions about the role of the Alternate International Reference Person—who is committed to becoming the International Reference Person if the existing International Reference Person cannot continue between World Conferences. Her suggestion, and our agreement, is that she step down from being the Alternate at the next World Conference and be replaced in that role. Therefore, at the next World Conference I will ask the conference to agree that Teresa Enrico become the Alternate International Reference Person. I know many, many of you have had contact with Teresa in the many leadership roles she has played in RC over several decades. I believe she is an excellent choice, and I would like everyone to have sessions about leadership and Teresa so that they can support her unreservedly.
With love and appreciation,
(Present Time 206, January 2022)