Concept IX

on

GB Concept IX. Good service leaders, with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future functioning and safety.

World Service Long Form IX. Good service leaders, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future functioning and safety. The primary world service leadership once exercised by the founders of A.A. must necessarily be assumed by the Trustees of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.

World Service Short Form IX. Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees.

Application in AA

  • The basic principles:
    • AA servants are not order takers
    • There are no order-givers: final decisions on large matters of general policy and finance do not constitute orders ...
    • ... such decisions constitute general frameworks
    • Without the chief initiative and active responsibility of people doing service, little will get done, in practice
      • Many people discharge structural service roles in a reactive manner, i.e. just responding to incoming public information enquiries ...
      • ... instead of getting out there and creating opportunities for public information
      • Sometimes, at Intergroup (less so at Region), the reports from the service officers are mostly 'nothing to report', together with a few promises of what is planned for next time
      • A good practice I have found in reporting at Intergroup and Region, as a service officer, is to report on what I have actually done
      • This stops me from using plans as a fig leaf to cover up the fact I have not actually done anything
      • All of this is why leadership is 'indispensable'
    • Leader can be understood as an umbrella term for anyone exercising chief initiative and active responsibility
    • Volunteers, staff, etc. can also be classified as leaders where they are discharging duties that require more than just the perfunctory performance of mundane tasks
    • 'Good': Leaders must be good
      • 'Who is available?' is not the only criterion
      • Willingness is great but is sometimes insufficient
      • Not everyone is suitable for every job
      • It's not always good enough to 'learn on the job'
      • The role will often need people to hit the ground running
      • The beneficiaries of the service deserve the best possible servants
      • The service is for the beneficiaries, not for the servants
      • We are not 'excluding people from service' by stipulating requirements for particular jobs in AA
      • People are always welcome to acquire new skills in order to be able to do certain forms of service
    • 'Sound and appropriate': They must therefore be chosen carefully
      • Advertise the role in advance
      • Make sure the requirements of the role, including special skills and level of commitment, are clear
      • Have people submit service CVs
      • Have them present their service history
      • Have them answer questions about their experience, including application of the Traditions and Concepts
      • Have an election
      • Be prepared to have no one in the role rather than someone unsuitable or unqualified
    • 'Future functioning and safety':
      • Functioning: doing what we're supposed to do: this is the positive aspect
        • People who do a good job, keep good records, and do a good handover can raise a role to a higher level
        • This means that the next incumbent has a higher base to start with
        • This could include an array of established relationships
      • Safety: avoiding trouble: this is the negative aspect
        • Someone who is indolent, negligent, or inappropriate can seriously damage our relations with outside organisations
  • Further points made by the essays:
    • The 'ever-present question'
      • The structure of AA has been established (largely) once and for all
      • Leadership cannot be so established, as servants are constantly rotating
      • Ensuring leadership is therefore an ever-present question
    • Who are our leaders? Examples:
      • GSRs
      • Area Committee Members (USA)
      • Intergroup Regional Representatives (GB)
      • Delegates
      • Board Members
    • Why do the leadership qualities of GSRs matter?
      • If, for instance, the GSRs are not competent, this compromises the ability to select good leaders all throughout the structure
      • The same principle applies all the way down the structure
      • The strength of the leadership structure thus depends on the leadership qualities at each level of the pyramid
    • How do you select the right person for the job?
      • By asking: Who is the best qualified?
      • And by casting aside:
        • Personal ambitions
        • Feuds
        • Controversies
        • Whether or not it will benefit the individual
      • Use the Third Legacy procedure
        • Hold a vote with all of the candidates
        • Whittle down the selection by eliminating the candidate with the lowest score
        • Revote
        • Elect any person gaining a two-thirds majority
        • If you're down to two and cannot get a two-thirds majority:
        • Select by lot
        • If there is a tie for second place, all those in second place are included in the lot
        • [Allegedly selection by lot reduces tension / friction in the losing camp ...
        • ... in practice I've only seen it cause greater controversy and consternation]

Bill's leadership article from The Grapevine:
  • Qualities required
    • Dedication
      • Hard-working (making the effort)
      • Diligent (dotting the is and crossing the ts)
    • Stability / emotional maturity
      • Balanced—not easily upset or ruffled
      • Responsible—actively manages processes to ensure results
      • Non-partisan—acts on behalf of the whole fellowship
      • Fair and detached:
        • Willing to submit to the best idea, whatever the source
        • Does not oppose good ideas out of spite or resentment
        • Able to see the past the individual to the merits of the argument (Tradition Twelve)
          • Recognises that:
            • Hot-tempered people are sometimes right
            • Calm, measured people are sometimes wrong
        • Able to handle destructive critics
          • Sift the evidence presented for truth and learn from it
          • Attempt dialogue
          • But don't flog a dead horse: if people won't budge, let the question go
        • Tolerant
    • Vision
      • The rational and reasonable assessment of possible future scenarios
      • Looking out for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
      • Passively:
        • The constructive use of foresight / prudence
      • Actively:
        • Take an idea
        • Work through the options / scenarios
        • Consider impacting factors
        • Look for pros, cons, and ways of mitigating those cons
        • Look at the long and not just the short term
        • Attach greater weighting to the long-term outcomes
    • Flexibility
      • Progress is usually made through a series of improving compromises
    • Leading by example: demonstrating the above qualities
      • As opposed to power-driving ...
      • ... or being a meek order-taker
    • Special skills
      • On a committee, you need people who are good at different things
  • What do leaders do?
    • Originate policies, ideas, and plans (this echoes 'chief initiative and active responsibility')
    • Consult in new and important matters (this echoes 'Right of Decision': ask / consult)
    • Make decisions (this echoes 'Right of Decision': decision)
    • Explain those decisions (this echoes 'Right of Decision': consult / report back)
    • Act decisively (this echoes 'Right of Decision': act)
  • Statesman vs politico (the former is good; the latter is bad!)
    • Politico: does what people want, in order to please them
    • Statesman: does what is for the good of all
      • Able to stand up to a hasty or ill-informed majority

Application in life
  • Work
    • Whenever I'm given a task to do, I'm not just an order-taker
    • I get to think for myself, and suggest ideas, push back, or become involved in aspects of decision-making (see also Concepts III and IV)
    • When there is resistance to this, I don't fight (Big Book, Step Ten Promises)
      • In this case I either simply default to 'following orders'
      • If I cannot do that, I extract myself from the situation
      • We have to cease fighting anything or anyone
  • Discharging responsibilities in my life
    • I need to be proactive not reactive in managing the areas entrusted to me by God
    • Survey the present for strengths and weaknesses
    • Survey the future for opportunities and threats
    • Consult God and others
    • Don't be frightened to make big decisions
    • Be responsible: follow through on those ideas by establishing and managing projects to completion
  • Statesman vs politico
    • Be a God-pleaser (acting for the good of all) rather than a people-pleaser (doing what others want or what society expects)
    • Be willing to stand alone against a majority or plough an unusual furrow in life
  • Personal qualities in life suggested by Concept IX
    • Hard-working
    • Attention to detail
    • Emotionally balanced (emotions are timely, proportionate, and appropriate)
    • Unbiased
      • Able to see situations impartially from all angles
      • Personally detached
    • Flexible
    • Tolerant
  • Sound methods of choosing ...
    • I accept only those responsibilities I am genuinely qualified for ...
    • ... although partial qualification is fine as long as there is room to grow 'on the job'
    • Get out of my comfort zone but not out of my depth
    • 'Have the grace to know when you're out of your depth'
    • When wrong, admit it promptly
    • Be able to say 'no' when saying 'no' is warranted
    • When I'm asked a question I can't answer, be willing to say, '100% don't know'
    • Sometimes I think I'm not capable but others think I am
    • If others know a lot about a role, they can usually assess swiftly and effectively whether a person is suitable for it
    • The individual knows himself or herself and may not be in the best position to judge suitability for a role
    • Sometimes I trust others' perceptions of my capabilities
  • Future functioning and safety
    • These must be in balance
    • Too much 'functioning' and I won't take care of myself or my circumstances properly
    • Too much 'safety' and I become neurotic and withdrawn from life
  • Dotting the is and crossing the ts
    • Ernst Křenek on Karl Kraus
      • "At a time when people were generally decrying the Japanese bombardment of Shanghai, I met Karl Kraus struggling over one of his famous comma problems. He said something like: 'I know that everything is futile when the house is burning. But I have to do this, as long as it is at all possible; for if those who were supposed to look after commas had always made sure they were in the right place, Shanghai would not be burning'."
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