So I talked myself out of running for the board this year. Why? Because I really don’t know what they do. I want to get involved with GNOME in places other than the technical aspects. but it is hard to figure out where to start and I am already part of the community. Imagine the people who aren’t yet integrated into the whole flow of GNOME.

I really want to run some day as I have experience in the form of being the treasurer and then vice-president of LILUG in the past. One of the greatest compliments payed to me was the fact that initiatives I spearheaded were actually followed through after my tenure. Of course I left my post in the very capable hands of Mark Drago and others.

The thing I found most comforting about LILUG was that I didn’t just jump into the fray, as I don’t want to jump into the fray of being on the board. I gradually evolved into running the day to day responsibilities of LILUG. At first my biggest choices I needed to make were where to get the donutes for the next meetings. Should it be Krispy Kremes or Dunken Donuts? Eventually I figured out a way to get Krispy Kremes at a lower overall cost to Dunken but with an overall higher satisfaction rate of the members of LILUG. I grew into roles such as making sure our rooms were booked and that we had enough money for the future. Believe me it was not easy as there were many hiccups along the road that I had to take time out of my day to deal with. The point is LILUG gave me a chance to grow without burying me before my time.

The problem I see within GNOME is that I don’tknow where to begin. I wouldn’t be an effective Board Member. Not this year at least. I am sure it would take me at least a year to get comfortable with it. But then there are other ways I can be involved and be able to develop those skills, I just don’t know where they are.

Are we so afraid as a community to have real structure? To delegate tasks to a hierarchy of people who commit to getting things done? Give me work to do and I will tell you if I have time or not to complete it.

So I guess this is all a long winded way to say, I am ready, show me what needs to be done, delegate tasks to me, don’t tiptoe around the fact that things need to get done. We are a powerhouse but to keep that momentum people need to be willing to do the work. I encourage others to stand up and say, “I’m afraid to be part of the board until I know how I can be effective but I can be effective now and help out in my own ways”. Just ask and we will see what can be done. Create a legion of people who are responsible for specific tasks. And I mean responsible, not , “I’ll get it done if I can”. I mean people who are willing to say yes or no on specific tasks. There is where your diversity will come from while breeding a new batch of future board members ready to take on the tasks that GNOME throws at them.

Our future board members need to be as introspective as they are extrospective. I want to see platforms with equal value between where we can grow GNOME and where we can foster the strengths that we have. I will only vote for those who have that insight and courage to lead us in that direction.

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