LDX3 CRG: Connecting leaders with disabilities

After the first iteration at LeadDev last year, I was thrilled to be invited back as one of the co-facilitators of the "Connecting Leaders with Disabilities" community representation group (CRG) at this year's LDX3 event.

The idea of the CRGs is pretty simple - dedicated space is created as part of the event for different communities to come together. They’re intended as relaxed drop-in sessions where attendees can connect with folks in leadership who might have backgrounds and experiences similar to them, and the role of the hosts is to help steer the discussion with attendees.

Last year was the first time the groups had been run, and I was pleasantly surprised at how many people came to our table… so much so that we had to run around to get more chairs! This year we again filled up capacity, and I managed to meet some really great people and help them share their stories and questions.

This year, I wanted to have a way to help people feel comfortable getting involved in the conversation and have other ways to prompt thoughts in the background, plus to lure in passers-by who may glance at the table and get interested. I decided to write out some prompts for the table, which I’ve recreated below, along with some other questions that I’ve thought about a bit more since. If you’re running a similar event at your conference then please do feel free to take inspiration… or get in touch if you’d like someone to help faciliate the discussion ☺️

• What are you hoping to get from meeting other leaders with disabilities?
• How do you decide whether to share/disclose about your disability or not?
• Do you consider disability a part of your identity?
• How has a disability affected your career (or not)?
• How do you work out what kind of accommodations you need?
• How do/don’t your workplace processes support people with disabilities?
• How have you found your community?
• How have your experiences differed in global workplace cultures?
• What attracts you to (or puts you off!) companies?
• What do you wish everyone would consider around disability?
• What aspects of your disability are invisible, and how does that affect how others perceive or treat you?
• Have your feelings about your disability changed over time?
• How do you recharge or care for your well-being when leadership work becomes exhausting?
• In what ways has your disability shaped your values as a leader?
• What would an ideal accessible work environment look like for you?
• Have you had to educate others in your workplace about accessibility or inclusion? How did that go?
• What’s one decision you’ve made as a leader that was directly informed by your disability experience?
• What do you wish senior leadership better understood about disabled employees?
• How can non-disabled allies better support disabled leaders?
• How do you model inclusive leadership in your role?
• How has connecting with other disabled leaders changed your perspective or practice?
• What systemic barriers still prevent disabled professionals from advancing?
• If you could change one policy in tech workplaces, what would it be?
• How do you advocate for accessibility without it becoming your only focus?

A huge thank you to my co-hosts Ben and Andrew, to everyone that thoughtfully participated, and of course to the whole LeadDev/LDX3 team for making space for these conversations and communities.