On Leadership

What is leadership and how can we — people who use or have used drugs — exercise it?

by Mary Ellen Harrod, NUAA CEO

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NUAA Community Acknowledgement: NUAA is a peer based, community-controlled drug user organisation. We represent the voices and needs of drug using communities in NSW. NUAA and the community of people who inject drugs were instrumental in averting the HIV epidemic and we remain central to improving the health and human rights of all People Who Use Drugs in NSW. We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the legacy of the peers who went before us and reaffirm our commitment to fighting the effects of stigma and criminalisation in all their manifestations.

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The world never fails to let us know that we’re lesser — that we’re not strong enough to cope without chemicals, we’re corrupt, weak, evil, we’ll never reach that Holy Grail of the modern age, a pure body. We’re outliers and sometimes outcasts. And that is before we start talking about the arrests, the child removals, the pain and humiliation we face when we seek medical treatment, a basic right that is all too often denied us. How do we lead in a world that can be openly hostile, when it is so much easier to go under the radar? When going under the radar is deeply ingrained in us just by living in a world that criminalises our choices?

Acts of leadership are hard. In one way or another, however you choose to lead, you are putting yourself out there. The simple act of questioning a decision, no matter what the context, will put you in conflict with authority. Supporting a friend or peer can be emotionally draining. Fronting up to a meeting with health officials can be isolating and intimidating. Whether you are a decision-maker or not, whether you have a job where you can make decisions or you’re just standing up for yourself — often leading means that someone is not going to be happy with you. One great definition of leadership is by Ron Heifetz who describes it as “disappointing people at a rate they can absorb”. For me, leadership is not about being loved and admired, it’s about staying true to myself and my values and staying steadfast in the face of challenges and disappointment. It’s about remembering why I’m here in the first place.

Leadership is not just about your job title, it’s about who you are and the experience and knowledge you bring to the table. As peers, we can all lead. There may be a lot of problems in the system, but it’s not all bad and there are ways to make your voice count. This is just as true for peers joining a local committee as it is for me as the CEO of NUAA. Here is my work-in-progress advice for members of our community who want to make a change for the better.

Know your values:

Each of us has multiple sources of power and knowing our values and sticking to them is a powerful act we can all take. There are many leaders throughout history who, without any formal authority, have changed the world through sheer courage. Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 still resonates and inspires today (more on that later).

The drug user movement has many examples of courageous advocacy such as John Berry, who distributed injecting equipment in Kings Cross when it was illegal and Jude Byrne who tirelessly advocated for her community from a position of strength and determination. (Check out the NUAA Hall of Fame on our website to see these and other stories of our champions.)

One way that helps me to think about and frame my values is to think about favourite characters/music/ stories. What are the lessons there? My favourite story as a child was What was I scared of? by Dr Seuss, which tells the story of a young lad walking in the woods who encounters “strange green pants with no one inside them” out for a stroll. He initially reacts with terror until he realises that the pants are just as scared as he is, and he finds a place of strength in the common bond. This story illustrates one of my core values — the power of approaching other people with an attitude of understanding and acceptance rather than judgement. There’s so much more to learn that way. If you make assumptions and leap to conclusions, you miss out on understanding.

Lean into your community:

For me, and for many in our community, the courage to stand up is hard-won. But remember that while Rosa Parks was alone on that bus, she was not alone. She had the backing of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which in turn was drawing on the strength of the Civil Rights movement in the USA. This movement has had to persist against incredible odds that still continue ... but no-one can deny its power and how far it has come. That power comes through the community — always remember that you belong to a community that you can draw your strength from. Our work today is possible because of the activists that have gone before us — it’s important to know this history and use it as a source of strength, which is why at NUAA we start meetings (and this magazine!) with a community acknowledgement.

Stay at the table:

Standing up for our rights as individuals and trying to change the system are one and the same. Remember that you’re much more likely to get the outcome you want if you channel your anger and use reason. Whether you are challenging the rules in your clinic or advocating to government for better services or new harm reduction initiatives, people will listen if you know your facts and present the evidence for your case. Whatever our part in fighting the war on drugs, we need to work to change hearts and minds and we will need to make compromises. The act of staying in the discussion can be incredibly frustrating. I have often wanted to stop participating in various committees. Sometimes, when I have felt that my time could be better spent elsewhere, I have. But packing up and not taking part in the discussion is a sure way to have no influence on the outcome. When I came to NUAA in 2015, we did not work with the Alcohol and Other Drugs section of the Ministry and now that work is extensive — the DanceWize NSW program, publications and resources, PeerLine, input into policy, advice — none of it would have happened without NUAA being at the table.

Anger can be powerful, but it needs to be used carefully.

Forgive and forget:

None of us are perfect and it’s safe to say that we all make mistakes. Forgive yourself and move on. Forgive the people you want or need to work with. Keep moving forward and fight the good fight.

I could go on for a while but for better or worse an editorial can’t. Remember, our greatest strength is holding fast to our beliefs. If you never give up, you can’t fail.