[netconf] IETF Chairing Pipeline…

[Warren Kumari <[e-mail]>]

Hi there Netconfers,

Apologies if this mail seems familiar - I sent it (or a variation on it)
every few months. I also send it to most of my / Ops WGs, and so you might
see multiple copies. I do think it is important though, so…

An evergreen topic in the IETF & IESG is how to grow the IETF "leadership
pipeline", so that when we need new AD and / or chairs, we have good
candidates.

Currently when a new chair needs to be appointed the process goes something
like this (with much added hyperbole):
The AD(s) thinks "Hmmm.. I need a chair for FOOWG, and so I need someone
who understands FOO protocol. Erm.... Oh! Mary! Mary knows FOO, and she's
sane and friendly and organized and will keep things moving. Everyone knows
Mary, she's strong enough to push back on the crazy, she'll keep the
meetings running along... She has the added advantage of not working for
the same company as $other_chair, but gets on well with $other_chair.  Oh!
She's also already chaired BARWG and BAZWG and that went OK... She's
perfect, I'll appoint Mary!".

(In practice there is usually also discussions with the other chair (if
any), a mail to the WG asking for volunteers, some discussions with key WG
participants to see if they have any suggestions, etc, but there is still a
tendency / bias to appoint someone known to the AD / "the obvious"
candidate / people who have already demonstrated competence.  Clearly this
is suboptimal... If  it is a new WG there is usually a BOF and
additional discussions on BOF proponents and chairs, but the general
principle holds)

Often, when appointing a chair, there is a bit of a rush - a meeting is
coming up, a new WG is being formed, etc, and people who would make good
candidates are overlooked, or are not really confident enough to put
themselves forward for a specific role.

So, what I'd like to try is asking for volunteers who'd like to be
considered when we are looking for chairs. In some cases it is important
that the chair(s) are experts in the technology - but a lot of chairing
also involves more general technical knowledge,
"leadership"/diplomacy/mediation, organizational skills, babysitting, etc.

I've created a Google form to record answers / help me keep track of
volunteers: https://forms.gle/JvnD6fwzfuVv6SqS6

Don't worry, filling in the form isn't a commitment to serve, but rather a
"Hey, I'm interested, please keep me in mind when choosing a new
FOOWG chair".
Information will be shared with the current (and future) Ops & Mgmt ADs,
unless you tick the "Any WG in the IETF", in which case your interest will
be shared with other IESG members.

Obviously, if you are not comfortable filling in the form but still want to
volunteer, just email Warren and/or Mahesh.

 Also, as always, if you have any questions, comments, etc do the same....
Warren and Mahesh.