When people with disabilities lead, everyone wins.
This bonus module is different from the others. The earlier modules were created to help people with disabilities learn about their rights. This one is meant for staff and leaders of organizations. If that’s you, please keep reading.
We believe in authentic leadership — leadership that recognizes people with disabilities as the true experts in their own lives. Authentic leadership means listening first, respecting lived experience, and making sure decisions are shaped by the voices of the people most affected. Services exist to support people, not the other way around.
To help you strengthen this work, we are sharing a variety of sample policies and documents throughout this module. These resources give you practical examples of how to protect rights, promote inclusion, and build organizations where people with disabilities lead the way.
Here are some practical ways you can do this:
Everyday Policies and Procedures that Protect and Promote Rights
One of the most important policies in disability services is the Rights Protection and Promotion policy. This policy makes it clear that people with disabilities keep all of their rights, even if they need support to use them. Staff are responsible for protecting these rights every day. That means encouraging choice, respecting privacy, and supporting people to speak up and make decisions about their own lives.
If rights are ever limited, it cannot happen casually or for staff convenience. There must be a fair process in place, and there must also be a clear plan to restore those rights as soon as possible. The policy also requires staff to look for and remove barriers that get in the way of equality, like low expectations, limited opportunities, or lack of support.
In practice, this policy is a reminder that rights are not optional. They are the foundation of quality support, and every staff person has a duty to promote and protect them.
Rights Audit
A Rights Audit is a simple tool that helps people look at how their rights are being supported in everyday life. It asks questions about things like freedom of choice, privacy, relationships, and community life. People can fill it out on their own, or with help from someone they trust. Staff can then use the answers to understand what rights matter most to the person, and where more support is needed.
The audit is important because it shows when a right might be restricted — for example, being told when you can go out, or how much coffee you can drink. If restrictions are found, the agency can review them and look for ways to reduce or remove them. This is part of due process.
Self-Advocate Committees
A Self-Advocate Committee is a group of people with disabilities who come together to share their voices and make sure organizations put people first. These committees give advice on policies, review practices, and lead projects like rights education and advocacy. The message is simple: people with disabilities are the experts in their own lives, and their voices must be included in every decision that affects them.
Committees work best when they have clear guidelines, and real authority to influence decisions. They also create space for leadership, skill-building, and community involvement. Staff and leaders can support this by making sure committees are resourced, respected, and connected to decision-makers.
You can learn more by looking at the Template Terms of Reference for a Self-Advocate Committee. This document shows how to set up and run a committee, how decisions are made, and how members can lead the work.
We also created a video interviewing CEOs and leaders of organizations who already support Self-Advocate Committees. Their message is clear: when agencies listen, they do better. Take a watch:
Recruitment
Hiring new staff should never be done without the voices of the people being supported. A person-led interview is when people with disabilities take part in choosing the staff who will support them. This is a simple but powerful way to respect rights — because no one knows better than the person themselves who they want in their life.
In practice, this means after the first screening interview, applicants must meet with the people they may support. The people supported then help decide whether the applicant should be hired. This approach is fair, inclusive, and helps build trust right from the start.
Some organizations worry that this process can’t happen in unionized environments. But that’s not true — similar practices are used in many workplaces, and policies can be designed to work alongside collective agreements.
Here is a video from Epic Opportunities where self-advocates explain what they expect from staff and how you can work for them!
Staff Training
Ongoing learning is key to authentic leadership. Staff and leaders need tools, practice, and reflection to make sure rights are understood and lived out every day. The Abilities Manitoba eLearnings provides an easy way to keep building skills, no matter where you are or when you have time.
Through the eLearnings, you can explore topics like rights, respect, connection, decision making, and inclusion at your own pace. Each module offers short videos, activities, and resources that encourage reflection and action. This style of learning makes it possible to return to the material again and again, deepening your practice over time.
When organizations make space for staff to learn continuously, it shows that protecting rights and promoting inclusion are top priorities. It also means that everyone, from frontline staff to boards of directors, has access to the same knowledge and language about rights.
Check out the Abilities Manitoba e-Learnings to begin this journey. They are designed for Direct Support Professionals and leaders alike, but anyone can benefit. The message is clear: learning is leadership. Pssstt…it’s also 100% free.
Staff Evaluations
People with disabilities should have a real voice in evaluating the staff who support them. A person-supported staff evaluation is a tool that asks people directly how well their staff are doing. The questions are simple: Do staff listen? Do they respect you? Do they help you make choices and build skills?
This feedback matters. It helps organizations see where staff are doing well and where changes are needed. Most importantly, it shows that the experiences of people supported are taken seriously and used to guide improvement.
Boards and Leadership
There are many ways to hear from the people you support. We’ve talked about everyday ways to respect rights. We’ve looked at organizational policies that protect rights. But what about the very top of an organization?
We believe that people with disabilities should be at every table where decisions are made — including boards of directors. Agencies exist because of the people they support, and those same people should help shape the direction of the agency.
To see why this matters, watch Abilities Manitoba’s video “A Seat at Every Table.”
When self-advocates sit on boards, they bring lived experience, new ideas, and accountability. Their voices make sure that rights are not just words on paper but values that guide real decisions. True inclusion means going beyond committees and policies — it means leadership that reflects the people it serves.
Resources
These tools and links can help you keep learning about your rights and responsibilities. They are made for people with disabilities and the people who support them.
Sources
A Message from Philip…
My name is Philip, and I am the Chair of the St.Amant Self-Advocate Committee. We believe strongly in the idea of “Nothing about us, without us.”
What does this mean? It means that decisions that affect our lives should not be made without including us in the conversation. We are the experts on our own lives. We know our needs, our goals, and our experiences better than anyone else.
Our voices should help shape policies and practices. When we are involved, we make sure the organization truly understands what matters to us, and that their work reflects our best interests.
Agencies would not exist without the people they support. Listening to us means you are supporting true and authentic leadership. It shows that you value people as rights holders, not just as “participants” or “clients” in your programs, but as equal partners in shaping the services that support US.
Resources
These tools and links can help you keep learning about your rights and responsibilities. They are made for people with disabilities and the people who support them.
Sources
The Challenge!
This module ends with a challenge. We don’t just want you to read about rights — we want you to take action.
The challenge is simple but powerful: make sure every person you support knows about this website and has the right support to learn from it. Don’t assume people already know, and don’t leave it to chance. Actively share it, talk about it, and build it into everyday practice.
Run — don’t walk. The faster you bring this resource to people, the sooner they can use their rights knowledge to speak up, make choices, and lead their own lives.
Resources
These tools and links can help you keep learning about your rights and responsibilities. They are made for people with disabilities and the people who support them.
Sources
Final Thoughts
Supporting rights is not just about following rules or checking off policies. It is about authentic leadership — leadership that understands people with disabilities are the true experts in their own lives.
This module has shown that authentic leadership can happen in many ways: in everyday support, in clear policies, in committees, in hiring, in evaluations, and even in the boardroom. No matter the level, the same truth remains: services exist because of the people you support, and those people must always be part of the decisions that affect them.
Authentic leadership is not optional. It is a responsibility. When you choose to listen, include, and share power, you show that you value people as rights holders and leaders. When you do this, your organization becomes stronger, more accountable, and more connected to the people at its heart.
The challenge now is yours: take these ideas, these tools, and these voices into your everyday work. Build them into your systems. Make them part of your culture. And most of all — keep listening. Because when people with disabilities are leading, everyone wins.
Resources
These tools and links can help you keep learning about your rights and responsibilities. They are made for people with disabilities and the people who support them.
Sources
Keep learning: next module
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Completed
Rights and Responsibilities
What is a Right? What is a Law? Who’s in the Driver Seat of Your Life?
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Completed
Choice
What is Choice? And How Do We Build Our Decision-Making Muscles?
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4
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1
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3
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History
History of People with Disabilities.
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6
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1
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9
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The Law
There’s no such thing as disability rights. It’s all about human rights.
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5
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2
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4
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Free from Abuse, Neglect and Mistreatment
You have the right to be safe.
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Choosing Services
Learn how support funding works in Manitoba and how to choose what’s right for you.
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Completed
Rights Restrictions and Due Process
Your rights come first. Restrictions are the last resort.
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Completed
Speaking Up and Being Heard
Your voice matters. Use it.
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Completed
Supporting Authentic Leadership
When people with disabilities lead, everyone wins.