You can't buy a white coat. But you can earn one.
The white coat article from yesterday was a bit one-sided.
External validation beats internal expertise. Your coworkers listen to the consultant with the fancy credentials while ignoring you, even though you know the same shit.
It's frustrating. Does that mean you have to work somewhere else for a bit, then return as an external hire?
I know how ridiculous that sounds, but the white coat magically appears the moment you have "outside experience."
But I don't think you need to go these extreme lengths.
You can build that credibility from the inside. You just have to be intentional about it. Here just some concrete ideas on how to become the go-to accessibility person in your team.
- Organise brown-bag lunches on accessibility topics. These are regular, bite-sized educational meetings that build familiarity and positions you as the knowledgeable one people turn to. Yes, people get to also eat.
- Run accessibility workshops for developers and designers. Hands-on training makes you indispensable. People remember who taught them how to do something.
- Create an accessibility checklist or toolkit. Make it easy for people to do the right thing. When they use it, they think of you.
- Catch bugs early and help fix them without blame. Be the person who spots accessibility issues in code review and offers solutions, not criticism.
- Document common accessibility mistakes and solutions. Build a reference library. People bookmark it and share it.
- Volunteer for accessibility audits on projects. Get your name attached to quality work. Show leadership that accessibility doesn't slow things down when done right.
- Answer accessibility questions quickly and helpfully. Be responsive in Slack, emails and code reviews. Become the person people know will help them.
- Create templates and automation for accessibility testing. Make it easier for the team to do accessibility work. Friction reduction builds goodwill.
- Share wins and celebrate accessibility improvements. Highlight when something ships more accessible. Make it visible so people associate progress with you.
Each one of these ideas quietly builds your reputation. This makes you more visible and gives your ideas more weight.
You won't get a white coat through flashy announcements. You might through consistent and helpful presence though.