The 5 Levels of Accessibility Leadership
What’s your next level?
In video games, there is a strategy known as “button mashing.” It happens when a player panics, doesn’t know the combos, and just hits every button on the controller hoping something works.
That’s exactly how most companies are handling accessibility.
Facing the pressure of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the rise of AI governance, leaders are panic-hiring consultants, buying “overlay” tools that don’t work, and scrambling to avoid lawsuits. They are button-mashing their way through compliance.
But that’s not sustainable. At best, it’ll help you through Easy Mode. At worst, it will expose you to costly lawsuits and a breech of trust.
So instead of button mashing your way through business, it’s time to learn the accessibility skills that will help you and your team succeed.
To help you map your journey, I’ve adapted John Maxwell’s legendary “5 Levels of Leadership” for the accessibility space. Maxwell taught us that true leadership isn’t just about having a title. It’s about growing your influence. The same is true here.
Are you playing at Level 1, or are you ready to unlock Level 5?
Level 1: Position (The Novice)
The Maxwell Definition: People follow you because they have to.
The Accessibility Definition: You do accessibility because you have to.
This is the “Compliance” level. Your motivation is external: a lawsuit, a client demand, or the looming EAA deadline. You treat accessibility like a tax—something you pay to stay out of trouble.
You’re button mashing your way through accessibility.
The Mindset: “Is this compliant?”
The Trap: Thinking that compliance is the goal. In reality, compliance is just the tutorial. It is the floor, not the ceiling.
XP Earned: Legal risk reduction.
Level 2: Permission (The Practitioner)
The Maxwell Definition: People follow you because they want to.
The Accessibility Definition: You prioritize access because you care about the people.
This is where you shift from “avoiding lawsuits” to “building relationships.” You stop viewing disabled employees as potential liabilities and start viewing them as talent.
You might not have a budget yet, but you have “Disability Confidence.” You aren’t afraid to ask questions.
The Mindset: “Can a screen reader actually use this?”
The Shift: As we discussed last week, this is where you move from being a “Nice Leader” to an “Inquisitive Leader.”¹
XP Earned: Improved User Experience (UX) and team trust.
Level 3: Production (The Strategist)
The Maxwell Definition: People follow you because of what you have done for the organization.
The Accessibility Definition: You resource accessibility because it drives business results.
Here is where the hobbyists are separated from the pros. You stop relying on heroic individuals to fix things and start building Governance. You refuse to sign contracts for software that isn’t accessible. You treat accessibility like financial literacy or risk management. As a hard skill that requires a budget.
The Mindset: “We aren’t buying this software unless the vendor proves it works for everyone.”
The Win: This is where you begin to see the “Innovation Dividend”—the 28% higher revenue associated with inclusive leadership.²
XP Earned: Scalability and Efficiency.
Level 4: People Development (The Architect)
The Maxwell Definition: People follow you because of what you have done for them.
The Accessibility Definition: Accessibility happens automatically because you’ve built it into your culture.
For 99% of organizations, this is “Winning the Game.” At Level 4, you don’t have to check every line of code personally because you have hired inclusive designers and developers. Accessibility is the default setting. It is baked into your brand identity.
The Mindset: “We don’t do ‘accessibility projects’ anymore. We just build quality products, and accessibility is part of our definition of quality.”
The Perk: You attract top talent who want to work in a high-functioning environment.
XP Earned: Market Leadership and Retention.
Level 5: Pinnacle (The Visionary)
The Maxwell Definition: People follow you because of who you are and what you represent.
The Accessibility Definition: You are setting the standard for the industry.
This level is rare. It is for the leaders who aren’t just fixing their own house but are helping write the building codes for everyone else. These are the organizations contributing to the W3C standards, open-sourcing their accessibility tools, and including accessibility in their everyday conversations – evening keynotes and mainstream interviews.
The Mindset: “How do we lift everybody along with us?”
XP Earned: Legacy.
The “Final Boss” of Your Organization
Nearly every game has a “Boss Battle”—a formidable enemy blocking your path to the next level. In corporate accessibility, the Final Boss usually isn’t a villain. It’s a conflicting priority.
Depending on the size of your company, here is who you might face:
1. The Firewall Dragon (IT Security)
The Attack: “Zero Trust.”
The Conflict: This boss is trying to protect the castle. They block USB ports, ban unauthorized software, and lock down admin privileges. But in doing so, they often block the specialized assistive technology drivers or adaptive hardware your disabled employees rely on.
The Defeat: You can’t beat this boss with a policy waiver. You beat them with Alliance. You have to bring Security into the conversation before hire, ensuring that “secure” doesn’t mean “impenetrable to our own team.”
2. The Template Trap (Small Business Boss)
The Attack: “It came with the theme.”
The Conflict: You are a small business owner using Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify. You bought a “beautiful, modern” template, but you have no access to the code to fix its heading structures or contrast errors. You feel trapped by your vendor.
The Defeat: You beat this boss with discernment. You stop accepting “out of the box” as “ready to wear.” You test themes with a keyboard before you buy them, or you migrate to platforms that prioritize semantic HTML.
3. The Bootstrap Bandit (Startup Boss)
The Attack: “We’ll fix it post-revenue.”
The Conflict: The belief that accessibility is a “luxury feature” for Series B companies, not a requirement for the MVP (Minimum Viable Product). This boss convinces you to build up “Accessibility Debt” that will be 10x more expensive to pay off later.
The Defeat: You beat this boss with Scalability. You realize that building accessible code from Day 1 is actually cleaner, faster, and better for SEO than spaghetti code you have to refactor in Year 2.
Your Call to Action
It can take months for entire organizations to perform comprehensive accessibility maturity audits to determine where they are on this scale. But you, as an individual, can audit your own mindset and attitude in much less time.
Take a couple minutes to gauge yourself on this scale.
· Are you still at the entry level of accessibility, placing alt text on your images in hopes of avoiding penalties for non-compliance?
· Are you actively designing with accessibility best practices because it’s the right thing to do?
· Are you refusing to sign off on a new process, acquire new software, or even just send an email without double-checking its accessibility first? Do you turn on Closed Captions for your virtual meetings by default?
· Do you have an “accessibility first” mindset? Do you work with others on your team to ensure they think about accessibility, too?
· Are you an accessibility champion in your organization or the broader community? Do you create job aids, speak on panels or webinars, or take other actions to boost accessibility as a whole?
Just like disability, your level of accessibility leadership can be on a spectrum. Perhaps you’re at a stage where you know what’s right and want to do the right thing, but you haven’t developed the skillset yet to deploy accessibility best practices all the time.
That’s fine. You can be a 1.5, or a 2.5, or fit wherever on the scale that makes sense for you.
Once you have that awareness, you can do something about it. The next time you sit down to make a PowerPoint, for example, you can run the Accessibility Checker. Then, use the “Learn More” links or look up other advice if you don’t know how to solve some of the issues it flags.
Or start having discussions with your team about accessibility. If they don’t know how to solve something either, commit to learning about it and bringing that knowledge back to the team. (That’s teaching in the flow of work.)
Even if you’re not a senior leader at your organization, there’s something you can do to level up your accessibility leadership. You don’t have to wait for the people at the top to hand down an edict. Just do your part to improve a little every day.
Where Are You Headed Next?
In the comments, let us know what actions you’re taking to level up your accessibility leadership. We all learn better when we learn from each other.
Then, for more thoughts on how to achieve Growth for ALL, remember to subscribe for future posts.
References
The “Nice” Leader Trap: Last week, we discussed how “nice” leaders accidentally exclude people by failing to vet procurement choices.
Read more:
The Innovation Dividend: Research from the Valuable 500 and Accenture shows that companies led by executives who prioritize disability inclusion achieve 28% higher revenue.
Source: Level Access / Accenture. https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/beyond-compliance-the-business-case-for-accessibility-by-industry/