We often are asked about the effectiveness of our training. How do we know it works? What data can we provide to convince them our training will be right for them? This is expected and is a thoroughly legitimate and respected question. Our usual response is that we have not figured out how to measure it. We explain that we are practitioners not researchers and that while we totally support the accountability that is measurement, we just haven’t figured out what we should be measuring or how to do it.
The people who ask the question are those who have not experienced it. And that is reasonable. However, it is interesting no one who has ever experienced the training has worried about it. Instead they leave, thoroughly excited and motivated to use the tools we give them to make the changes they determine are necessary in their organizations. And they report positive results. It is also very interesting that no paying customer has ever asked us to honor our long standing 100% money back guarantee. Quite the contrary; they usually either ask us for more or recommend us to others.
That’s all well and good but the question remains and we are committed to answering it. In 2008, we approached several relevant parties to assist us in the effort and all fell through for different reasons.
Some research has led us to ask the following: should we be measuring the effectiveness of our training in terms of the competencies or skills those leaving the training attain or should we be measuring what they do with those skills when they get back on job? Is our job to give them a process, tools and supports and theirs to make a measurable difference?
We don’t have an answer but we are committed to finding one. If you can help, let us know. If you just want to add your two cents, that’s OK too.
We will keep you posted.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The spread of our positive behavioral and proactive management philosophy and approach.
1 Interest in our highly effective proactive philosophy and positive approach continues to grow. On Thursday the 20th we hosted four visitors from the Saratoga County ARC. The visitors included their Executive Director and three members of her executive team. All experienced professional and all very impressed with what they experienced.
When such visitors come to Delarc we don't do the typical tour. Rather they are expected to be here by 8:30 a.m. and to spend their day in our Vantage Point (VP) program. We invented VP in 1992 and since then every new employee spends their first dau of employment as a consumer of services. During the course of the day they are involved in a series of role play experiences that place them in the shoes (or wheelchair) of a person with disabilities and which teach them things new employees want to learn; like the names of their new co-workers.
By 3:00 they have had the experience of a lifetime. Something they will long remember and we hope they never forget. The folks from Saratoga left with a lot to talk about on the drive home and even more to think about as they, like the rest of us, strive to improve the quality of their services and supports.
2 Just before I met with the folks from Saratoga at 3:15 I picked up a phone message asking me to check my email. It was from the state of Georgia and contained a contract to deliver a second year of consulting and training to providers there. During ’08 we have mentored six different agencies for people with disabilities in Atlanta, Breeman, Athens, Augusta, Waycross and Lithonia.
The ’09 contract is to continue that work while adding three more agencies.
3 On December 3 we will have two folks visiting from the Yates County ARC. Their Executive Director and Chief Psychologist visited a couple of months ago and as they build momentum for change they want more of their employees to experience, first hand, our unique philosophy and approach.
4 We are currently developing plans to conduct several Executive 2 day introductory sessions across New York State. They will be sponsored by the NYSARC Executive Directors Association and should be launched in January or February. These Execs and their teams will learn about our Shift Happens and People power Models of Excellence.
I’m quite certain at least several of them will want additional help moving forward.
Stay tuned for further updates.
When such visitors come to Delarc we don't do the typical tour. Rather they are expected to be here by 8:30 a.m. and to spend their day in our Vantage Point (VP) program. We invented VP in 1992 and since then every new employee spends their first dau of employment as a consumer of services. During the course of the day they are involved in a series of role play experiences that place them in the shoes (or wheelchair) of a person with disabilities and which teach them things new employees want to learn; like the names of their new co-workers.
By 3:00 they have had the experience of a lifetime. Something they will long remember and we hope they never forget. The folks from Saratoga left with a lot to talk about on the drive home and even more to think about as they, like the rest of us, strive to improve the quality of their services and supports.
2 Just before I met with the folks from Saratoga at 3:15 I picked up a phone message asking me to check my email. It was from the state of Georgia and contained a contract to deliver a second year of consulting and training to providers there. During ’08 we have mentored six different agencies for people with disabilities in Atlanta, Breeman, Athens, Augusta, Waycross and Lithonia.
The ’09 contract is to continue that work while adding three more agencies.
3 On December 3 we will have two folks visiting from the Yates County ARC. Their Executive Director and Chief Psychologist visited a couple of months ago and as they build momentum for change they want more of their employees to experience, first hand, our unique philosophy and approach.
4 We are currently developing plans to conduct several Executive 2 day introductory sessions across New York State. They will be sponsored by the NYSARC Executive Directors Association and should be launched in January or February. These Execs and their teams will learn about our Shift Happens and People power Models of Excellence.
I’m quite certain at least several of them will want additional help moving forward.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Recruitment and Training
Yesterday I conducted the last of four training sessions with Delarc supervisors. There were two groups and each group participated in two four hour sessions. It had been a few years since this training was offered so the groups contained both fairly new and some well experienced supervisors.
Both groups impressed me in many ways including:
1 All the bright eyes. I didn’t notice one “dud” in the lot. Every single person, 35 in total, actively participated. At one time or another, every single person asked questions, offered opinions and contributed important insights. People were alert and stayed alert.
2 Eager learners. The purpose of the training was to impress upon them the critical importance of their jobs and to increase their mindfulness of key issues. Issues which I need to count on them to continually address in order for our organization to maximize employee productivity and retention; which in turn will lead to the satisfaction of the people we serve and their families and in the longer run accomplish our mission.
At the conclusion of the sessions I was convinced that each person left the room having learned important information, gained important insights and increased the mindfulness we were looking for. They came in with the right mind set and left better equipped and motivated to provide world class levels of coaching and support to our world class staff.
3 The benefit of proper recruitment. This lesson continues to shine through in so many ways. There were several times during the sessions when I couldn’t help think of prior training sessions we have conducted with many different audiences across the country. While there were always bright and motivated people in attendance and while, with humility, I can say there were other, more borderline performers we were able to captivate and bring around, all too frequently there were people in the audience who quite clearly didn’t belong there. In too many cases, they outnumbered those that did belong.
Our emphasis on proper recruitment and selection pays off in so many ways. The caliber of those 35 supervisors proves it once again.
4 The children and adults we support come first. This principle is so simple; yet, so profound. Easy to say; extremely difficult to actualize. It is the bottom line of this organization. The key to that actualization is the partnership between our staff and the people who coach and support them.
I slept well last night (at least until 3:00 when I started thinking about the day ahead) knowing that partnership will be even stronger.
Both groups impressed me in many ways including:
1 All the bright eyes. I didn’t notice one “dud” in the lot. Every single person, 35 in total, actively participated. At one time or another, every single person asked questions, offered opinions and contributed important insights. People were alert and stayed alert.
2 Eager learners. The purpose of the training was to impress upon them the critical importance of their jobs and to increase their mindfulness of key issues. Issues which I need to count on them to continually address in order for our organization to maximize employee productivity and retention; which in turn will lead to the satisfaction of the people we serve and their families and in the longer run accomplish our mission.
At the conclusion of the sessions I was convinced that each person left the room having learned important information, gained important insights and increased the mindfulness we were looking for. They came in with the right mind set and left better equipped and motivated to provide world class levels of coaching and support to our world class staff.
3 The benefit of proper recruitment. This lesson continues to shine through in so many ways. There were several times during the sessions when I couldn’t help think of prior training sessions we have conducted with many different audiences across the country. While there were always bright and motivated people in attendance and while, with humility, I can say there were other, more borderline performers we were able to captivate and bring around, all too frequently there were people in the audience who quite clearly didn’t belong there. In too many cases, they outnumbered those that did belong.
Our emphasis on proper recruitment and selection pays off in so many ways. The caliber of those 35 supervisors proves it once again.
4 The children and adults we support come first. This principle is so simple; yet, so profound. Easy to say; extremely difficult to actualize. It is the bottom line of this organization. The key to that actualization is the partnership between our staff and the people who coach and support them.
I slept well last night (at least until 3:00 when I started thinking about the day ahead) knowing that partnership will be even stronger.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Geraldo Rivera Takes on the Waiting List Crisis!
January 6, 2009 hour-long news special to focus on the emerging crisis for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
Visibly moved by comments from self-advocates, family members and chapter leaders at the Opening Plenary Session of The Arc's 2008 National Convention, renowned television journalist, Geraldo Rivera, electrified the audience, pledging that on January 6, 2009 - the anniversary of his expose about Willowbrook - he will present a one-hour news special to shine light on the current crisis facing people with disabilities and their families - the Waiting List.
While in Delaware County our waiting list is short, most parts of the country are experiencing long severe waits. It is not at all uncommon for parents in their eighties to still be caring for their adult child in their homes. These parents have been heard to say they can’t die since there will be no one to care for their child.
The Arc US has long advocated for a national response to the waiting list crisis. With Geraldo’s help perhaps the message will get through and states will be moved to act to end these terribly long waits that all too many families are enduring. Look for the special on January 6.
Visibly moved by comments from self-advocates, family members and chapter leaders at the Opening Plenary Session of The Arc's 2008 National Convention, renowned television journalist, Geraldo Rivera, electrified the audience, pledging that on January 6, 2009 - the anniversary of his expose about Willowbrook - he will present a one-hour news special to shine light on the current crisis facing people with disabilities and their families - the Waiting List.
While in Delaware County our waiting list is short, most parts of the country are experiencing long severe waits. It is not at all uncommon for parents in their eighties to still be caring for their adult child in their homes. These parents have been heard to say they can’t die since there will be no one to care for their child.
The Arc US has long advocated for a national response to the waiting list crisis. With Geraldo’s help perhaps the message will get through and states will be moved to act to end these terribly long waits that all too many families are enduring. Look for the special on January 6.
GOVERNANCE
At The Arc US annual convention on November 6, I attended a session on nonprofit governance which reinforced and supported the work of our Board of Directors.
Entitled “Tools for Excellence” which was conducted by The Arc US Executive Director, Peter Berns and Steve Morgan, Executive Director of The Arc of Baltimore, the session explored important issues and trends facing organizations like ours.
It introduced a tool developed by the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations called Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. The tool promotes the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management and operations.
The thing that attracted me to the session was that some time ago we became aware of the standards and our Board had already determined to use them as it reviews our Board policies. This was the first training session available on their use and I came away very pleased and confident our Board meets most of the standards and especially, the most critical ones.
For more information on the Standards for Excellence, please go to www.standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org or give me a call if that is preferred.
Entitled “Tools for Excellence” which was conducted by The Arc US Executive Director, Peter Berns and Steve Morgan, Executive Director of The Arc of Baltimore, the session explored important issues and trends facing organizations like ours.
It introduced a tool developed by the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations called Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. The tool promotes the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management and operations.
The thing that attracted me to the session was that some time ago we became aware of the standards and our Board had already determined to use them as it reviews our Board policies. This was the first training session available on their use and I came away very pleased and confident our Board meets most of the standards and especially, the most critical ones.
For more information on the Standards for Excellence, please go to www.standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org or give me a call if that is preferred.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Shift is Happening in New York!
At its meeting of October 14th, 2008, the Executive Directors' Association (EDA), a partnership of executive directors of NYSARC Chapters, voted unanimously to have The Arc of Delaware County conduct a series of two day Shift Happens training sessions introducing an alternative to the use of restraints and physical interventions. These trainings will be conducted in various regions throughout New York State, enabling all NYSARC Chapters to participate and hear more about this best practice.
For those unfamiliar with EDA, it is a professional leadership organization that promotes excellence and professional leadership in support of the NYSARC mission, encourages growth and development of quality services for people with disabilities, influences public policy, develops innovations in service delivery, and provides professional participation to the governing structure of NYSARC, Inc. The EDA commits itself to the promotion and maintenance of the highest ethical standards, and Delarc is excited to be part of helping NYSARC chapters make the shift to a non-aversive, proactive approach.
Check back soon for details on how the shift is happening in New York!
For those unfamiliar with EDA, it is a professional leadership organization that promotes excellence and professional leadership in support of the NYSARC mission, encourages growth and development of quality services for people with disabilities, influences public policy, develops innovations in service delivery, and provides professional participation to the governing structure of NYSARC, Inc. The EDA commits itself to the promotion and maintenance of the highest ethical standards, and Delarc is excited to be part of helping NYSARC chapters make the shift to a non-aversive, proactive approach.
Check back soon for details on how the shift is happening in New York!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Training
The Challenge of the Challenge
Our first publication, welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written in 1992 and has been a big hit within our organization and with many folks across the country. It has sold out and been reprinted several times. Earlier this year as we were preparing for another reprint we decided we needed to do more than simply reprint it.
Since 1992 many changes have occurred in our field and in our organization and these needed to be included in The Challenge. Since then we have written one other book, Shift Happens…Making The Arc of Delaware County Shift to Proactive Behavior Management and a monograph, Vantage Point, a Dynamic approach to Employee Orientation. These needed to be referred to in The new Challenge because it is the first book our employees read.
In terms of changes in the field like the term Intellectual Disability vs. Mental Retardation, and the concept of person centeredness were not around in 1992. They too needed to be included in the new publication.
Using The Challenge
It took several months to complete the rewrite and printing. When it was delivered our first instinct was to give every staff member a copy. Our fear though was two fold. First we did not want to hand it out and have it sit on shelves. It is an important read. Secondly we wanted to make sure our leaders were well aware of the changes so they could refer to it, be able to answer questions about it and determine how best to introduce it to their existing staff who have all read the original.
So we have held off on distributing to staff while our leaders read it, let me know what they think of it, ask any questions they may have and finally determine how they will use it in their departments. That is currently underway. Once I hear form them and they are prepared, books will be distributed to all existing employees. In terms of new employees, we will keep our practice of having them read The Challenge within their first week of employment.
Obtaining copies
The Challenge of Caring Without Restraint is now available for purchase through our web sites: www.delarc.org or www.shifthappens.tv . Get your copy today.
Happy reading!
Our first publication, welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written in 1992 and has been a big hit within our organization and with many folks across the country. It has sold out and been reprinted several times. Earlier this year as we were preparing for another reprint we decided we needed to do more than simply reprint it.
Since 1992 many changes have occurred in our field and in our organization and these needed to be included in The Challenge. Since then we have written one other book, Shift Happens…Making The Arc of Delaware County Shift to Proactive Behavior Management and a monograph, Vantage Point, a Dynamic approach to Employee Orientation. These needed to be referred to in The new Challenge because it is the first book our employees read.
In terms of changes in the field like the term Intellectual Disability vs. Mental Retardation, and the concept of person centeredness were not around in 1992. They too needed to be included in the new publication.
Using The Challenge
It took several months to complete the rewrite and printing. When it was delivered our first instinct was to give every staff member a copy. Our fear though was two fold. First we did not want to hand it out and have it sit on shelves. It is an important read. Secondly we wanted to make sure our leaders were well aware of the changes so they could refer to it, be able to answer questions about it and determine how best to introduce it to their existing staff who have all read the original.
So we have held off on distributing to staff while our leaders read it, let me know what they think of it, ask any questions they may have and finally determine how they will use it in their departments. That is currently underway. Once I hear form them and they are prepared, books will be distributed to all existing employees. In terms of new employees, we will keep our practice of having them read The Challenge within their first week of employment.
Obtaining copies
The Challenge of Caring Without Restraint is now available for purchase through our web sites: www.delarc.org or www.shifthappens.tv . Get your copy today.
Happy reading!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Arc of Delaware County featured in a revolutionary new book.
TITLE: “For Our Own Safety, Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People” Edited by Michael A. Nunno, David M. Day and Lloyd B. Bullard.
DATE OF RELEASE: July 2008.
BACKGROUND: During June 1-4, 2005, George Suess, CEO, represented The Arc of Delaware County (Delarc), at the first international symposium of its kind, entitled “Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People. The symposium took place at Cornell University. It was cosponsored by Cornell’s Family Life Development Center, Stirling University, Stirling, Scotland and the Child welfare League of America.
For Our Own Safety is devoted entirely to the subject of, and risks associated with, restraint and seclusion of children. This book is a collection of the diverse viewpoints presented at the international symposium, Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People. It presents frank examination of the legal, ethical, and historical uses of physical restraints and seclusion. Also addressed in this collection are issues of safety, the psychological and emotional impacts of restraint, guidelines for development and use, as well as clinical and organizational strategies likely to reduce use. SUMMARY: Intended for use by professionals who want to address the impact of aggression and violence, this volume contributes to the discussion of the appropriate use of high-risk interventions and the ways to improve the general quality services and supports through safe and harm-free environments.
Subsequently, the book described below was born from the papers and presentations from the symposium. Delarc was urged to develop a chapter on the use of restraints as a leadership and cultural matter, which it did.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I: YOUNG PEOPLE AND PHYSICAL RESTRAINTS
Chapter 1: Young People's Experiences of Physical Restraint in Residential Care: Subtlety and Complexity in Policy and Practice
PART II: THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL ISSUES
Chapter 2: Literature on the Therapeutic Effectiveness of Physical Restraints with Children and Youth
Chapter 3: Modernizing Seclusion and Restraint
PART III: ENSURING SAFETY AND MANAGING RISK
Chapter 4: Physical Restraints: Are They Ever Safe and How Safe Is Safe Enough?
Chapter 5: Risk and Prone Restraint: Reviewing the Evidence
Chapter 6: Learning from the Research
PART IV: REDUCING RESTRAINTS THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Chapter 7: Adopting a Public Health Model to Reduce Violence and Restraints in Children's Residential Care Facilities
Chapter 8: Leadership's and Program’s Role in Organizational and Cultural Change to Reduce Seclusions and Restraints
Chapter 9: A Case Study Organizational Intervention to Reduce Physical Interventions: Creating Effective, Harm-Free EnvironmentsChapter
10: Beyond a Crisis Management Program: How We Reduced Our Restraints by Half in One Year
Chapter 11: Reducing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint in a Day School Program
Chapter 12: Lessons Learned from 30 Plus Years of No Physical Intervention
PART V: LEGAL ISSUES
Chapter 13: Using Restraint: The Legal Context of High-Risk Interventions
Chapter 14: The Reach of Liability for Restraints: A Question of Professional Judgment
PART VI: CONCLUSION
Chapter 15: Moving Forward
ORDERING AND INFORMATION: For information, including purchasing information please go to the Child welfare League of America web www.cwla.org
DATE OF RELEASE: July 2008.
BACKGROUND: During June 1-4, 2005, George Suess, CEO, represented The Arc of Delaware County (Delarc), at the first international symposium of its kind, entitled “Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People. The symposium took place at Cornell University. It was cosponsored by Cornell’s Family Life Development Center, Stirling University, Stirling, Scotland and the Child welfare League of America.
For Our Own Safety is devoted entirely to the subject of, and risks associated with, restraint and seclusion of children. This book is a collection of the diverse viewpoints presented at the international symposium, Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People. It presents frank examination of the legal, ethical, and historical uses of physical restraints and seclusion. Also addressed in this collection are issues of safety, the psychological and emotional impacts of restraint, guidelines for development and use, as well as clinical and organizational strategies likely to reduce use. SUMMARY: Intended for use by professionals who want to address the impact of aggression and violence, this volume contributes to the discussion of the appropriate use of high-risk interventions and the ways to improve the general quality services and supports through safe and harm-free environments.
Subsequently, the book described below was born from the papers and presentations from the symposium. Delarc was urged to develop a chapter on the use of restraints as a leadership and cultural matter, which it did.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I: YOUNG PEOPLE AND PHYSICAL RESTRAINTS
Chapter 1: Young People's Experiences of Physical Restraint in Residential Care: Subtlety and Complexity in Policy and Practice
PART II: THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL ISSUES
Chapter 2: Literature on the Therapeutic Effectiveness of Physical Restraints with Children and Youth
Chapter 3: Modernizing Seclusion and Restraint
PART III: ENSURING SAFETY AND MANAGING RISK
Chapter 4: Physical Restraints: Are They Ever Safe and How Safe Is Safe Enough?
Chapter 5: Risk and Prone Restraint: Reviewing the Evidence
Chapter 6: Learning from the Research
PART IV: REDUCING RESTRAINTS THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Chapter 7: Adopting a Public Health Model to Reduce Violence and Restraints in Children's Residential Care Facilities
Chapter 8: Leadership's and Program’s Role in Organizational and Cultural Change to Reduce Seclusions and Restraints
Chapter 9: A Case Study Organizational Intervention to Reduce Physical Interventions: Creating Effective, Harm-Free EnvironmentsChapter
10: Beyond a Crisis Management Program: How We Reduced Our Restraints by Half in One Year
Chapter 11: Reducing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint in a Day School Program
Chapter 12: Lessons Learned from 30 Plus Years of No Physical Intervention
PART V: LEGAL ISSUES
Chapter 13: Using Restraint: The Legal Context of High-Risk Interventions
Chapter 14: The Reach of Liability for Restraints: A Question of Professional Judgment
PART VI: CONCLUSION
Chapter 15: Moving Forward
ORDERING AND INFORMATION: For information, including purchasing information please go to the Child welfare League of America web www.cwla.org
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Four Shappennings in One!
Shappenning #1
Yesterday afternoon three of our supervisors and I spent an hour conducting our annual "Summer Workers Pizza and Wings Forum". Once a year we gather our summer workers to accomplish a few important things.
Our summer workers can be high school or college students or anyone looking for work in the summer. Sometimes, like this year, we hire school teachers who are looking for something good to do while they make some extra money. This year we had two high school grads about to go off for their first year of college and a special education teacher from a local district.
The primary purpose of the forum is to encourage these, usually young, folks to make a life time commitment to people with disabilities. This can be done through employment (with us we hope), volunteerism, or by just being an enlightened and good citizen / neighbor. A secondary purpose is to thank them for their hard work. And a third is to clarify our proactive philosophy and positive approach.
Shappenning #2
Usually during the forum we serve pizza and wings. This year their Program Director, Molly Little, added a new twist; Shappenning #2. Rather than serving the pizza during the forum, at its conclusion Molly arranged for us to join the rest of her staff in the dining room so that her entire team could recognize them, cementing relationships and acknowledging their good work over a pre-dinner snack.
Shappenning #3
The highlight, for me any way, was the activity Molly cooked up. Between bites, she asked her staff to think of their best advice, a few words of wisdom or an encouraging message they would like each of the summer workers to have. She then asked them to copy the message three times on strips of colored paper.
As they handed each of the summer workers one of their notes Molly asked them to use the tape, she also arranged for, to link the strips into a Caring Chain each could use to decorate their dorm rooms, classroom or homes. Molly’s idea was that they could reflect back on these messages over the upcoming weeks and months.
What a thoughtful shappening kind of idea!
Shappenning #4
This morning I learned that on the way home that night as one of our newest staff was driving home, she spotted one of these very same summer workers walking home with his chain wrapped around his neck. She stopped her car, backing up traffic, jumped out and took a photo of him.
I laughed and laughed. You know, some times (actually quite frequently) I can't believe I get paid to be part of these shappennings.
It’s amazing how positivity breads more positivity and its amazing how one good thing can quickly turn into four. Keep that in mind the next time you have an opportunity to create a shappening.
Shappenning #1
Yesterday afternoon three of our supervisors and I spent an hour conducting our annual "Summer Workers Pizza and Wings Forum". Once a year we gather our summer workers to accomplish a few important things.
Our summer workers can be high school or college students or anyone looking for work in the summer. Sometimes, like this year, we hire school teachers who are looking for something good to do while they make some extra money. This year we had two high school grads about to go off for their first year of college and a special education teacher from a local district.
The primary purpose of the forum is to encourage these, usually young, folks to make a life time commitment to people with disabilities. This can be done through employment (with us we hope), volunteerism, or by just being an enlightened and good citizen / neighbor. A secondary purpose is to thank them for their hard work. And a third is to clarify our proactive philosophy and positive approach.
Shappenning #2
Usually during the forum we serve pizza and wings. This year their Program Director, Molly Little, added a new twist; Shappenning #2. Rather than serving the pizza during the forum, at its conclusion Molly arranged for us to join the rest of her staff in the dining room so that her entire team could recognize them, cementing relationships and acknowledging their good work over a pre-dinner snack.
Shappenning #3
The highlight, for me any way, was the activity Molly cooked up. Between bites, she asked her staff to think of their best advice, a few words of wisdom or an encouraging message they would like each of the summer workers to have. She then asked them to copy the message three times on strips of colored paper.
As they handed each of the summer workers one of their notes Molly asked them to use the tape, she also arranged for, to link the strips into a Caring Chain each could use to decorate their dorm rooms, classroom or homes. Molly’s idea was that they could reflect back on these messages over the upcoming weeks and months.
What a thoughtful shappening kind of idea!
Shappenning #4
This morning I learned that on the way home that night as one of our newest staff was driving home, she spotted one of these very same summer workers walking home with his chain wrapped around his neck. She stopped her car, backing up traffic, jumped out and took a photo of him.
I laughed and laughed. You know, some times (actually quite frequently) I can't believe I get paid to be part of these shappennings.
It’s amazing how positivity breads more positivity and its amazing how one good thing can quickly turn into four. Keep that in mind the next time you have an opportunity to create a shappening.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Where you been?
New Edition of The Challenge
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately writing, just not on this blog. Typically, a project I originally thought would take two or three weeks took three months. The first book the Arc of Delaware County published, in 1992, has been reprinted several times. Before the last reprint we realized it needed modernizing. Many developments have occurred in the field and in our organization since 1992 and the need for a rewrite became clear. Welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written to help introduce new employees to our unique culture. Since then hundreds of new employees have launched their careers with us by reading it during their first week of employment. During that time as well, hundreds of people outside the organization also read and appreciated it.
The biggest development over the years has been the wide spread and rapidly expanding interest in our proactive philosophy and positive approach which has enabled us to support even the most challenging individuals without the use of physical intervention. In light of the growing national controversy over the use and abuse of such techniques interest in positive alternatives has grown and grown. So much so that while many changes occurred in the content of the new edition of The Challenge, it was also decided a change in the title was very much in order. The new edition, entitled Welcome to the Challenge of Caring without Restraint, is currently at the printer and should be available in a few weeks.
The Second Most Frequently Asked Question.
When organizations examine our philosophy and approach they usually have many questions. The first is some variation of, how do we make such a change in our organization? It is amazing the second question that almost always follows is, how do we convince our existing staff to buy in?
They don’t worry about the amount of training they will need to provide. They don’t worry about their Board of Directors’ position, they don’t worry about the impact on the people they support (in large part because they see the immediate benefits). They don’t worry about dollar costs. They don’t worry about new employees. The overwhelming concern is how to convince existing staff to get on board. While I have become use to the question, it still amazes me.
It amazes me for several reasons:
- Don’t their staff want the very best for the people they support? They often say the do.
- What are their values? Are they about excellence or convenience?
- Why the resistance to change? Whenever someone shows me a better way, I can’t wait to get started.
- When they ask that question, do supervisors and executives know how lame they sound? I ask, “Who’s the boss? Who signs the paycheck? Who works for whom?”
Ultimately, once the shock or the humor (depending on my mood) wears off I respond that it usually boils down to get on board or get out!
I’m quick to add that we can’t be arbitrary. That we need to provide inspiration, training, support and opportunity for coached practice but ultimately our responsibility is to the people we are hired to support. So they need to show us they are trying and not just trying but making progress or they need to make room for those who can do what needs to be done.
It’s funny, most of them respond, “You’re right.” But what I struggle to understand is why they need me to say it in the first place. On the other hand, I’m glad they do. I know they appreciate it and I also know it doesn’t take most of the too long to get it. And for that I’m grateful.
New Edition of The Challenge
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately writing, just not on this blog. Typically, a project I originally thought would take two or three weeks took three months. The first book the Arc of Delaware County published, in 1992, has been reprinted several times. Before the last reprint we realized it needed modernizing. Many developments have occurred in the field and in our organization since 1992 and the need for a rewrite became clear. Welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written to help introduce new employees to our unique culture. Since then hundreds of new employees have launched their careers with us by reading it during their first week of employment. During that time as well, hundreds of people outside the organization also read and appreciated it.
The biggest development over the years has been the wide spread and rapidly expanding interest in our proactive philosophy and positive approach which has enabled us to support even the most challenging individuals without the use of physical intervention. In light of the growing national controversy over the use and abuse of such techniques interest in positive alternatives has grown and grown. So much so that while many changes occurred in the content of the new edition of The Challenge, it was also decided a change in the title was very much in order. The new edition, entitled Welcome to the Challenge of Caring without Restraint, is currently at the printer and should be available in a few weeks.
The Second Most Frequently Asked Question.
When organizations examine our philosophy and approach they usually have many questions. The first is some variation of, how do we make such a change in our organization? It is amazing the second question that almost always follows is, how do we convince our existing staff to buy in?
They don’t worry about the amount of training they will need to provide. They don’t worry about their Board of Directors’ position, they don’t worry about the impact on the people they support (in large part because they see the immediate benefits). They don’t worry about dollar costs. They don’t worry about new employees. The overwhelming concern is how to convince existing staff to get on board. While I have become use to the question, it still amazes me.
It amazes me for several reasons:
- Don’t their staff want the very best for the people they support? They often say the do.
- What are their values? Are they about excellence or convenience?
- Why the resistance to change? Whenever someone shows me a better way, I can’t wait to get started.
- When they ask that question, do supervisors and executives know how lame they sound? I ask, “Who’s the boss? Who signs the paycheck? Who works for whom?”
Ultimately, once the shock or the humor (depending on my mood) wears off I respond that it usually boils down to get on board or get out!
I’m quick to add that we can’t be arbitrary. That we need to provide inspiration, training, support and opportunity for coached practice but ultimately our responsibility is to the people we are hired to support. So they need to show us they are trying and not just trying but making progress or they need to make room for those who can do what needs to be done.
It’s funny, most of them respond, “You’re right.” But what I struggle to understand is why they need me to say it in the first place. On the other hand, I’m glad they do. I know they appreciate it and I also know it doesn’t take most of the too long to get it. And for that I’m grateful.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
“Leaders continually clarify the values.”
I read the above quote (or something like it) many years ago. Each year it seems more and more profound to me. As I’ve mentioned in prior postings 20 years ago few organizations had their corporate values defined in writing. Now most do but when I ask audiences across the country what the issue today is, they inevitably and unanimously respond that people in organizations don’t demonstrate the values in their day to day work.
The criticism extends both to management and to labor. At some level most everyone observes this, yet very few leaders do anything about it. The values statements become posters on walls or labels on coffee cups that no one notices despite the mega-dollars spent on graphics and printing. They’re hollow and the best of the best within the organization resent the hollowness and worse the customer never experiences the benefits.
Two problems
My observation is the hollowness comes from two sources. The first one goes well beyond our organization or other similar organizations and relates to the huge social issue of saying one thing and doing another. I’ve read certain experts trace this back to advances many years ago in advertising. Madison Ave. types learned a long time ago that if you say something over and over, even if it isn’t true, people will believe it. We have all experienced this time and time again. So now it seems to many of us that more money is spent convincing the public about the quality of an item than is actually spent on improving its basic quality.
Unfortunately, we feel the same is true of far too many human service agencies who have very well written values statements but whose staff act in completely contradictory ways. Hospitals proclaim that “Our patients are our first priority” yet, we find ourselves spending hours in waiting rooms waiting for service or we have to go through way too many phone numbers to get an answer to our questions or worse yet we come out of the hospital will ailments we didn’t have when we went in. Rehab agencies tell us how dedicated they are to their consumers yet they approve behavioral techniques which are medieval.
The result of this is a deadening of our senses. The more of these experiences we encounter, the less sensitive we are to any single occurrence. We have a long way to go in this country to turn this one around.
The second source is that too few leaders have ever worked in a genuinely, values based environment. So they have never learned the role they play in clarifying their values on a moment by moment, event by event, situation by situational basis.
What do we mean?
A few examples may help.
We don’t talk to people who are late for work about the matter as a rules violation. Rather, we talk to them about our values, which we call our Unifying Principles. The People We Serve Come First is our primary principle and we explain how when they are late or are a no show consumer services are impacted. We also seek to help them understand another of our values, Employee Satisfaction and we explain to people this means their satisfaction as well as everyone else’s. We then go on to help them understand the impact on their co-workers when they don’t show up for work or don’t show on time. We also talk about another of our Unifying Principles, Be Dedicated and talk to them about the level of dedication it requires to be on time all the time.
When someone is found to be spreading gossip or losing their temper, again we don’t talk about a rules violation but rather about Communicating Effectively and our Commitment to Excellence. We help them understand that around here those things are viewed as neither effectively communicating nor excellent.
The same is true when developing policies. Anyone who has tried to develop a smoking policy knows how divisive this can be. But no matter how controversial a particular policy or decision may be we have always found that if we bring it back to our Unifying Principles and can clearly show how the policy is consistent with our values, versus a unilateral management decision, staff not only accept the policy but they can thrive within it.
So, over time, the culture is not about power and control but rather about the values. People then need to decide whether they share those values or not. They decide whether they want to help us strengthen the culture, or if they are compromising it. It takes time and it takes effort but the benefits are substantial.
The criticism extends both to management and to labor. At some level most everyone observes this, yet very few leaders do anything about it. The values statements become posters on walls or labels on coffee cups that no one notices despite the mega-dollars spent on graphics and printing. They’re hollow and the best of the best within the organization resent the hollowness and worse the customer never experiences the benefits.
Two problems
My observation is the hollowness comes from two sources. The first one goes well beyond our organization or other similar organizations and relates to the huge social issue of saying one thing and doing another. I’ve read certain experts trace this back to advances many years ago in advertising. Madison Ave. types learned a long time ago that if you say something over and over, even if it isn’t true, people will believe it. We have all experienced this time and time again. So now it seems to many of us that more money is spent convincing the public about the quality of an item than is actually spent on improving its basic quality.
Unfortunately, we feel the same is true of far too many human service agencies who have very well written values statements but whose staff act in completely contradictory ways. Hospitals proclaim that “Our patients are our first priority” yet, we find ourselves spending hours in waiting rooms waiting for service or we have to go through way too many phone numbers to get an answer to our questions or worse yet we come out of the hospital will ailments we didn’t have when we went in. Rehab agencies tell us how dedicated they are to their consumers yet they approve behavioral techniques which are medieval.
The result of this is a deadening of our senses. The more of these experiences we encounter, the less sensitive we are to any single occurrence. We have a long way to go in this country to turn this one around.
The second source is that too few leaders have ever worked in a genuinely, values based environment. So they have never learned the role they play in clarifying their values on a moment by moment, event by event, situation by situational basis.
What do we mean?
A few examples may help.
We don’t talk to people who are late for work about the matter as a rules violation. Rather, we talk to them about our values, which we call our Unifying Principles. The People We Serve Come First is our primary principle and we explain how when they are late or are a no show consumer services are impacted. We also seek to help them understand another of our values, Employee Satisfaction and we explain to people this means their satisfaction as well as everyone else’s. We then go on to help them understand the impact on their co-workers when they don’t show up for work or don’t show on time. We also talk about another of our Unifying Principles, Be Dedicated and talk to them about the level of dedication it requires to be on time all the time.
When someone is found to be spreading gossip or losing their temper, again we don’t talk about a rules violation but rather about Communicating Effectively and our Commitment to Excellence. We help them understand that around here those things are viewed as neither effectively communicating nor excellent.
The same is true when developing policies. Anyone who has tried to develop a smoking policy knows how divisive this can be. But no matter how controversial a particular policy or decision may be we have always found that if we bring it back to our Unifying Principles and can clearly show how the policy is consistent with our values, versus a unilateral management decision, staff not only accept the policy but they can thrive within it.
So, over time, the culture is not about power and control but rather about the values. People then need to decide whether they share those values or not. They decide whether they want to help us strengthen the culture, or if they are compromising it. It takes time and it takes effort but the benefits are substantial.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Giant Pumpkins. Low Bars and Pulling Weeds
Over the last 2 and half months we have worked intensively with six organizations (The Lucky 6) by contract with the State of Georgia. We visited each one twice for two days of jam packed information and inspiration. Their missions were similar though their sizes varied from relatively small to fairly large.
Half the training was mission related; the other half specific to values based human relations practices. The latter, human relations, is the topic addressed here.
GIANT Pumpkins
Deb is a valued veteran of our staff. She and her husband share a love of gardening. They are the most serious gardeners I know. Their specialty is growing giant pumpkins. When asked the secret to growing 1500 lb. goliaths Deb told me there are two; starting with great seeds and plenty of nurturing (five whole gallons of miracle grow every day to be exact).
We use this metaphor to help organizations understand what it takes to build a world class team of staff. We help them understand the critical importance of holding out to find the best talent. Then we show them how to improve their recruitment practices so as to attract and select world class candidates. Then we move on to the nurturing part which includes new dimensions and vast amounts of orientation, training, coaching and support.
Stages
As each of the Lucky 6 organizations grasped this new paradigm of human relations they quickly realized they have current employees who do not meet the standards they are about to set for new hires. Just as quickly they realized they need to use the tools we provided to communicate this new understanding to current employees.
The Stages of Development is a tool we developed to graphically enable managers to view performers in one of four boxes. Those in Box 1 need to be told what to do. They need specific instructions and certainly shouldn’t be expected to be trusted with any significant duties or responsibilities. Brand new employees and recently promoted veterans always spend some time in Box 1 .
Eventually people develop some basic skills and move out of Box 1. They need coaching not direction and become Box 2 performers. Eventually they gain more mastery over their jobs and their confidence grows to a point where all they need is a sufficient level of support. These folks try things and report back often saying something like, “This is what I did, what do you think?” We call this Box 3 performance. With more experience in varying settings and circumstances they become independent in their jobs and reach Box 4.
The Lowering of the Bar
Our experience with The Lucky 6 has confirmed observations made over the last twenty years with dozens of organizations throughout the country. A sad and conflicting scenario has repeatedly occurred. Due to better advocacy, enlightened families and institutional closures our field has witnessed dramatic growth. Yet as our jobs have become ever more complex; government support insufficient and labor supplies have tightened far too many organizations have watched helplessly as their performance bar has lowered and sunk.
Over this period we’ve heard executive after executive bemoan they are hiring people today they would never have even interviewed 10 or 15 years ago. When we ask them if any of their current employees with 2 or more years of experience are still performing in Box 1 (they don’t do anything unless specifically told to do so) they quickly and regretfully respond, yes. When we ask if any with 5, 10 or 15 years experience are also performing in Box 1 their regret turns to embarrassment and then distress.
Certain industries have compensated for this lower bar through technology. Just push the button on the cash register that looks like a hamburger and hand back the amount of change the machine tells you to. But we haven’t figured out yet how technology can be of similar assistance in direct human service systems. So, too many organizations find themselves with more and more Box 1 performers.
Pulling Weeds
In our way of thinking, human service organizations are left with two choices. Provide sufficient training, coaching and support to help those who are motivated improve. For those who are satisfied with their poor performance, resist change or do not respond to additional training we are left with only one alternative. Keeping with the gardening metaphor they have to be viewed as weeds, which need to be removed from the garden before they choke the vitality from the giant pumpkins.
Using labels is dangerous. Metaphors are fun and often useful teaching methods. When considering this one, please remember that by definition weeds are plants which are out of place. In another garden or another place they will be appreciated and will thrive.
Over the last 2 and half months we have worked intensively with six organizations (The Lucky 6) by contract with the State of Georgia. We visited each one twice for two days of jam packed information and inspiration. Their missions were similar though their sizes varied from relatively small to fairly large.
Half the training was mission related; the other half specific to values based human relations practices. The latter, human relations, is the topic addressed here.
GIANT Pumpkins
Deb is a valued veteran of our staff. She and her husband share a love of gardening. They are the most serious gardeners I know. Their specialty is growing giant pumpkins. When asked the secret to growing 1500 lb. goliaths Deb told me there are two; starting with great seeds and plenty of nurturing (five whole gallons of miracle grow every day to be exact).
We use this metaphor to help organizations understand what it takes to build a world class team of staff. We help them understand the critical importance of holding out to find the best talent. Then we show them how to improve their recruitment practices so as to attract and select world class candidates. Then we move on to the nurturing part which includes new dimensions and vast amounts of orientation, training, coaching and support.
Stages
As each of the Lucky 6 organizations grasped this new paradigm of human relations they quickly realized they have current employees who do not meet the standards they are about to set for new hires. Just as quickly they realized they need to use the tools we provided to communicate this new understanding to current employees.
The Stages of Development is a tool we developed to graphically enable managers to view performers in one of four boxes. Those in Box 1 need to be told what to do. They need specific instructions and certainly shouldn’t be expected to be trusted with any significant duties or responsibilities. Brand new employees and recently promoted veterans always spend some time in Box 1 .
Eventually people develop some basic skills and move out of Box 1. They need coaching not direction and become Box 2 performers. Eventually they gain more mastery over their jobs and their confidence grows to a point where all they need is a sufficient level of support. These folks try things and report back often saying something like, “This is what I did, what do you think?” We call this Box 3 performance. With more experience in varying settings and circumstances they become independent in their jobs and reach Box 4.
The Lowering of the Bar
Our experience with The Lucky 6 has confirmed observations made over the last twenty years with dozens of organizations throughout the country. A sad and conflicting scenario has repeatedly occurred. Due to better advocacy, enlightened families and institutional closures our field has witnessed dramatic growth. Yet as our jobs have become ever more complex; government support insufficient and labor supplies have tightened far too many organizations have watched helplessly as their performance bar has lowered and sunk.
Over this period we’ve heard executive after executive bemoan they are hiring people today they would never have even interviewed 10 or 15 years ago. When we ask them if any of their current employees with 2 or more years of experience are still performing in Box 1 (they don’t do anything unless specifically told to do so) they quickly and regretfully respond, yes. When we ask if any with 5, 10 or 15 years experience are also performing in Box 1 their regret turns to embarrassment and then distress.
Certain industries have compensated for this lower bar through technology. Just push the button on the cash register that looks like a hamburger and hand back the amount of change the machine tells you to. But we haven’t figured out yet how technology can be of similar assistance in direct human service systems. So, too many organizations find themselves with more and more Box 1 performers.
Pulling Weeds
In our way of thinking, human service organizations are left with two choices. Provide sufficient training, coaching and support to help those who are motivated improve. For those who are satisfied with their poor performance, resist change or do not respond to additional training we are left with only one alternative. Keeping with the gardening metaphor they have to be viewed as weeds, which need to be removed from the garden before they choke the vitality from the giant pumpkins.
Using labels is dangerous. Metaphors are fun and often useful teaching methods. When considering this one, please remember that by definition weeds are plants which are out of place. In another garden or another place they will be appreciated and will thrive.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Georgia is Making the Shift!
Hi Mr. Suess,
I hope all is well with you. Everyone here at East Central is still filling buckets in various ways. The atmosphere seems so much more positive! The Champions have been facilitating the consumer groups in the manner that you showed us and we have already seen great results. One consumer has reduced her episodes of SIB. Consumers are paying more attention, and the staff seem to be having fun assisting with the implementation of the programs. The best news of all is that our accidents and incidents dropped to 128 for the month of March! (We generally average around 200+).
We have also completed our caring assessments. We have had daily reading sessions in order to allow all staff time to read the "Shift Happens" book. I enjoyed the book, "How Full is Your Bucket". I have also printed the water drops from the website and have given several to staff within the division.
Just wanted to give you a little update. Talk to you later...
Denise Bartlett
Developmental Disabilities Chief
East Central Regional Hospital, Georgia
I hope all is well with you. Everyone here at East Central is still filling buckets in various ways. The atmosphere seems so much more positive! The Champions have been facilitating the consumer groups in the manner that you showed us and we have already seen great results. One consumer has reduced her episodes of SIB. Consumers are paying more attention, and the staff seem to be having fun assisting with the implementation of the programs. The best news of all is that our accidents and incidents dropped to 128 for the month of March! (We generally average around 200+).
We have also completed our caring assessments. We have had daily reading sessions in order to allow all staff time to read the "Shift Happens" book. I enjoyed the book, "How Full is Your Bucket". I have also printed the water drops from the website and have given several to staff within the division.
Just wanted to give you a little update. Talk to you later...
Denise Bartlett
Developmental Disabilities Chief
East Central Regional Hospital, Georgia
Poem: George Is In Georgia
The following poem was written by Sharon Suess, George’s wife, as a tribute to his dedication and passion in spreading the word of Delarc’s proactive, positive approach.
George is in Georgia. That's where he is.
He flew there this morning, it's all about biz.
He teaches and charms the good people there.
He expends lots of energy and shows how to care.
Delarc is amazing, they've worked really hard,
The proactive approach deserves high regard.
He comes home exhausted yet strangely delighted.
His audiences listen, their hope is ignited.
He never stops working, not even at night.
I can tell what he's thinking and I'm always right.
He closes his eyes at the end of the day.
But helping his people never goes away.
He's a true warrior for people who need him.
He fights the good fight, his goals never dim.
His work is his passion, he's spreading the word.
Sharing his wisdom, his vision unblurred.
George is in Georgia. That's where he is.
He flew there this morning, it's all about biz.
He teaches and charms the good people there.
He expends lots of energy and shows how to care.
Delarc is amazing, they've worked really hard,
The proactive approach deserves high regard.
He comes home exhausted yet strangely delighted.
His audiences listen, their hope is ignited.
He never stops working, not even at night.
I can tell what he's thinking and I'm always right.
He closes his eyes at the end of the day.
But helping his people never goes away.
He's a true warrior for people who need him.
He fights the good fight, his goals never dim.
His work is his passion, he's spreading the word.
Sharing his wisdom, his vision unblurred.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Reflections from participating in Training in Georgia
Although I've been part of training and consulting a few times over the last 10 years, my participation always reaffirms the blessing I feel to work and provide high quality services for the consumers at The Arc of Delaware County.
Many organizations across the country are eager to learn how to improve their service provision to consumers to achieve even greater benefits. It's really terrific that The Arc of Delaware County is such an inspiration for other agencies serving individuals with developmental disabilities. The staff at these agencies truly devour both the behavioral technology and the leadership approaches we use to such great effect in our own organization. It is humbling yet very gratifying to be told that we are such a motivation to them. We are able to provide them with hands on knowledge and skills. It makes a hugh difference to agencies that we walk the same walk every day and understand the realities and challenges. We were told on this trip that we're their heroes!
I always return invigorated and energized, which positively impacts the work I do for the individuals we serve in Delaware County.
Barbara Rothenberg,
Chief Operating Officer
The Arc of Delaware County
Many organizations across the country are eager to learn how to improve their service provision to consumers to achieve even greater benefits. It's really terrific that The Arc of Delaware County is such an inspiration for other agencies serving individuals with developmental disabilities. The staff at these agencies truly devour both the behavioral technology and the leadership approaches we use to such great effect in our own organization. It is humbling yet very gratifying to be told that we are such a motivation to them. We are able to provide them with hands on knowledge and skills. It makes a hugh difference to agencies that we walk the same walk every day and understand the realities and challenges. We were told on this trip that we're their heroes!
I always return invigorated and energized, which positively impacts the work I do for the individuals we serve in Delaware County.
Barbara Rothenberg,
Chief Operating Officer
The Arc of Delaware County
Sunday, March 9, 2008
4, 4, 3, 2 A World Record
Five states, four airports, 3 planes and two rental cars (the same one twice) all in one day and all for one trip from Augusta, Georgia to Albany, New York. A trying end to an otherwise extremely successful trip introducing the proactive philosophy and positive approach of the Arc of Delaware County to two large agencies, the last leg of the first phase of our Georgia project. More n the record later, but first ...
Once again … the wisdom of direct service staff, the importance of leadership and lessons learned:
This trip concluded the first phase of this year long project (see prior posts for details). We have provided six agencies in Georgia with two days of training over the last five weeks. This training has focused on our philosophy and approach as it applies to the people served. In two weeks we begin the second phase of an additional two days of training at each organization. That phase will focus on organizational culture and employee / HR practices. This week we learned:
1 This training is powerful. Once again 100% of our audiences (well over 400 people) enthusiastically describe this training as the absolute "best" they have ever experienced. The Director of our largest group told us any number of surveyors and consultants have eloquently reported to them what their myriad of problems are but none of them gave them the practical, systemic solutions we presented.
2 People are eager to do a good job. There is so much talk about poor work ethic in America; yet what we consistently find is that people truly do want to do a good job. But if there is no support or poor leadership they lose heart and things spiral downward.
3 Workers are smart. They know there has to be a better way and they can spot it when they see it.
4 The push and pull of change. Leadership is critical. It is an established fact that cultural change must start at the top. But not enough attention is given to the importance of an inspired workforce. Determined leaders will effectuate change. It may take time and it may get bloody, but change will happen. But it will happen a lot quicker and a lot easier if the workforce pushes while leaders pull.
There is ardent excitement in all six organizations; they have been introduced to a model they can believe in. One that makes sense; will benefit the people they serve; one that is encouraging and positive; one that answers a lot of questions they have wrestled with for years. They're excited and we are excited for them.
5 Alas, unfortunately the first phase of this training also confirmed or rather reconfirmed something very troubling we have known for years. That is, an awful lot of bad hiring and bad promoting is going on and has gone on for quite some time (as in decades).
6 Stop shooting yourself in the foot! Perhaps the most frequent question that arises when attendees start to understand our philosophy and approach is, "How do we get resistant staff to get on board?"
My response is always to begin by stop shooting themselves in the foot. By that I mean begin by improving hiring and promotional practices so as not to continue to hire or promote people who can not or will not eagerly buy into this effort. To achieve higher quality improving these practices is a must. At the risk of mixing metaphors, we have to stop the leak before we start to bale out the boat.
Once the leak is stopped and we are hiring and promoting better candidates they will actually help us turn around poor performers and move out those who are dead weight. Better front line staff will make the poor performers stand out and will make it easier to address their deficiencies. Better supervisors will help us follow through on the retraining of those who will benefit from same or discipline those who are incapable or who resist.
7 Change SWAN to SEAN! For years we have prided ourselves on hiring SWAN's. That is candidates who are smart, willing to learn, ambitious and nice. This emphasis has had many benefits; yet, time and again, we have lamented how hard it is to determine candidates' "willingness to learn". The more unique the organization the more important is the attribute of being willing to learn.
We have spent endless hours trying to improve our interviewing practices to determine this willingness. We do well but failure from time to time, particularly at the upper management level, results in many levels and degrees of frustration and dissatisfaction.
Consequently we continue to study, at times to the point of agony, this matter. We have concluded there are a few reasons why assessing willingness to learn is so difficult. One reason is that it is pretty easy to fake. Look attentive and interested and you can appear willing. Other reasons are that willingness to learn is a fairly passive act and it applies a disproportionate amount of the candidate's willingness to learn to the agency's ability to teach.
The most profound thing I have personally learned this year is that it is more about eagerness than willingness. It is not a matter of the candidate's willingness to listen to us lecture them but rather a matter of them demonstrating an eagerness to learn whatever it is we are teaching as well as those lessons that are unfolding around them even if a formal teaching session hasn't occurred. It is more about the questions they ask than the answers they glean. It is more about the follow up questions than the initial ones. It is more about taking the lessons, applying them independently and asking for feedback than on passing a quiz.
That’s' why we are changing swan to sean. We need employees who are smart eager to learn, ambitious and nice. It's good to be willing but critical to be eager!
Now for more on our traveler's world record:
Bo, Jim and I are claiming a traveler's world record and if you have one to beat it, let us know.
We started by sitting on the runway in our turbo prop Delta Connections plane in Augusta at 8:00. As soon as the doors shut the pilot informed us there was a terrible storm in Atlanta that had put a hold stop on everything going in or out. What to do?
A call back home to our travel agent (glory be for Saturday hours) informed us all Delta flights for the next two days were over booked and we would be lucky to get flights by tomorrow night and we would most certainly have to split up. A real problem since Jim and Bo rode to Albany together.
Pat, our travel agent was great and after checking a bunch of options told us our best chance was to drive to Columbia, South Carolina and buy US Air tickets to Charlotte, North Carolina and grab a connection to Albany from there. She would write a letter to Delta Monday requesting a refund for our Delta tickets.
So back to the Budget rental car booth where we re-rented the car we had turned in three hours prior. Budget may think it is in the car rental business, but since the car was washed and gassed up when we took off again we realized it was really our pit stop and we gave thanks to our pit crew that got us out on time and refreshed.
Two hours later we were in Columbia and while it was very windy there we learned no flights there had been canceled and it looked pretty good our Charlotte flight would take off as scheduled. Still, having learned a lesson, we asked our pit crew chief in Columbia to hold our car in case we needed it again if the weather turned worse. She said she would hold it for three hours and then close it out. A couple of long lay overs in Columbia and Charlotte and we were off to Albany. However our adventure wasn't over. 30 minutes from Albany the worse turbulence any of us had previously experienced set in. The group behind us was have a ball yelling weeeee and woooo with every lift and dip. As for me, I was digging in the pouch in the back of the seat in front of me for that little white barf bag. While they were having fun pretending they were on an amuzement park ride I was breaking into one of those prepuking sweats that lets you know if it the "ride" doesn't end soon I'm going to lose it.
Breath deeply George, breath deeply I kept telling myself.
Fortunately the flight ended just as I was reaching the end of my control.
So, a little worse for wear, today's journey concluded:
4 states, 4 airports, 3 airplanes and 2 car rentals; a record Bo, Jim and I defy anyone to beat!
More next time,
George
Five states, four airports, 3 planes and two rental cars (the same one twice) all in one day and all for one trip from Augusta, Georgia to Albany, New York. A trying end to an otherwise extremely successful trip introducing the proactive philosophy and positive approach of the Arc of Delaware County to two large agencies, the last leg of the first phase of our Georgia project. More n the record later, but first ...
Once again … the wisdom of direct service staff, the importance of leadership and lessons learned:
This trip concluded the first phase of this year long project (see prior posts for details). We have provided six agencies in Georgia with two days of training over the last five weeks. This training has focused on our philosophy and approach as it applies to the people served. In two weeks we begin the second phase of an additional two days of training at each organization. That phase will focus on organizational culture and employee / HR practices. This week we learned:
1 This training is powerful. Once again 100% of our audiences (well over 400 people) enthusiastically describe this training as the absolute "best" they have ever experienced. The Director of our largest group told us any number of surveyors and consultants have eloquently reported to them what their myriad of problems are but none of them gave them the practical, systemic solutions we presented.
2 People are eager to do a good job. There is so much talk about poor work ethic in America; yet what we consistently find is that people truly do want to do a good job. But if there is no support or poor leadership they lose heart and things spiral downward.
3 Workers are smart. They know there has to be a better way and they can spot it when they see it.
4 The push and pull of change. Leadership is critical. It is an established fact that cultural change must start at the top. But not enough attention is given to the importance of an inspired workforce. Determined leaders will effectuate change. It may take time and it may get bloody, but change will happen. But it will happen a lot quicker and a lot easier if the workforce pushes while leaders pull.
There is ardent excitement in all six organizations; they have been introduced to a model they can believe in. One that makes sense; will benefit the people they serve; one that is encouraging and positive; one that answers a lot of questions they have wrestled with for years. They're excited and we are excited for them.
5 Alas, unfortunately the first phase of this training also confirmed or rather reconfirmed something very troubling we have known for years. That is, an awful lot of bad hiring and bad promoting is going on and has gone on for quite some time (as in decades).
6 Stop shooting yourself in the foot! Perhaps the most frequent question that arises when attendees start to understand our philosophy and approach is, "How do we get resistant staff to get on board?"
My response is always to begin by stop shooting themselves in the foot. By that I mean begin by improving hiring and promotional practices so as not to continue to hire or promote people who can not or will not eagerly buy into this effort. To achieve higher quality improving these practices is a must. At the risk of mixing metaphors, we have to stop the leak before we start to bale out the boat.
Once the leak is stopped and we are hiring and promoting better candidates they will actually help us turn around poor performers and move out those who are dead weight. Better front line staff will make the poor performers stand out and will make it easier to address their deficiencies. Better supervisors will help us follow through on the retraining of those who will benefit from same or discipline those who are incapable or who resist.
7 Change SWAN to SEAN! For years we have prided ourselves on hiring SWAN's. That is candidates who are smart, willing to learn, ambitious and nice. This emphasis has had many benefits; yet, time and again, we have lamented how hard it is to determine candidates' "willingness to learn". The more unique the organization the more important is the attribute of being willing to learn.
We have spent endless hours trying to improve our interviewing practices to determine this willingness. We do well but failure from time to time, particularly at the upper management level, results in many levels and degrees of frustration and dissatisfaction.
Consequently we continue to study, at times to the point of agony, this matter. We have concluded there are a few reasons why assessing willingness to learn is so difficult. One reason is that it is pretty easy to fake. Look attentive and interested and you can appear willing. Other reasons are that willingness to learn is a fairly passive act and it applies a disproportionate amount of the candidate's willingness to learn to the agency's ability to teach.
The most profound thing I have personally learned this year is that it is more about eagerness than willingness. It is not a matter of the candidate's willingness to listen to us lecture them but rather a matter of them demonstrating an eagerness to learn whatever it is we are teaching as well as those lessons that are unfolding around them even if a formal teaching session hasn't occurred. It is more about the questions they ask than the answers they glean. It is more about the follow up questions than the initial ones. It is more about taking the lessons, applying them independently and asking for feedback than on passing a quiz.
That’s' why we are changing swan to sean. We need employees who are smart eager to learn, ambitious and nice. It's good to be willing but critical to be eager!
Now for more on our traveler's world record:
Bo, Jim and I are claiming a traveler's world record and if you have one to beat it, let us know.
We started by sitting on the runway in our turbo prop Delta Connections plane in Augusta at 8:00. As soon as the doors shut the pilot informed us there was a terrible storm in Atlanta that had put a hold stop on everything going in or out. What to do?
A call back home to our travel agent (glory be for Saturday hours) informed us all Delta flights for the next two days were over booked and we would be lucky to get flights by tomorrow night and we would most certainly have to split up. A real problem since Jim and Bo rode to Albany together.
Pat, our travel agent was great and after checking a bunch of options told us our best chance was to drive to Columbia, South Carolina and buy US Air tickets to Charlotte, North Carolina and grab a connection to Albany from there. She would write a letter to Delta Monday requesting a refund for our Delta tickets.
So back to the Budget rental car booth where we re-rented the car we had turned in three hours prior. Budget may think it is in the car rental business, but since the car was washed and gassed up when we took off again we realized it was really our pit stop and we gave thanks to our pit crew that got us out on time and refreshed.
Two hours later we were in Columbia and while it was very windy there we learned no flights there had been canceled and it looked pretty good our Charlotte flight would take off as scheduled. Still, having learned a lesson, we asked our pit crew chief in Columbia to hold our car in case we needed it again if the weather turned worse. She said she would hold it for three hours and then close it out. A couple of long lay overs in Columbia and Charlotte and we were off to Albany. However our adventure wasn't over. 30 minutes from Albany the worse turbulence any of us had previously experienced set in. The group behind us was have a ball yelling weeeee and woooo with every lift and dip. As for me, I was digging in the pouch in the back of the seat in front of me for that little white barf bag. While they were having fun pretending they were on an amuzement park ride I was breaking into one of those prepuking sweats that lets you know if it the "ride" doesn't end soon I'm going to lose it.
Breath deeply George, breath deeply I kept telling myself.
Fortunately the flight ended just as I was reaching the end of my control.
So, a little worse for wear, today's journey concluded:
4 states, 4 airports, 3 airplanes and 2 car rentals; a record Bo, Jim and I defy anyone to beat!
More next time,
George
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Stacie's Note:
George,
The following are my thoughts regarding our week in Georgia.
Motivating, inspiring and clear.
These three words can help express my week in Georgia with Shift Happens consulting and training. I say motivating because this experience made it quite clear that The Arc of Delaware County has done exceptional work in its years of existence while caring without restraint. For me, someone who is new to this field, seeing another way of serving people with developmental disabilities reinforced my view of the need to continue our strive for excellence while spreading the message, philosophy and competencies of Shift Happens.
I say inspiring for two reasons. First, George is an incredible speaker/trainer. He does everything he can to reach each individual in the audience. If he doesn’t convey our message during the six hours of training, you see him during breaks, lunch and after the training listening to people and explaining Shift Happens in way that is easier for them.
The second reason is because it is also clear that the organizations we are working with are hungry for a new, better way of helping people live fulfilling lives as opposed to sticking to the status quo.
One of the most powerful quotes that I hear George say is, "You can’t get good people to do bad things, and you can’t get bad people to do good things". After seeing Shift Happens being introduced to new organizations, that point is crystal clear. I know we are all very excited and anxious to see how the good people of Georgia will embrace this essential "shift".
Thank you,
Stacie Haynes
Community Relations Assistant
The Arc of Delaware County
Thank you Stacie. I was delighted you were part of the team. And even more delighted you are part of this organization.
George
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Exhausted & Exhilarated.
Several years ago an experienced professional visited Delarc and wrote about his visit in his organization's newsletter, one with a state-wide if not national distribution. His tour was thorough. Our agency was one of dozens he had visited over his career.
He was quite taken with what he saw and the article contained many wonderful comments. One line he wrote though has stayed with me all these years later. When talking about the energy and spirit of our staff he wrote, "Exhaustion and exhilaration at the end of an 8 hour day."
Now, so many years later, and once more 30,000 feet over the Carolinas that's the line that sums up this trip. Up at 3:00 a.m. to drive two hours to Atlanta to catch an 8:30 flight home we're feeling exhilaration and fairly exhausted. It's hard not to be exhilarated when, once again 100% of the staff from two very different organizations are raving about the Shift Happens training we provided them this week. And while part of the exhaustion comes from being up at 3:00 the majority of it comes from the grueling training schedule and the associated physical and mental exertion.
Monday and Tuesday with one organization just north of the city of Atlanta, and Thursday and Friday with another an hour and a half away, Wednesday as a day of travel, debriefing of one, preparation for the other and then there's the matter of our real jobs back in Delaware County. Phone calls, emails, letters, and other items as necessary and maybe a little exercise fill up another ten-hour day.
Both agencies serve individuals with developmental disabilities but that's where the similarity ends. One was larger, one offered several other services, one had a foundation set by religious tradition, one was a division of a huge corporation, one focused on a limited geography, one had just recovered from a serious setback.
In both cases there was a mix of new and veteran staff. I loved it when one of the higher level administrators, who had lots of experience on the front lines caught me at the end of his second day to tell me that he agreed to attend the sessions because it was the right example to set, but that he expected it would be rather typical; something to be endured. He told me that he had "sat through" tons of training sessions over the years and to his absolute delight this was the best one ever. It was a comment shared by everyone else in both groups. Pretty awesome but read on…
How great is this?
On Monday and Tuesday a young but experienced woman suffered through the days with a serious head cold. She was sniffling throughout and used way too many tissues to count. Several times over the two days, Chris and Stacie, my teammates this time, and I commented to ourselves and to each other about what a trooper she was. She didn’t just hang in there, she fully participated. At times she was skeptical to the point of resistance, yet she displayed a hunger and eagerness to learn.
When the session ended late Tuesday afternoon she expressed sincere gratitude for all she learned. We told her we appreciated having her in the group and were proud of the way she went about learning and wished her well.
I don't know about Chris and Stacie but I was sure she was heading straight home to bed. We then turned our attention to a small group of their leadership team to debrief the two days and confirm the objectives they had set for the next six weeks.
About 30 minutes into the debriefing, our cold victim reappeared and politely excused herself for interrupting. She said there was something she felt she just had to tell us. She went on to say she had just spent the last half hour talking to her supervisor about a difficult subordinate… a person older than her with a strong personality whose performance had troubled her for quite some time (years?). She said that as a result of today's training she gained the confidence to confront the individual and the knowledge of how to do so in a way that would encourage improved performance. She said, "For the first time I feel truly empowered." How great is that!
Read on for more…
That was great. Now read this.
24 hours later Chris and I received the following email (which we promptly shared with Stacie) from a supervisor in the same group whose name is withheld:
Hello George & Chris,
I would like to share a story with you. Early this morning I received a call on my cell. Upon answering, I discovered it was a staff at one of our houses who attended both days of the training. My initial thought was "Oh, no" as this is a staff who I like and value, but she only calls me when she has a major complaint or concern, and usually results in me having to do some sort of legwork. I asked her how she was (sick?) and what was up. She then told me that she called just to tell me how much she admires the way I find just the right words to talk to the individuals we serve, and how she aspires to learn that skill, and just how much she appreciates that about me.
I am floored and humbled by the effect your training has had on our staff, and must express to you our commitment to the philosophy. Staff are excited that you're coming back, and look forward to it.
Just wanted to share and say thank you.
An uphill, no, up a steep mountain battle.
On one hand we truly are exhilarated by the response of these dedicated people to the introduction of our philosophy and approach which we were privileged to offer. But, and this is a huge but, funding is a huge obstacle. When we were first discussing the possibility of this contract we learned that the state of Georgia is the 10th largest state in the union by population yet it is 51st in spending on individuals with developmental disabilities. After working with four organizations we're beginning to learn how such poor funding over decade upon decade has created a huge mountain for providers to scale. On one hand I see the obstacles and the state of affairs and my heart goes out to these Don Quixote's; on another my admiration for them grows and grows, as does my desire to make the training we give them the very best.
It doesn't matter how you deal the Delarc cards.
On this trip I was joined by our Director of Residential Services, Christine Fritzsch and our Community Relations Assistant, Stacie Haynes. They represented two different ends of the Delarc staff spectrum. Chris has been with us 20 years, has worked herself up through the ranks with a tremendous range of experience and a wealth of knowledge. Over the years she has conducted enough training for other organizations to be considered a senior member of our training team. Stacie, on the other hand, is fairly new, having joined us only a few months ago, and her work in an administrative capacity has barely given her enough experience to be considered a junior member of the training team. What a great team they were and are.
The organizations we worked with provided a substantial amount of residential services and they found Chris' input invaluable. She was able to give them very specific answers to their many questions. No matter how serious or desperate the problems she offered concrete advice and practical solutions which they eagerly absorbed.
What confidence Stacie showed! She was always at attention, ready to step in and do whatever needed to be done. One day into the training and you would have thought she was a regular. She freely interacted with trainees, offered insights from a newbie, took photos and, video camera in hand, interviewed attendees, and she never once came off as a flack. I was impressed with her confidence and even more so with her perspective.
Over dinner on our last night, the three of us were discussing the training and the exceptional work the two of them did. We talked about the next team of Bo and Jim and of future teams. At one point I said to Stacie that one of the things that I particularly love about Delarc staff is that when it comes to such teams we can take all our staff's names, shuffle them up and deal out any two or three and always, and I mean always, come up with a great team. I know. I've done it time and again. Teams have included executives, professionals, direct service staff, aides, administrative staff, contracted staff and even volunteers and board members.
Always winners. It's amazing. It speaks to the depth of our culture and our commitment to recruit only the best.
Fill those buckets.
Tom Rath wrote a best selling book entitled How Full is Your [emotional] Bucket. When we introduce the topic of praise and reinforcement we sight Mr. Rath's book to show how important praise and reinforcement is to the general population. That sets the stage for helping the audience better understand how lavish we need to be with people we serve, many of whose buckets have been drained for years and years. They get it and they love it. They always leave inspired to use praise and reinforcement as a tool to improve their many and varied relationships and to use it to encourage the people they serve to learn and grow. It is amazing and very powerful stuff.
I hope after reading these passages your bucket is feeling a little bit fuller.
More next time…
He was quite taken with what he saw and the article contained many wonderful comments. One line he wrote though has stayed with me all these years later. When talking about the energy and spirit of our staff he wrote, "Exhaustion and exhilaration at the end of an 8 hour day."
Now, so many years later, and once more 30,000 feet over the Carolinas that's the line that sums up this trip. Up at 3:00 a.m. to drive two hours to Atlanta to catch an 8:30 flight home we're feeling exhilaration and fairly exhausted. It's hard not to be exhilarated when, once again 100% of the staff from two very different organizations are raving about the Shift Happens training we provided them this week. And while part of the exhaustion comes from being up at 3:00 the majority of it comes from the grueling training schedule and the associated physical and mental exertion.
Monday and Tuesday with one organization just north of the city of Atlanta, and Thursday and Friday with another an hour and a half away, Wednesday as a day of travel, debriefing of one, preparation for the other and then there's the matter of our real jobs back in Delaware County. Phone calls, emails, letters, and other items as necessary and maybe a little exercise fill up another ten-hour day.
Both agencies serve individuals with developmental disabilities but that's where the similarity ends. One was larger, one offered several other services, one had a foundation set by religious tradition, one was a division of a huge corporation, one focused on a limited geography, one had just recovered from a serious setback.
In both cases there was a mix of new and veteran staff. I loved it when one of the higher level administrators, who had lots of experience on the front lines caught me at the end of his second day to tell me that he agreed to attend the sessions because it was the right example to set, but that he expected it would be rather typical; something to be endured. He told me that he had "sat through" tons of training sessions over the years and to his absolute delight this was the best one ever. It was a comment shared by everyone else in both groups. Pretty awesome but read on…
How great is this?
On Monday and Tuesday a young but experienced woman suffered through the days with a serious head cold. She was sniffling throughout and used way too many tissues to count. Several times over the two days, Chris and Stacie, my teammates this time, and I commented to ourselves and to each other about what a trooper she was. She didn’t just hang in there, she fully participated. At times she was skeptical to the point of resistance, yet she displayed a hunger and eagerness to learn.
When the session ended late Tuesday afternoon she expressed sincere gratitude for all she learned. We told her we appreciated having her in the group and were proud of the way she went about learning and wished her well.
I don't know about Chris and Stacie but I was sure she was heading straight home to bed. We then turned our attention to a small group of their leadership team to debrief the two days and confirm the objectives they had set for the next six weeks.
About 30 minutes into the debriefing, our cold victim reappeared and politely excused herself for interrupting. She said there was something she felt she just had to tell us. She went on to say she had just spent the last half hour talking to her supervisor about a difficult subordinate… a person older than her with a strong personality whose performance had troubled her for quite some time (years?). She said that as a result of today's training she gained the confidence to confront the individual and the knowledge of how to do so in a way that would encourage improved performance. She said, "For the first time I feel truly empowered." How great is that!
Read on for more…
That was great. Now read this.
24 hours later Chris and I received the following email (which we promptly shared with Stacie) from a supervisor in the same group whose name is withheld:
Hello George & Chris,
I would like to share a story with you. Early this morning I received a call on my cell. Upon answering, I discovered it was a staff at one of our houses who attended both days of the training. My initial thought was "Oh, no" as this is a staff who I like and value, but she only calls me when she has a major complaint or concern, and usually results in me having to do some sort of legwork. I asked her how she was (sick?) and what was up. She then told me that she called just to tell me how much she admires the way I find just the right words to talk to the individuals we serve, and how she aspires to learn that skill, and just how much she appreciates that about me.
I am floored and humbled by the effect your training has had on our staff, and must express to you our commitment to the philosophy. Staff are excited that you're coming back, and look forward to it.
Just wanted to share and say thank you.
An uphill, no, up a steep mountain battle.
On one hand we truly are exhilarated by the response of these dedicated people to the introduction of our philosophy and approach which we were privileged to offer. But, and this is a huge but, funding is a huge obstacle. When we were first discussing the possibility of this contract we learned that the state of Georgia is the 10th largest state in the union by population yet it is 51st in spending on individuals with developmental disabilities. After working with four organizations we're beginning to learn how such poor funding over decade upon decade has created a huge mountain for providers to scale. On one hand I see the obstacles and the state of affairs and my heart goes out to these Don Quixote's; on another my admiration for them grows and grows, as does my desire to make the training we give them the very best.
It doesn't matter how you deal the Delarc cards.
On this trip I was joined by our Director of Residential Services, Christine Fritzsch and our Community Relations Assistant, Stacie Haynes. They represented two different ends of the Delarc staff spectrum. Chris has been with us 20 years, has worked herself up through the ranks with a tremendous range of experience and a wealth of knowledge. Over the years she has conducted enough training for other organizations to be considered a senior member of our training team. Stacie, on the other hand, is fairly new, having joined us only a few months ago, and her work in an administrative capacity has barely given her enough experience to be considered a junior member of the training team. What a great team they were and are.
The organizations we worked with provided a substantial amount of residential services and they found Chris' input invaluable. She was able to give them very specific answers to their many questions. No matter how serious or desperate the problems she offered concrete advice and practical solutions which they eagerly absorbed.
What confidence Stacie showed! She was always at attention, ready to step in and do whatever needed to be done. One day into the training and you would have thought she was a regular. She freely interacted with trainees, offered insights from a newbie, took photos and, video camera in hand, interviewed attendees, and she never once came off as a flack. I was impressed with her confidence and even more so with her perspective.
Over dinner on our last night, the three of us were discussing the training and the exceptional work the two of them did. We talked about the next team of Bo and Jim and of future teams. At one point I said to Stacie that one of the things that I particularly love about Delarc staff is that when it comes to such teams we can take all our staff's names, shuffle them up and deal out any two or three and always, and I mean always, come up with a great team. I know. I've done it time and again. Teams have included executives, professionals, direct service staff, aides, administrative staff, contracted staff and even volunteers and board members.
Always winners. It's amazing. It speaks to the depth of our culture and our commitment to recruit only the best.
Fill those buckets.
Tom Rath wrote a best selling book entitled How Full is Your [emotional] Bucket. When we introduce the topic of praise and reinforcement we sight Mr. Rath's book to show how important praise and reinforcement is to the general population. That sets the stage for helping the audience better understand how lavish we need to be with people we serve, many of whose buckets have been drained for years and years. They get it and they love it. They always leave inspired to use praise and reinforcement as a tool to improve their many and varied relationships and to use it to encourage the people they serve to learn and grow. It is amazing and very powerful stuff.
I hope after reading these passages your bucket is feeling a little bit fuller.
More next time…
Friday, February 15, 2008
Comments and Questions are encouraged...
If you have comments or questions regarding our proactive philosophy and positive appoach, our consulting and training services, or Delarc in general, please post a comment. We would like to hear from you.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I Continue to Learn from Our Staff
Yesterday afternoon I spent 4 hours introducing a group of 16 of our staff to our People Power Leadership Model. Most have been hired within the last year though one person has been with us for 14 years and this was her fourth time in this session. Later she recommended everyone coming back for a refresher from time to time and I couldn't agree more.
People Power is about our values based human resource practices. Building our vision and values into our various H.R. practices so that we continue to clarfiy and strengthen our culture.
A few of the folks in the group have been with us for only a few days or weeks.
In this organization we pride ourselves on our elaborate recruitment process. Three interviews, three hours each, three settings with at least three interviewers particiapating at every stage. We are convinced this results in hiring the best of the best. Spending time with them confirms that belief. But when you spend time with the best you also learn from them.
While I led the training some things they taught me stand out:
1 History. People are intrigued by our history. How we developed our philosophy and approach. Understanding that its roots go back 30+ years helps them realize that quality doesn't come easy and requires consistent effort over time. This sets the tone for the message delivered later in the session about the need for them to continue to learn and grow. That learning is a life long activity and that we need staff who understand and welcome that challenge.
2 The BIG Picture. The age of "just do as I tell you" is over. (Actually, I believe it died 20 years ago but most organizations are only now coming to terms with it and far too many still don't get it.) One staff member said it succinctly when she said something like, "Since I was hired two months ago I've been learning lots of the pieces and that's proper and important. It's very helpful to have the opportunity today to see how all these pieces come together and make sense." This confirmed a conclusion I reached many years ago that people need and in fact are longing for the big picture. It is a key to their growth and development. Things need to make sense. They don't mind and in fact fully understand they need to master elements a piece at a time. But that isn't enough for the best of the best. Those folks want more.
3 Transparency. This term has become an overused cliche in our society. We hear calls for transparency every night on the news and see it every day in the newspapers. Yet we don't hear much about successful models of transparency.
To me, it means more than simple attempts at openness (though most organizations are not that open). It means actively taking the time to help employees understand our vision, our values and our operating practices and encouraging inquiries, discussion and debate.
Yesterday I learned this training helps our organization be more transparent and that transparency is important for new recruits as much as for seasoned veterans .
4 Eagerness to learn and grow. I also learned how the best of the best truly do want to learn and grow. They know what we have to offer is substantial and complex but that doesn't scare them. It actually inspires them.
5 Gratefullness. I also learned that when the organization encourages and supports this growth
staff are genuinely grateful. This type of gratitude builds loyalty and commitment and does more for morale than any incentive tokenism could ever accomplish.
6 They love the Stages of Development process. Delarc developed this process a few years ago and it is very gratifying to hear so many new staff say how much they appreciate this development tool. Several of the newer staff left the session armed with an appreciation of this fundamental tool, other veterans left with a much deeper appreciation of it. In all cases they see it as helpful to them. This taught me that the best of the best don't just say they want to grow and develop but that they welcome and absorb tools specifically developed for that purpose.
All morning I fought to sqeeze the time necessary to properly prepare for the teaching I was going to to do in the afternoon. When it was all over, I realized how much they taught me.
Way cool!
Thank you to everyone present.
People Power is about our values based human resource practices. Building our vision and values into our various H.R. practices so that we continue to clarfiy and strengthen our culture.
A few of the folks in the group have been with us for only a few days or weeks.
In this organization we pride ourselves on our elaborate recruitment process. Three interviews, three hours each, three settings with at least three interviewers particiapating at every stage. We are convinced this results in hiring the best of the best. Spending time with them confirms that belief. But when you spend time with the best you also learn from them.
While I led the training some things they taught me stand out:
1 History. People are intrigued by our history. How we developed our philosophy and approach. Understanding that its roots go back 30+ years helps them realize that quality doesn't come easy and requires consistent effort over time. This sets the tone for the message delivered later in the session about the need for them to continue to learn and grow. That learning is a life long activity and that we need staff who understand and welcome that challenge.
2 The BIG Picture. The age of "just do as I tell you" is over. (Actually, I believe it died 20 years ago but most organizations are only now coming to terms with it and far too many still don't get it.) One staff member said it succinctly when she said something like, "Since I was hired two months ago I've been learning lots of the pieces and that's proper and important. It's very helpful to have the opportunity today to see how all these pieces come together and make sense." This confirmed a conclusion I reached many years ago that people need and in fact are longing for the big picture. It is a key to their growth and development. Things need to make sense. They don't mind and in fact fully understand they need to master elements a piece at a time. But that isn't enough for the best of the best. Those folks want more.
3 Transparency. This term has become an overused cliche in our society. We hear calls for transparency every night on the news and see it every day in the newspapers. Yet we don't hear much about successful models of transparency.
To me, it means more than simple attempts at openness (though most organizations are not that open). It means actively taking the time to help employees understand our vision, our values and our operating practices and encouraging inquiries, discussion and debate.
Yesterday I learned this training helps our organization be more transparent and that transparency is important for new recruits as much as for seasoned veterans .
4 Eagerness to learn and grow. I also learned how the best of the best truly do want to learn and grow. They know what we have to offer is substantial and complex but that doesn't scare them. It actually inspires them.
5 Gratefullness. I also learned that when the organization encourages and supports this growth
staff are genuinely grateful. This type of gratitude builds loyalty and commitment and does more for morale than any incentive tokenism could ever accomplish.
6 They love the Stages of Development process. Delarc developed this process a few years ago and it is very gratifying to hear so many new staff say how much they appreciate this development tool. Several of the newer staff left the session armed with an appreciation of this fundamental tool, other veterans left with a much deeper appreciation of it. In all cases they see it as helpful to them. This taught me that the best of the best don't just say they want to grow and develop but that they welcome and absorb tools specifically developed for that purpose.
All morning I fought to sqeeze the time necessary to properly prepare for the teaching I was going to to do in the afternoon. When it was all over, I realized how much they taught me.
Way cool!
Thank you to everyone present.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Off to a great start...
Coming home
Up at 4:30 to catch a plane. It's Saturday morning February 9, Delarc Speech Pathologist Marcia Maxwell Brown and I are flying over one of the Carolinas as we head home from a week of exhausting yet exhilarating work. We spent Monday and Tuesday with one organization and Thursday and Friday with a second. The beginning of a year long project of mentoring six such organizations. We'll be back in two weeks to begin with numbers 3 & 4 and two weeks later with agencies 5 & 6.
They were so different; yet in so many ways the same. One rural; one more urban. One somewhat larger; one a little smaller. One serving certain individuals with developmental disabilities and the other specializing in a somewhat different mix. We followed the same training agenda but found ourselves varying from it to meet each organization's particular needs.
Preparation, preparation, preparation
During this trip I relearned a lesson I first learned many years ago. Preparation is oh so important. It enables you to think beyond the material you want to cover and they agreed to receive. It enables you to listen to the audience without losing confidence that you will get them where they want and need to go even if not by the same path..
In both cases they told us we left them in a better state than when we arrived. We brought them a renewed consumer-centered focus and left them with the energy that focus generates. They'll need it because we also left them with some very ambitious objectives to achieve before we return in six seeks. We also left them with a firm belief that the objectives are worthy and with the confidence they will need to see them through.
A gift from a good friend
Art Dykstra, a personal hero and good friend once gave an auditorium full of people the book, How Full is Your Bucket? How fortunate I was to be in that group. And how fortunate for the hundreds, maybe thousands of people, these most recent folks included, I've talked to about the book since then. In addition to the other objectives, they left with a commitment to fill the emotional buckets of the people they serve, the people with whom they work and their families. There will be an awful lot of bucket filling going on and the thought of that, in turn, fills ours.
Caring without restraint...
So important with everyone and especially with the children and adults we serve. Yet taken for granted to such a degree that everyone believes they do it well. Yet after a couple of days with us they realize how much better they can be and need to be.
A remarkable exercise
At one point, early in the first day, we ask our audiences if they care about the people they support. Of course, just like all our prior audiences, everyone present raises their hand. We then ask them on a scale of 1 to 10 to jot down the average caring of their particular work group.
We then ask how many of them had a teacher in school that genuinely cared about them. How many had a teacher that made them feel special, that bent over backwards for them. A teacher that could help them turn around during a bad day and who could get them to work hard even with subjects they really didn't like.
Over the last few years we have conducted this exercise with hundreds, if not thousands, of people and the responses are always similar. About 80% of the audience raise their hands. We ask them to look around and notice how many people don't raise their hand. How many people can't remember even one teacher who really cared about them. This, I believe is the real problem, the real shame of our educational system.
We then ask how many had two such teachers and are amazed that rather consistently about 50% of the people raise their hands. That number reduces to about 10 % when we ask, how many had three such teachers.
We then ask them what would happen if we had all those teachers that everyone had throughout elementary, middle, high school and college in one room and asked them if they cared about their students. To no one's surprise, everyone is quick to respond that all those teachers would surely raise their hands.
We then ask how many folks have had to struggle with the decision of seeking nursing home care for a parent or grandparent and a fair number of hands go up. We ask those folks what the source of the struggle was and inevitably the majority respond they were afraid their family member would not receive the care, the very basic care, they required.
We then ask them what would happen if we had all the employees of all those nursing homes in the room and asked them if they cared about their patients. "Everyone would raise their hand", comes the unanimous response.
This exercise hits people very close to home and makes it very easy for them to see that caring is determined by the response of the person receiving the care, not the person being paid to care.
After this exercise and further discussion we conclude the exercise by asking them to once again rate the average caring of their particular work group. It probably comes as no surprise, yet is still striking that no one has ever said their rating was higher the second time around. As individuals, families and organizations we have a long way to go if we are to care without restraint!
Up at 4:30 to catch a plane. It's Saturday morning February 9, Delarc Speech Pathologist Marcia Maxwell Brown and I are flying over one of the Carolinas as we head home from a week of exhausting yet exhilarating work. We spent Monday and Tuesday with one organization and Thursday and Friday with a second. The beginning of a year long project of mentoring six such organizations. We'll be back in two weeks to begin with numbers 3 & 4 and two weeks later with agencies 5 & 6.
They were so different; yet in so many ways the same. One rural; one more urban. One somewhat larger; one a little smaller. One serving certain individuals with developmental disabilities and the other specializing in a somewhat different mix. We followed the same training agenda but found ourselves varying from it to meet each organization's particular needs.
Preparation, preparation, preparation
During this trip I relearned a lesson I first learned many years ago. Preparation is oh so important. It enables you to think beyond the material you want to cover and they agreed to receive. It enables you to listen to the audience without losing confidence that you will get them where they want and need to go even if not by the same path..
In both cases they told us we left them in a better state than when we arrived. We brought them a renewed consumer-centered focus and left them with the energy that focus generates. They'll need it because we also left them with some very ambitious objectives to achieve before we return in six seeks. We also left them with a firm belief that the objectives are worthy and with the confidence they will need to see them through.
A gift from a good friend
Art Dykstra, a personal hero and good friend once gave an auditorium full of people the book, How Full is Your Bucket? How fortunate I was to be in that group. And how fortunate for the hundreds, maybe thousands of people, these most recent folks included, I've talked to about the book since then. In addition to the other objectives, they left with a commitment to fill the emotional buckets of the people they serve, the people with whom they work and their families. There will be an awful lot of bucket filling going on and the thought of that, in turn, fills ours.
Caring without restraint...
So important with everyone and especially with the children and adults we serve. Yet taken for granted to such a degree that everyone believes they do it well. Yet after a couple of days with us they realize how much better they can be and need to be.
A remarkable exercise
At one point, early in the first day, we ask our audiences if they care about the people they support. Of course, just like all our prior audiences, everyone present raises their hand. We then ask them on a scale of 1 to 10 to jot down the average caring of their particular work group.
We then ask how many of them had a teacher in school that genuinely cared about them. How many had a teacher that made them feel special, that bent over backwards for them. A teacher that could help them turn around during a bad day and who could get them to work hard even with subjects they really didn't like.
Over the last few years we have conducted this exercise with hundreds, if not thousands, of people and the responses are always similar. About 80% of the audience raise their hands. We ask them to look around and notice how many people don't raise their hand. How many people can't remember even one teacher who really cared about them. This, I believe is the real problem, the real shame of our educational system.
We then ask how many had two such teachers and are amazed that rather consistently about 50% of the people raise their hands. That number reduces to about 10 % when we ask, how many had three such teachers.
We then ask them what would happen if we had all those teachers that everyone had throughout elementary, middle, high school and college in one room and asked them if they cared about their students. To no one's surprise, everyone is quick to respond that all those teachers would surely raise their hands.
We then ask how many folks have had to struggle with the decision of seeking nursing home care for a parent or grandparent and a fair number of hands go up. We ask those folks what the source of the struggle was and inevitably the majority respond they were afraid their family member would not receive the care, the very basic care, they required.
We then ask them what would happen if we had all the employees of all those nursing homes in the room and asked them if they cared about their patients. "Everyone would raise their hand", comes the unanimous response.
This exercise hits people very close to home and makes it very easy for them to see that caring is determined by the response of the person receiving the care, not the person being paid to care.
After this exercise and further discussion we conclude the exercise by asking them to once again rate the average caring of their particular work group. It probably comes as no surprise, yet is still striking that no one has ever said their rating was higher the second time around. As individuals, families and organizations we have a long way to go if we are to care without restraint!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Making the Shift happen
Hi there, I'm in Lithonia a suburb of Atlanta. Monday and Tuesday of this week we started an exciting one year project with the Department of Human Resources Office of Developmental Disabilities. The project contract calls for us to mentor 6 DD Agencies.
We will do this by providing four days of pretty intense in house training to each organization. The training is a lot to digest so we are doing it two days at a time over the next two months. Monday and Tuesday in agency # 1; Thursday and Friday in agency #2. Then back home for a week. Then back to do agencies 3 and 4, etc. When we are done with the first round of training we will start the second round on the same schedule.
Each agency will develop 4 Action Teams that will be charged with helping exisitng agency resources so that moving forward will be more manageable and so that the Shift will begin immediately. The four Action Teams are:
1 Assessment. This team will support the assessment of all staff members in 6 basic Shift Happens Competencies.
2 Training.
3 Culture Building.
4 Performance improvement.
One of our big concerns as we developed the contract was, what will happen after the first year?
This project is the beginning of a quality improvement effort that will take 3 to 5 years. What happens after we're gone. Yes we will provide each agency with 2 days of follow up visits during the year and yes we will also provide them with one hour telephone support in each of the next 12 months and yes the contract will fund 2 staff members from each agency to visit our organization for 2 days of high impact individualized attention, but what happens after the year is up? This was a big concern.
We hope collaboration will be the answer. The Champions of each Action Team will meet every six weeks to compare notes, share common experiences, brainstorm solutions to common problems, identify follow up training resources and, very importantly, share a common proactive, positive language.
In addition, quarterly the CEO's from each agency will meet with the Champions to hear about progress and address concerns of mutual importance. We hope by the end of the year these six agencies, some small, some quite large, some in urban settings and others quite rural will develop positive relations and be resourceful to each other.
If the rest of the project goes as well as the first two days, the results will be remarkable. The Office of Developmental Disabilities has impressed us with their selection process. We have conducted pre training conference calls with each agency and each was as impressive as the next. All different in size and location but all eager to participate in this very sinificant undertaking.
It confirms my belief that many of the people working in this field are desperate for a better way of doing things. They are talented and committed. They work hard for very modest pay and they are frustrated by the overly beaurocratic systems which control them and which seem to offer more obstacles than solutions; yet they won't give up and they still want to do more and better for the people they support. Yet, they often just don't know where to turn for guidance and direction.
Our proactive philosophy and positive approach offers many of them the kind of comprehensive, consumer centered, innovative solution they have been longing for.
I'm encouraged and excited.
More later.
George
We will do this by providing four days of pretty intense in house training to each organization. The training is a lot to digest so we are doing it two days at a time over the next two months. Monday and Tuesday in agency # 1; Thursday and Friday in agency #2. Then back home for a week. Then back to do agencies 3 and 4, etc. When we are done with the first round of training we will start the second round on the same schedule.
Each agency will develop 4 Action Teams that will be charged with helping exisitng agency resources so that moving forward will be more manageable and so that the Shift will begin immediately. The four Action Teams are:
1 Assessment. This team will support the assessment of all staff members in 6 basic Shift Happens Competencies.
2 Training.
3 Culture Building.
4 Performance improvement.
One of our big concerns as we developed the contract was, what will happen after the first year?
This project is the beginning of a quality improvement effort that will take 3 to 5 years. What happens after we're gone. Yes we will provide each agency with 2 days of follow up visits during the year and yes we will also provide them with one hour telephone support in each of the next 12 months and yes the contract will fund 2 staff members from each agency to visit our organization for 2 days of high impact individualized attention, but what happens after the year is up? This was a big concern.
We hope collaboration will be the answer. The Champions of each Action Team will meet every six weeks to compare notes, share common experiences, brainstorm solutions to common problems, identify follow up training resources and, very importantly, share a common proactive, positive language.
In addition, quarterly the CEO's from each agency will meet with the Champions to hear about progress and address concerns of mutual importance. We hope by the end of the year these six agencies, some small, some quite large, some in urban settings and others quite rural will develop positive relations and be resourceful to each other.
If the rest of the project goes as well as the first two days, the results will be remarkable. The Office of Developmental Disabilities has impressed us with their selection process. We have conducted pre training conference calls with each agency and each was as impressive as the next. All different in size and location but all eager to participate in this very sinificant undertaking.
It confirms my belief that many of the people working in this field are desperate for a better way of doing things. They are talented and committed. They work hard for very modest pay and they are frustrated by the overly beaurocratic systems which control them and which seem to offer more obstacles than solutions; yet they won't give up and they still want to do more and better for the people they support. Yet, they often just don't know where to turn for guidance and direction.
Our proactive philosophy and positive approach offers many of them the kind of comprehensive, consumer centered, innovative solution they have been longing for.
I'm encouraged and excited.
More later.
George
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