Transcript

Interviewer: Actually that would be very interesting for our audience to hear. That plays around how your agency assisted the staff in making the change in your organization?

Nancy Brooks-Lane: One thing that worked for us was that you can not have the business model that so many of us grew up with, that kind of eight to five thinking. That is when the important stuff happens. There has to be more flexibility in what a work day means and what an environment means. One thing that we started with was really looking at the value of our organization. Really challenging our attitudes, our practices, "What are we doing that is devaluating, oppressive, judgmental or really destructive?" We also took on the challenge of identifying what was conventional in what we were doing as well. That is something that permeates our culture now. In meetings, we will talk about the language that we are using and talking about the folks we support so there is ongoing self-examination that has to continue. It is not like "OK. We have done that. We are through." That has to be a part of the effort continually. We are always talking about where we are, what are we doing? And again, the language piece of that is really important.

We also wanted to develop a culture of creativity. Staff had to be given more freedom. But before they are comfortable with the freedom, they have got to have the skills to be able to handle that freedom. There has to be supportive ideas and innovation. There has to be good trust. We use humor a lot. I think that is real important. And we use a course called Thoughtful Risk Taking. Staff need to know that it is OK to take risks that they are not going to be punished if it does not go as planned, because you learn much more from your mistakes than when things go smoothly. There are so many dimensions that are addressed through mistakes that you do not see when the world is perfect.