Old Dogs, New Tricks

By Margo Stevens, Founder, Genesis Services Inc.

WHO COULD IMAGINE that after working in the human service field for more than 20 years, every day would still be filled with new adventures? After all, by now everything is very commonplace and routine. All one needs to do to ensure success is expand on what has always been done and, perhaps, do it a bit better than the next guy. There are no pressing reasons to make any drastic changes. Wait awhile. Today’s fads will fade away and soon we can return to business as usual. Future changes will be incremental; major systematic changes have already occurred. Professionals have always been in control because without our experience and direction the system would fall apart. Anyone crazy enough to build her dreams, let alone the foundation of her business, on the idea that people with disabilities should and can control their lives is surely insane! She will soon be out of business.

I spent many hours listening to colleagues tell me such things. I had to weigh their words against my feelings and values. If they were right, I would soon be unemployed. If I was right, the world, as they knew it, would shortly cease to exist while mine would continually move, change, and grow.

It’s a radical concept: professionals should not be in charge—individuals with disabilities should be. We are playing with their lives; why aren’t they the ones handling the controls and making the decisions? Little did I realize that as professionals we had done our job so well that we trained people to accept our guidance without question. In return we never taught them that choice is also their right.

Self-determination makes sense and its implementation sounds simple—ask people what they’d like and help them get it. Although the premise is sound and people’s dreams are real, actual implementation was traumatic. I was no longer in charge. However, most people with whom I worked wanted me to tell them what they should do or at least define what they wanted. They had been conditioned to please me, the professional, and had forgotten, or never learned, to think and decide for themselves. What a shock! I offered choices and people asked me which they should choose! How on earth could I teach such basic concepts to them? Why didn’t they already have them? Most children have these concepts by the age of three. Where had I, the professional, missed the boat and why?

How would I approach the world of service delivery when all the rules defining my role and behavior suddenly changed? To survive and thrive, I changed my entire perspective of how the world operates. No longer able to simply read information and profess belief, I must act. These new ideas dictated performance, not rhetoric. I learned to be comfortable questioning everything. In the midst of these changes I reevaluated my role and those of others, how customer services were delivered, and the premise upon which each service and action was built. My associates, many of them new to the field of human services, continually questioned my statements and actions: “Why did you do it like that?” “Why can’t it be done differently?” “Is that the way things are done everywhere?” “Explain to me why you don’t just do things like everyone else in the world.” Initially I attempted to rationalize my “professional behavior.” Then I began saying: “I don’t know.” When that answer became unacceptable, even to me, I was forced to look at each situation from a new perspective and could only reply: “We’ve always done it that way, but it’s wrong.” What humbling experiences for an “old dog!”

I searched for answers outside my once comfortable human service box, because those roles and rules were no longer applicable. Many solutions came from my soul and others from places more mundane. I struggled because I had thought I had all the answers. Now I realized that I didn’t even know where or how to find accurate information, let alone formulate correct statements. In my frantic search for information, I asked colleagues millions of questions. To my dismay, they most often replied: “You already know the answer.” Ask the Universe for what you need and want, then wait, and listen. An ancient Zen proverb states that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Two years later, I’m beginning to grasp their meaning . . . and they were right. Answers and resolutions have always been available; I looked in the wrong places. Amazingly, my teachers were in front of me from the beginning. I only had to open my eyes to see them. My teachers are my customers. From them, I’ve learned more about people with disabilities than from any text, lecture, or professional.

This new world declares that individuals with disabilities are real people with all human rights. They cannot be excluded from anything or anyplace just because of their disabilities. One of my most astonishing realizations centered on this. Two customers were visiting colleagues in our office. I became impatient and wanted them to leave so we could “get back to work.” When I expressed my feelings to an associate, I was asked why their being in the office receiving support was any different from visits from employers, sponsors, or staff members? OUCH! She was right. I saw them as people with disabilities, not as people seeking support from others. I was one of the people I said I hated! I was segregating them (if only in my mind) because of their disabilities. I was repulsed by my thoughts and actions! Rest assured, this experience etched itself in the depths of my being and significantly changed the way I interact with people who have disabilities.

I soon realized that for this new approach to be successful, disabilities must become invisible. People I support actually became my customers. Customers are people with dreams, not people with disabilities. Once I viewed them as customers, I understood my true obligations: to respond to their requests in a timely and appropriate manner, to keep commitments I made to them, to support rather than try to direct them, and to value them. Clients, consumers, and participants became people, peers, and friends. Relationships changed; dreams became reality. I always thought I had the idea. I knew I could speak the words. I knew I believed in it. I also knew it was the “right” thing to do. However, I had no idea the baggage I carried from my previous experiences would weigh me down like an anchor. One day, as I drove with a colleague, I began sharing my frustrations regarding a problem we were having with one of our customers. This young woman was a trainee at a local supermarket. The problem was, when it was time to leave, she would not pass the check stand without attempting to get some gum. My colleague asked if she had money with her. I explained she always carries money. “Why can’t she just buy the gum? That’s what the rest of us would do if something caught our eye as we were leaving the store and we had the money to purchase it.” Right! I was looking at the disability and designing ways to “fix it.” My staff member was controlling and disallowing choice. My associate saw only a person with interests, desires, and resources.

The vision of a place where such occurrences are commonplace has become reality at Genesis Services. Two people, who knew there had to be a better way to support people with disabilities, conceived of it atop a grassy knoll. Founded on the belief that individuals with disabilities are the company’s primary customers, its mission is clear: “Total Customer Satisfaction.” Genesis employees never doubt that anything is possible and are unwavering in their support of people pursuing their dreams. Company actions and interactions are based on honor, trust, commitment, common sense, and equality. Genesis Services operates on premises from the business sector. It is noncompetitive and strives to make every opportunity a win-win situation. We value corporate connections. Staff members are active in the community. Life is in constant flux and our ability to thrive in chaos is vital. The outcome is success. My commitment to this vision is constantly challenged as I attempt to understand and implement concepts such as chaos theory, controlled floundering, abundance theory, paradigm shifts, quantum management, and virtual work groups. I must be a self-directed team member and share with them rather than forcing, demanding, or coercing them. Margaret Wheatley adeptly described the position in which I regularly find myself: “Into the smoking caldera I throw most of what I have treasured and most of the tools and techniques which have made me feel competent
. . . when I have made my sacrificial offerings to the Gods of understanding the ruptures will cease and I may begin again. I will set sail to places I now can only imagine.”

Genesis Services, Inc. is unlike any traditional human service organization. I know. I’ve directed two of them. In this organization everyone’s opinion is valued, risk taking is common practice, errors indicate motion, egos are set aside for the betterment of the customer or the company, information and support are freely shared, and supposedly impossible things occur daily. Keeping pace with a young team is continually challenging. Letting go of old ways, changing old patterns and expectations, and understanding the value of not needing to be in control takes a total commitment to change. Our efforts have resulted in a viable company that continually exceeds expectations and reestablishes performance parameters. It exists within the human service field but operates on a dynamic corporate model and solid internal values. Recognition, pride, growth, and revenues are all expanding exponentially.

Human service academicians have made an intellectual shift (on paper at least) from “normalizing and integrating” to “accepting and respecting.” Soon our actions must parallel our words, but until then, only those brave enough to travel uncharted waters will accept the challenge. I embarked on this new adventure, wholeheartedly and without regret. Like Nietzsche: “I have left the house of scholars and have slammed the door behind me. Too long I sat hungry at their table.” Life, as I once knew it, has ceased to exist. I’m no longer the professional-with-all-the-answers. I am a person working diligently to share, learn, and support others. I will run into unforeseen obstacles and will continue to experience revelations through conversations with my associates and my customers. However, I truly believe in the purity of the process and the truth of its principles. As I let go of old ways, a new world unfolds that is full of fresh, exciting, and exhilarating adventures. I invite the brave, the bold, and the strong to take up the challenge and join me in forging a new world of growth and acceptance. Within each of you is the power to change the world. I no longer fear becoming “disabled” because I am creating a place where I will be respected and valued no matter how I am labeled.

Would you like to effect dramatic changes in our profession and the lives of people with disabilities? If so, seek out opportunities to become actively involved in the world around you. Carefully building the capacity of your local community significantly increases the opportunities for this type of experience. You must continually and consistently educate everyone you meet, introduce the concept of people with disabilities being valuable prospective employees, and allow people to “feel your passion.” Small town values and connections make this transition easier because of the underlying commitment to creating and living within a harmonious, accepting, and supportive community. Exemplary customer support and satisfaction create excitement and motion. Cultivate friendships, dream, decide to become an active “participant in life,” risk, learn, grow. When we value individuals with disabilities and see them as peers, our actions will match our words. Then we can share our “new tricks” with others. Meanwhile, everyone benefits. Dare to change. The outcome is worth the pain.

What type of world are you creating? Is it a place where you would want to live, no matter how your life changed? I hope it is. My world is just such a place, and it’s wonderful!

Margo Stevens has supported people with disabilities since 1975, working in settings ranging from segregated schools to sheltered workshops to ICF/MRs. She directed two human service agencies. In 1996 she was one of the founders of Genesis Services, Inc. If you would like more information concerning this article, write: Genesis Services, Inc. at 2225 South 500 East #14, SLC, UT 84106; Phone (801)487-9173; or Fax (801)487-9176.