Volume 14 Number 2 • 2000
Geographical Diversity
by John Nousaine at North Country Independent Living Center
North Country Independent Living Center (ILC) serves eight rural counties
in northwest Wisconsin. Centers for Independent Living (CILs) with rural
service have unique challenges in serving large isolated service areas. In
order to insure the entire service area receives a reasonable level of service,
North Country developed the concept of "geographical diversity." It
is basically a commitment to the entire service area expressed in operational
procedures and activities. True geographical diversity is expensive—our
travel budget is extraordinary; we spend at least $5,000 per staff position
on travel. The following examples were cited as best practices.
Board
North Country has a consumer-controlled board of nine. There is
at least one board member from each county in the service area.
Part of the role of the members is to insure "their" county
is getting adequate service. Having board members from a diverse
area limits the amount of time the board can meet, so we have
quarterly meetings. The meetings are held in different communities
throughout the service area. Typically the board also meets two
to three additional times via telephone conference.
Staff/Operations
North Country uses the generalist model of service delivery; all
staff provide all services in all parts of the service area.
We travel a lot—just call us Road Warriors. Transportation
is the major barrier in our service area, so we need to go to
our customers because, for the most part, they can't come to
us. Cell phones have become an essential part of our operations.
Offices
The main office is located in Superior, Wisconsin in the northwest
corner of the service area. Eight staff work out of this office.
A branch office is located in Ashland (north-central part of
service area) staffed by two full time employees. North Country
also has itinerant offices in certain communities and tribal
communities. More about this later.
A common lament of satellite offices is the lack of communication
with the main office. This can lead to isolation and feelings of
being undervalued. To combat this we hold monthly staff meetings
alternating between Ashland and Superior. We partner staff with
co-workers from the other office. We have also had staff work out
of the other office on occasion. We feel it leads to a sense of
unity and increased communication.
North Country conducts focus groups in all counties every few
years. Based on this input we devised a plan to target certain
counties for aggressive outreach. Typically in two counties we
will find office space at a Job Center, County Extension Office,
etc., for no cost. We will staff it on a regular schedule with
itinerant (based out of either the Superior or Ashland office)
staff. While we have always traveled to meet with individual consumers,
this approach has given the agency more exposure. After a year
we are more likely to be remembered and calls increase from consumers
and the community in general. We also attend county board meetings
and tribal council meetings.
Tribal communities
North Country has five reservations within our service area. Outreach
to these communities is different from other isolated communities
in our service area because the tribes are sovereign nations
and have separate governments. We are fortunate to have past
and present board representation from some of these communities.
We are more fortunate to have past and present staff members who
belong to these tribes. Because of the connections and reputation
of these staff members, the tribal communities are using North
Country more and more. These relationships have allowed us to open
a branch office (using itinerant staff) on one of the reservations.
We have been able to build on this and establish scheduled visits
to other reservation towns.
The Native American staff assist our organization with advice
and training about cultural issues as well as how to deal with
other tribal governments. A former North Country staff is now the
director of the 121 Vocational Rehabilitation program on one reservation
and is purchasing transition services from North Country. North
Country was able to assist with the formation of the United Coalition
of Native Americans with Disability Concerns, a Native American-controlled
and consumer-controlled organization.
Our involvement with the Native American communities in northwest
Wisconsin means North Country is more accepted and effective at
serving Native American consumers. The Native American communities
have been able to find out more about disability-related issues
and develop more services because of this association with North
Country.
Outstationing
By Garry Owens, Red Rock Center for Independence, St. George, Utah
The Red Rock Center for Independence serves an area of over 34,000
square miles of rural Utah. A limited budget and sparse community
resources would not support a satellite office. It took four hours
to reach some of the vast service area during good weather, making
it unrealistic to serve them from the St. George main office. The
needs were evident and the limits were overwhelming. With a budget
of $35,000 it was decided that we would have to prioritize what
was needed in order to more efficiently serve the northern part
of our service area. It was decided that we would create a new
method for serving the areas from the local area. The budget could
not support an office so it was determined that the office would
not be in a fixed location. There would not be a phone line, desk
or desktop computer. In fact we would establish a mobile office.
Creating Outstationing
The Center purchased a laptop computer, a cell phone, and established
a budget for reimbursement of mileage. First one and eventually
two people were hired in two different communities in the rural
areas. Each person was hired because of his/her unique ability
to serve the diverse communities. Training routines were established
to assure the IL philosophy was maintained and routine monthly
meetings are held in St. George to continue the training. Outstation
staff connects weekly by conference call for staff meetings to
maintain some connection. An Outreach Committee was developed
including the Outstationed staff, a board member, and two consumers
in order to continue the innovation through brainstorming, goal
setting, planning, and evaluation.
Outcomes
Outstationing staff work in the field and report via e-mail, faxes,
and phone calls. Monthly, Outreach staff meet at the office for
two days in order to catch up on filing, staff meetings, ongoing
training, goal review, and committee meetings. Annually staff
meet somewhere in the service area to refresh. We review our
mission and vision statements, revisit the highlights of the
previous year's goals and accomplishments, and brainstorm new
goals for the coming year.
The Outstationing has created greater opportunities to connect
with people and their communities. The people we hired in the communities
have established reputations as locals, making networking and advocacy
more consistent and much more effective. We have had increased
opportunity to seek funding supports from the local county commissions.
Two counties send us a check each month to assist us with mileage
reimbursement. Local programs, schools, and businesses are more
supportive to our outreach efforts. We have increased our communication
with Vocational Rehabilitation programs in the outer areas; we
contract with the AgrAbility programs to provide referral for people
with disabilities in the agricultural setting; we are able to sit
on Local Interagency Councils as representatives to people with
disabilities; nursing home Ombudsman identify us as a mediator
for cases they find to hot to handle; and we are under contract
with the Department of Health to provide alternative options presentations
in the Medicaid long-term care facilities and swing bed programs.
Congratulations to Garry Owens for his recent recognition of an "innovative
program" by the IL Net.
Igniting the Spirit through Coaching
By Katherine Carol, Tango Consulting
A recent study in the public sector shows that, while training
alone increases employee productivity by 23%, coaching and training
together increases it by 88%. Imagine a 65% gain in productivity—coaching
is that good!
The Vision
Firing up the perfect blend of purpose, performance, passion, and
profit is at the heart of coaching. It is a strong extension
of current management and human resource efforts, moving from
traditional personnel management to actually inspiring and developing
individual employees. Coaching especially makes sense when shifting
from the mindset of managing people with disabilities to one
of encouraging growth. This happens through offering choices
and ever-increasing opportunities for more personal responsibility.
You see, when people working in the field of human services experience
tremendous personal and professional growth, they are more capable
of facilitating it.
The perfect organization has a team of professionals who live
to make a positive difference in the lives of people with disabilities.
They share a bond with the individual they support as they both
fully participate in mutual growth. More than that, they strive
to improve the organization's reputation and participation in the
community.
Having a team vividly "living" the mission everyday—standing
shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, involved in one of the greatest
social
re-re-engineering efforts of our time—is the vision. We
see a group of excited, passionate partners full of ideas and strategies.
We hear the desire, as individuals requesting support for employment
strive to improve their lives. The organization urgently wants
to meet that request.
We sit in a team meeting with co-workers and artfully move through
a powerful agenda to expand services. Or we see the sincere interaction
between a manager and an employee solving a problem. In the out-stretched
hand of understanding, we reach a frustrated parent one moment
and, in the next moment, extend a warm welcome to a community that
supports the mission of a proud organization. In this vision, we
continue to be touched by people who seek to make a difference.
The Problem
This describes the vision; the reality is often quite different.
Creating success in today's rock and roll world where nothing
seems certain and resources keep fluctuating has become more
challenging than ever. The rules keep changing—sometimes
daily. What worked yesterday may still work today—the only
difference is people want more from us—faster, better,
cheaper. They want to feel the passion, hear the spirit, and
see the results—NOW!
The Answer
Zeroing in on providing "died and gone to heaven" services
happens through leadership development and best practices. This
has been the main strategy in high performing organizations.
However, many organizations have trouble getting past basic survival
and requirement training (examples include CPR and medication certification).
So coaching can be used to improve skills for employees and managers
in the following areas:
• Communication
•
Career and personal growth
•
Job satisfaction
•
Relationship with co-workers and supervisors
•
Leadership development and supervision
•
Organizational and personal values
•
Negotiation strategies
•
Decision making skills
•
Work/life balance
According to Business Week (January 10, 2000), coaching has become
a legitimate industry. Corporations using coaching see not only
improvements in individual performances and greater retention of
talented employees, but increased profits and customer satisfaction.
Employees themselves report more self-confidence, stronger skills,
more goals achieved, and better relationships because of coaching.
It works!
How Coaching Works
Coaching has a variety of approaches. Some are strictly performance-based—that
is, they are skill specific and designed for quick improvement
in a limited area. Others are more transformational and growth-oriented.
What often emerges during a coaching relationship is a challenging
and often ineffective pattern of decision making and actions needing
examination. A coach can be particularly effective in bringing
the pattern to people's attention and helping them discover a new
way to approach similar situations.
You can use a well-known coaching technique called "questioning" to
get to the root cause of the problems, not just deal with symptoms.
The questioning technique also leads to strategies for moving past
limitations. Often, typical management methods focus on quick fixes
rather
than listening for the "root causes" to help them find
the best solution rather than just a solution. That's why it's
important to question those being coached on how they see solutions.
The questioning process also elicits a greater investment in following
through.
Group Coaching
Coaching can be expanded beyond individuals to groups. I frequently
coach work teams on project development and offer teleclasses and
coaching sessions for individuals seeking personal and professional
growth. We use a conference call, thus allowing people in a variety
of locations to talk together. These calls are used to facilitate
goal setting and decision-making, and to identify barriers and
brainstorm solutions. The sessions allow the coach to see patterns
of peak performance so he or she further develop those abilities—much
like a coach works with great athletes. (Remember that even Tiger
Woods has a coach!) And they let us look for patterns of breakdown,
which we want to reframe and replace with productive actions.
In corporate coaching situations, a manager or supervisor may
set an agenda for the group only. Ideally, the coaching session
also focuses on individual agendas—often overlooked in the
day-to-day operations. So having an objective third party can be
quite effective. With an outside coach facilitating the agenda,
it gives decision-makers a taste that leads to initiating a full
coaching program. These programs influence "rising stars" in
the organization as well as employees struggling with performance
or work/life balance concerns.
Managers As Coaches
Companies have another option: using their own managers as coaches.
Managers who have good people skills can be effective in coaching
their staff or the staff of other company managers. What doesn't
work is this: managers who think they are coaching but are really
just telling people to improve yet not taking the necessary time
to develop weekly goals and reinforcing them. They often miss
the key ingredients of listening, discovery, dealing with logistics,
and providing solid tools for success.
Begin Coaching Today
If you want to provide first-rate services, start a coaching program
in your organization. Take these steps to get started:
•
Decide to invest in your organization and start small.
•
Recruit interested individuals who would like to be coached (or
need to be coached).
•
Decide if you want to hire an outside coach or develop an inside
coaching program (or a combination of both).
•
For inside coaching—select your coaches, define the coaching
process, train them, and match with those seeking coaching.
•
For hiring an outside coach—select criteria describing your
coaching needs, send out a proposal, and interview and select coaches
or a coaching organization.
•
Review and evaluate your program and make adjustments.
•
Enjoy the quantum leap in organizational productivity
For quantum leaps and more effective use of resources, add coaching
to your management strategies. It will ignite the spirit of your
people and encourage them toward its vision. Doing so translates
into Purpose, Passion, Productivity, and Profit.
If you have further questions on coaching, call Katherine Carol
at (888) 706-0176. You can also visit the International Federation
of Coaches web site (www.coachu.com) for information on Coach University.
