WSS 2014 Leadership Summit

1. WSS 2014 Leadership Summit Leading in Times of Change March 25, 2014 www.publicconsultinggroup.com

2. Agenda • Introductions, Objectives, Observations • Sources Examined • Adaptive Leadership Principles • Two Things to Ponder • Reflection and Q&A / Discussion • Wrap Up

3. Public Consulting Group Management Consulting Firm • Established in 1986 & headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts • 1,300+ employees, offices in 43 states throughout the U.S. and in Canada, the U.K. & Poland, including Asheville, Charlotte, and Raleigh • Focused exclusively on public agencies and their private contractors/partners • In NC since 1994, on WSS since 2011

4. Presenter Robin O’Brien • Associate Manager in PCG’s Human Services Practice Area • 20 years experience in project/program management across public, not-for-profit, and for-profit sectors • 10 years experience helping public human services agencies continuously improve their performance, capacity, and results • Co-Creator of APHSA’s Organizational Effectiveness practice built and refined through 75+ projects in 30 states • Facilitated WSS planning in 2011 and monitoring/annual planning each year since

5. Observations • WSS county and state leadership has been stable and resilient from 2011 to now. • NC FAST has blotted out the sun. • You’ve kept tacking toward your ultimate goals, and have made a lot of progress. • State-county relationships are strained, and you need to get back to “we” to stay on target and keep good people from leaving. • If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you’ll look back in 3/5/10 years and be amazed at what you’ve accomplished.

6. Objectives • Introduce concepts and tools for leading in times of change. • Help you begin to: • See a path from surviving to thriving; and • Plan ways to get on that path.

7. Reflective Thinking Questions • What do we do well as an organization? What do I do well as a leader? • Where do we need to improve as an organization? Where do Ineed to improve as a leader? • Where can I get support when things get rough? How can I support others when things get rough for them? • What do I want my legacy to be? • What 2-3 concrete things can I do when I get back to my county/team?

8. Sources Examined • Adaptive Leadership literature • Tools from practitioners • Direct experience in leadership, management, consulting Overcoming Trauma

9. Selected Sources - Literature Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass. Heifetz, R. and Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the Line – Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. Harvard Business School Press. Heifetz, R., Linsky, M., and Grashow, A. (2009). Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Harvard Business School Press. http://www.aphsa.org/content/dam/aphsa/pdfs/Innovation%20Center/2012-06-Art-of-Possible-Adaptive-Leadership-PolicyPractice.pdf http://innovationcenter.aphsa.org/content/dam/aphsa/pdfs/Innovation%20Center/2013-04-Pursuit-of-Adaptive-Leaders-in-All-Levels-PolicyPractice.pdf http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2012/11/09/leadership-2-0-are-you-an-adaptive-leader/ Overcoming Trauma

10. Selected Sources - Practitioners American Public Human Services Association. (2009). Positioning Public Child Welfare Guidance: Leadership Guidance. Retrieved from http://www.ppcwg.org/. APHSA Adaptive Leadership Toolkit (DRAFT 1-13-2014) APHSA Organizational Effectiveness Handbook, 4th Edition. http://www.lifelongfaith.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164069/becoming_an_adaptive_leader.pdf http://artsfwd.org/how-is-the-coachs-stance-valuable-in-adaptive-leadership/ Overcoming Trauma

11. Selected Sources – Experience Direct consulting experience with 25+ OE clients Consultation with HHS leaders (e.g., 2010 Human Services Advisory Board of 20+ state and local HHS CEOs, former IN family court judge and state child welfare director Judge Jim Payne) Experience helping to create national guidance (e.g., National Workgroup on Integration, PPCWG) Experience profiling HHS promising practices (e.g., through APHSA’s Raise the Local Voice initiative) Overcoming Trauma

12. How Adults Learn • Adapted from David Kolb • (www.infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning) Overcoming Trauma

13. Adaptive Leadership Principles Overcoming Trauma

14. What Works • Know the organization • Project into the future (assess trends and the environment) • Break down barriers • Be disruptive • Be agile to get to the goal • Empower the organization • Sense and respond Overcoming Trauma

15. Know the Organization • Its history … of change, relationships, structure • Its people … staff, clients, other stakeholders • Its community … culture, politics, values Overcoming Trauma

16. Project Into the Future • Environmental trends in client demographics, funding, regulation • Long-term impact of decisions • Potentially revolutionary impact of evolutionary changes Overcoming Trauma

17. Break Down Barriers • Collaborate with others who impact your clients’ success • Build trust between individuals and teams within your organization • Find common interests with traditional adversaries – build something together, “break bread” together Overcoming Trauma

18. Be Disruptive • Work back from what clients need • Challenge organizational norms, “sacred cows” • Find ways to comply that drive toward the desired future Overcoming Trauma

19. Be Agile to Get to the Goal • Regularly update organizational plans due to: • Lessons learned from implementation • New opportunities • Keep moving forward in a systematic way • Stay true to core practice principles and values • Pilot, monitor, and continuously improve innovations vs chasing “shiny things” • React to crisis and exit crisis mode asap • Explain changes as steps forward toward meeting client needs Overcoming Trauma

20. Empower the Organization • Engage staff, clients, and stakeholders as partners in identifying, analyzing, and implementing change -- user groups, task forces, surveys/focus groups • Flatten the organization by deemphasizing hierarchy, silos Overcoming Trauma

21. Sense and Respond • Know yourself – your strengths, gaps, tendencies – and model continuous learning • Communicate to the hearts, minds, and guts of your people • Acknowledge feelings of loss, celebrate small victories • Meet people where they are, and help them to move forward • Recognize and understand sources of resistance and engage with themhead on Overcoming Trauma

22. Examples from Other States • Virginia (e.g., Albemarle County, Hampton) • Minnesota (e.g., Dakota and Olmsted Counties) • Colorado (e.g., Jefferson County) • California (e.g., San Diego County) • Idaho WSS Overcoming Trauma

23. Two Things to Ponder Overcoming Trauma

24. Individual Coaching vs. Adaptive Leadership Individual coaching and adaptive leadership can be seen as parallel processes: • Works to inspire the coachee and helps him/her see a vision of what is possible • Listens and asks questions • Gets to know the coachee as a person • Helps the coachee come up with solutions (but doesn’t problem-solvefor them) • Leads open and honest conversations about the coachee’s performance and behavior • Sees coaching as a process that takes time • Knows and takes care of themselves • From recent PCG training in Coaching for Performance Management, adapted from literature/practice/experience reviewand refined by trainees Overcoming Trauma

25. Resilience from Trauma as a Potential Source of Leadership Strength Drivers of resilience and drivers of leadership capacity are similar: • Social supports and role models • Optimism balanced by realism • Faith in something larger than one’s self • A sense of meaning, morality and ethics • Reframing circumstances and events as constructive and instructive • Problem-solving skills • Forgiveness • Facing and overcoming fears • A sense of humor • Brain fitness • Physical fitness and stress management • From recent joint APHSA-PCG OE Tool Development Work Overcoming Trauma

26. Reflective Thinking Questions • What do we do well as an organization? What do I do well as a leader? • Where do we need to improve as an organization? Where do Ineed to improve as a leader? • Where can I get support when things get rough? How can I support others when things get rough for them? • What do I want my legacy to be? • What 2-3 concrete things can I do when I get back to my county/team?

27. Reactions? Questions? Overcoming Trauma

28. For More Information Robin O’Brien Erin Henderlight Senior Consultant ehenderlight@pcgus.com (828) 214-3614 Associate Manager rfobrien@pcgus.com (617) 426-1366 Overcoming Trauma

29. Public Consulting Group, Inc. 148 State Street, Tenth Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109 (617) 426-2026, www.publicconsultinggroup.com