A SERIES OF HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS
Advancing Strong Leadership in Developmental Disabilities, a three year program created to develop leadership skills and a depth of knowledge for 26 young North Carolina professionals in the field of developmental disabilities, held four half-day workshops created for Advancing Strong Leadership. The last workshop was titled "Using Person-Centered Thinking to Develop Person-Centered Organizations," and featured Michael Smull with Support Development Associates in Annapolis, Maryland. http://www.elpnet.net
If we are to have a system that supports self-determination for everyone, people with disabilities who use the services will need to:
Know what they want;
Have enough control over funding to buy those pieces that need to be paid for; and,
Have access to agencies that will supply the supports they want to buy.Michael Smull has done more to explore how these can occur for everyone, regardless of the significance of their disability, than probably any one else to date.
This session focused on how we can transform our agencies by using person-centered thinking skills. By teaching person-centered thinking skills to everyone in the agency and adopting person-centered management approaches, organizations can both improve the lives of people they support and benefit the organization itself in important and unexpected ways. Some of the principles covered include:
- Discontent as the engine for change
- 5 basic person-centered thinking skills
- Introducing and using the skills
- Using what is learned to drive and manage change