Planting Seeds

In looking at improving collaboration across all levels and empowering employees to express their ideas, I took baseline measures across the following actions:

— How often do I seek out feedback about our clinical programs and my performance? Baseline: 0 occurrences per week
— How often do I seek out ideas from others when engaging in clinical programming? Baseline: 0 occurrences per week

Although I have a strong clinical vision for most cases that the practice takes on, I was a little shocked at the 0.

This is step two of our experiment in using OBM and the principles of the book The 5 Scientific Laws of Life & Leadership to heighten Nurture & Nature’s profile and further develop my leadership skills.

View the previous post in this series, “Checking In with the Stakeholders.”

In looking at improving collaboration across all levels and empowering employees to express their ideas, I took baseline measures across the following actions:

Although I have a strong clinical vision for most cases that the practice takes on, I was a little shocked at the 0. Was I really not seeking out valuable information that may be useful in improving clinical performance and clinical outcomes? I found myself too wrapped up in taking data, making observations, directing protocols, and making sure the clinical documentation was on point. There was an immediate realization that these are the goals I want to focus on:

1) Increase the number of occurrences over the course of a week that I seek out feedback about our clinical programs and my performance from the therapists.
2) Increase the number of occurrences over the course of a week that I seek out ideas about clinical programing from the therapists.

For each goal, my target is to reach 7 occurrences or more per week.

I started taking data and made myself a visual that I put on my desk as a reminder. This week I was able to ask for feedback for 4 occurrences and ask for ideas for 3 occurrences.

So, not tremendous growth, but seeds were planted… now I need to nurture the seeds by attending to them, and, most importantly, enjoying the intrinsic rewards of incremental growth and success for the company. My long term and ultimate goal is to boost the score of the staff survey by at least by .5 on average.

A simple, but doable process: Measure where I am at, set the bar where I envisioned myself to be, use a visual reminder, measure and take data, and try to improve upon my performance from one day to the next. I am asking of myself the same thing I ask of my clients: Try your very best every day!

More importantly, I realize that my truly favorite thing in the entire world is watching things grow… and grow as quickly as possible. That is why I love being a behavior analyst... and sneaking off into the garden tor inspiration.

Kristine Dickson 2/25/22 Kristine Dickson 2/25/22

Checking in with the Stakeholders

Step one of our experiment in using OBM and the principles of the book The 5 Scientific Laws of Life & Leadership to heighten Nurture & Nature’s profile and further develop my leadership skills.

This is step one of our experiment in using OBM and the principles of the book The 5 Scientific Laws of Life & Leadership to heighten Nurture & Nature’s profile and further develop my leadership skills.

View the first post in this series, “A New Mission.”

Who in a company is effected by company culture? Everyone, of course, from clients/customers to staff.

As our client relations are strong, we decided to focus primarily on our team. We sent out an anonymous survey asking all staff members to rate their current experiences with various aspects of Nurture & Nature’s culture and leadership on a scale of 1-5 (with “5” equaling “Strongly Agree” and “1” equaling “Strongly Disagree”).

The survey yielded some interesting results, results that will serve as our baseline measures and help us further pinpoint where we are and how we can improve.

After calculating the average rating we received for each question, Denice (Nurture & Nature’s co-owner), conducted an IOA to validate the data. Here are the results:

“The Company is dedicated to diversity and inclusion.” Average Score: 4.6

“I feel safe in my work environment.” Average Score: 4.3

“At my Company, we treat each other with respect.” Average Score: 4.3

“I feel respected by my team.” Average Score: 4.2

“I receive regular kind and constructive feedback from management.” Average Score: 4.1

“I would like to work here as long as possible.” Average Score: 4.1

“The Company leaders are approachable and engaged.” Average Score: 4.1

“I often feel recognized for my work performance.” Average Score: 4.0

“I feel like my voice is heard at this company.” Average Score: 4.0

“I would highly recommend the Company to a friend/family member.” Average Score: 4.0

“I have the resources and training I need to succeed.” Average Score: 3.8

“I feel listened to and am able to contribute ideas to the company.” Average Score: 3.6

So, we have room for improvement, for sure.

What was most informative for me was that there was only one “Strong Disagree” in the survey results, and that was in the category, “I feel listened to and am able to contribute ideas to the company.” This truly made me stop in my tracks and reflect upon what this employee may be feeling, and what we can do to better support, and, more importantly, to hear him or her. It also made me realize that we could be thwarting innovation, and that these ideas that may be revolutionary and unheard.

Next, we are on to Goal Setting and taking action for improvement.

Kristine Dickson 2/22/22 Kristine Dickson 2/22/22

A New Mission

Anyone who knows me knows I am passionate and can be fiery about things that I care about deeply. This fire both fuels and burns, and I admit giving and getting feedback is hard. When employees are careless with things that I care about — the impact our actions have on our clients, lawful compliance, honesty, safety, ethics, to name a few — I can tend to express my feedback to them quite passionately, never name calling or discriminatory, but impassioned, consumed and intense.

With feedback, hopefully comes change, and I am on a mission to improve our company’s culture by utilizing the science of Applied Behavior Analysis, specifically OBM (Organizational Business Management), in which I received my certification in 2020 from FIT.

Anyone who knows me knows I am passionate and can be fiery about things that I care about deeply. This fire both fuels and burns, and I admit giving and getting feedback is hard. When employees are careless with things that I care about — the impact our actions have on our clients, lawful compliance, honesty, safety, ethics, to name a few — I can tend to express my feedback to them quite passionately, never name calling or discriminatory, but impassioned, consumed and intense. These are some of the same qualities that have led to Nurture & Nature’s success. Regardless, I’m writing this blog to document my journey as I test whether, by using OBM and the principles of the book The 5 Scientific Laws of Life & Leadership, I can both heighten my company’s profile and further develop my leadership skills. Step 1 is called “Pinpointing,” which, in short, means asking yourself, “What is it I want to change?”

Instead of relying solely on my own ideas of what I may need to change, today I am sending out an anonymous survey to see what our teams think of Nurture & Nature's leadership. Being CEO is rewarding, yet challenging. I am proud of everything Team Phenomenal has achieved over the last seven years, but there are still new heights to reach, new refinements to make, new systems, and new perspectives that can help us all grow.

I always enjoy rising to face challenges, but I’m not always so good at sharing my innermost thoughts and experiences. So, for this one, I’ve decided to face my fears and share this journey publicly. It is my greatest hope that, as I learn to improve myself and Nurture & Nature, my journey will inspire you to strive to reach your own greatest self.

View step one in our our experiment, Checking in with the Stakeholders.