The United States Government recently set the tone for government agencies to involve the public in decision-making. Engaging citizenry in the scope of government practice requires government to think and act in radically different ways than in the past. In 2005 executives with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) held the same vision, but wrestled with the prospect of making that vision a reality. If the agency truly desired public participation, it needed to equip its staff for success in this arena. Before expanding outreach to the public, it needed to become more change resilient internally. Otherwise, SRS would receive input but not respond effectively - unable to truly listen and incorporate the public thinking - a recipe for frustration on all sides.

SRS, the largest cabinet level agency in Kansas, provides services to the most vulnerable populations. The agency's mission, protecting children and promoting adult self-sufficiency, governs its decision-making.

Prior to launch of this significant cultural change effort, SRS prepared the organization for the culture shifts and intentions involved in this change effort:

• From a crisis orientation to a prevention lens;
• From entitlement to accountability;
• From volunteers for work groups to selection based on reputation for innovation;
• From one-way communication to interactive social media;
• From SRS telling customers what to do to equipping customers to make wise choices.

The journey focused internally on learning new skills for becoming change resilient in order to embrace these new intentions. Once capacity became established within a microcosm of SRS, the methods diffused into planning efforts involving both employees and external stakeholders. SRS made an investment in organizational readiness now paying off with long-term gains.

The variety of services and reporting structures of the agency provides challenges for its employees. A by-product created by this structure - crisis orientation. Because the agency supports vulnerable populations, the work demands crisis intervention. Unfortunately, the agency reflected that culture in virtually all of its dealings - program, policy, planning and practice. This crisis orientation prohibited SRS from concentrating on learning, dialogue, collective wisdom, problem resolution and strategic planning.

Despite the need to act quickly in certain situations, the agency knew adopting a prevention orientation would empower employees to make decisions quickly within an infrastructure positioned to focus on long term results. This effort sought to instill a prevention mindset throughout the organization so even decisions made in crisis contributed to the customer's long term sustainability and safety.

Several theories guided the initiative. Those theories primarily comprised change management (John P. Kotter and Dan Cohen, 1996), systems thinking and organizational learning (Senge, 1990), effective change leadership (Dannemiller Tyson Associates, 2000; Bridges, 1996) and consulting (Block, 1981). These theories provided the backdrop for the focus the team explored to move cultural change throughout the organization. SRS assembled a microcosm of the organization to lead the effort. A microcosm affords the ability to see the whole system and maintain that sight in the midst of complicated change efforts. It represents and reflects the thinking of the entire system. The microcosm of 55 individuals represented all programs and state hospitals, geographic locations, and all levels of employees. The recruitment process for the group utilized another theory: Diffusion of Innovation championed by Everett Rogers, which suggests that successful change efforts must engage innovators and early adopters first in order for the effort to reach a tipping point more quickly (Rogers, 1964).

SRS intentionally built this effort on past successes, capitalizing on efforts, although not necessarily whole scale in nature that met with some success. Consolidating past gains provided a higher level of acceptance and agency support. The success of this initiative provided a foundation to consolidate another change. It spurred the agency to establish a comprehensive strategic direction in 2008.

This original initiative engaged senior leadership from the beginning. Senior management practiced change management skills and encouraged mangers within SRS to use the tools in their daily work. Within a year of beginning the effort, SRS incorporated some of the tools as part of its business - using them in contract planning/negotiations, community forums, goal setting and reviewing events.

From the outset, the effort placed a high importance on sustainability by investing in capacity building - taking the time to build skills of employees. By learning to practice the change management skills first, team members mastered these skills and led other employees in change management processes.

SRS established clarity in its intention to include public participation in every aspect of its operation. Its innovation became apparent regarding equipping staff to be successful involving the public - including its contractors and customers. SRS built a foundation of staff equipped to think and act in new ways. Competent and enthusiastic work teams created new organizational systems to systematically support changes within SRS. In other words, employees worked at the systems level to sustain change rather than viewing public participation as a series of events.

Ultimately, SRS intended for the changes in the way a bureaucracy thought to change the way in which the agency delivered its services and engaged the customer in success. Research clearly bears this intention out especially in the quality of the decision-making in a collaborative process and the impact on the quality of services provided to the ultimate customer. (Hicks, Larson, Nelson, Olds, Johnston, 2008). Changes in customer outcomes continue in the agency and the new thought patterns created during this initiative contribute significantly to the agency's ability to succeed despite difficult financial times.

References

Peter Senge. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. Doubleday Currency. 1990

Peter Senge. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization. Doubleday Currency. 1994

Peter Senge, Art Kleiner, Charotte Roberts, Richard Ross, George Roth, Bryan Smith. The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations. Doubleday Currency. 1999

Dannemiller Tyson Associates. Whole-Scale Change: Unleashing the Magic in Organizations. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2000

William Bridges. Managing Transitions; Making the most of change. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1991

Everett Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, 1964

Peter Block. Flawless Consulting: A guide to getting your expertise used. Pfeiffer & Company. San Diego, Toronto, Amsterdam, Sydney. 1981.

John P. Kotter and Dan Cohen, Leading Change, 1996.

Hicks, D, Larson, C, Nelson, C, Olds, D. & Johnston, E., (2008), The Influence of Collaboration on Program Outcomes, Evaluation Review, 32, 453-477

SRS derived a number of administrative benefits as a result of the organizational capacity building that occurred through the prevention initiative. At the time the initiative began the agency could not have predicted many of these administrative benefits. These benefits have been realized in large part due to the thoughtful infusion of skills and deliberate capacity building aimed at a large cross-section of agency staff from social workers who investigate child abuse, to agency finance staff to key managers. Another reason that administrative benefits accrued reflected the commitment on the part of key agency staff involved in the initiative along with Omega Point International contractors in ensuring that the SRS leadership had the continuing opportunity to be exposed to many of the skills and tools that staff were learning as a part of this initiative. This ensured (even through three changes at the agency Chief Executive Officer level during this initiative) a continued awareness, buy-in and accountability to the success of the initiative. As a result, staff involved in the initiative received a number of opportunities to use their skills to the benefit of the broader organization. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, prevention initiative staff facilitated work sessions using tools from the initiative to assess what SRS learned from deploying staff to assist in Louisiana and Mississippi as well as from planning in Kansas for the potential arrival of evacuees.

Two particular administrative benefits resulted in merit for further discussion. First, the initiative provided a strong cadre of informal leaders throughout the organization. For an organization with more than 6000 employees in dozens of locations across the state, this continues to yield benefits in moving forward organizational strategies. Basic business and public administration courses in organizational theory teach that in every organization there are both formal leaders and informal opinion leaders. These informal opinion leaders influence the organization's culture. These informal leaders serve as a barrier to or a catalyst for desired organizational change.

The investment in key staff resulted in the creation of a cadre of committed, passionate informal leaders at every level of the organization. Though not fully anticipated, these staff members continue to play a significant role in advancing agency priorities, in championing agency customers, and in influencing their colleagues at the line and administrative levels. On more than a few occasions, SRS intentionally asked these staff to assist in advancing an organizational strategy. Many times, however, this informal leadership occurred more organically. Because of the skills and tools learned, and the broader systems perspectives gained, these individuals naturally take on expanded roles as informal leaders.

A second administrative benefit of an increased emphasis on creating capacity created increased understanding and recognition of the importance of support systems in organizational success. As a social services agency, SRS' history focused on direct services to customers and building partnerships with key stakeholders and advocates to advance policies that protect children and promote adult self-sufficiency. Historically, the agency placed less emphasis on what actually must be in place to effectively and efficiently execute these policies. Many times the best laid plans from a policy and practice perspective became waylaid by inadequate technologies, inattention to financial constraints, or human resource or legal barriers. Like many government social service organizations, SRS regaled stories of investments in technology that failed to derive desired efficiencies for staff or of new initiatives that failed to yield anticipated benefits because of lack of resources to adequately train agency and contractor staff.

What the agency lacked in its history rested in a concomitant focus on the organization's capacity to achieve the desired strategies. Frequently, failures in effective execution primarily rested in a lack of attention to agency support systems, including finance, human resources, legal, technology and training support. The prevention initiative taught SRS the importance of alignment of a few key support systems in order to leverage organizational change. As a result the agency gained greater awareness of aligning agency support systems with an agency's organizational and cultural change efforts was essential not just for initial successful implementation but for sustained success. SRS has watched this awareness grow on the part of both agency business and program staff. The agency garnered improved communication and partnership between the administrative and business sides of the organization as a result of this effort. Additionally, staff understands the shared accountability for results and the shared success that comes from a more fluid alignment of support systems with key organizational change initiatives.

In August 2005, 55 staff members came together to learn about the concept of prevention and how it could become an integral part of the agency. More importantly, 55 staff members came together to discuss how a large statewide agency could make a paradigm shift from a culture of crisis to a culture of prevention.

There was almost a sense of urgency among the staff as the ambiguity lifted and the clarity emerged. For me as an Substance Abuse and Prevention Consultant, it meant intervening before the problem behavior had consumed the lives of my clients or recognizing critical moments to intervene. Personally, it simply felt right; it was an alignment with my core values and beliefs.

During one of the first sessions, our Omega Point International (OPI) Consultants challenged us to check our mental models and be mindful of the choices we make. My personal commitment in August of 2005 was:

1. I will not dwell on barriers, limitations or the worthiness of new concepts, yet listen and embrace new conversation. I will value brainstorming and practice reflective listening.
2. I will be open to new ideas which are different and non-traditional. I will embrace change.

Successful outcomes do not prevail in projects unless there are shared responsibilities. For outcomes to be agreed upon, thoughtful and meaningful dialogue must be cultivated. This effort provided the agency with tools and strategies which allowed us to have those important conversations to evaluate our practices. The initiative gave permission to challenge long standing practices and explore new methodologies in order to better serve the customer. Quite simply, the initiative gave members permission to challenge existing beliefs and think outside the box.

During the last four years, I have seen the agency question existing practices and recognize the value of customer's voice. The agency creates opportunities for customers input to be more than heard, but valued as it's implemented into the planning of new programs, considered when updating policies and utilized in the everyday practices of the agency. Customer's voice is seen as golden nuggets of expertise and life wisdom. For me, it's about doing things with my clients instead of for my clients. It's about being mindful that any interaction with customers is an opportunity for mutual growth.

This effort had had a significant impact on my career. I have increased my knowledge about how large systems change and technology is transferred within those complex systems. I have a new love for the work I do, which in turn has improved my attitude and passion for agencies mission. As my own mindset changes, so does my behavior. I am part of the cultural change within my agency.

In August 2005, the SRS Prevention Initiative met for the first time. During the meeting I heard our SRS Leaders and consultants from Omega Point International (OPI) speak of visions of doing SRS's day-to-day work a different way. We would continue taking care of the immediate needs of our customers, but we would go a step further and give the families we serve the tools to truly succeed, not just survive; thus building a strong families preventing the need of our services in the future. There was such energy and it was then that I realized I was about to undertake a journey that would forever change my life, how I looked at our world, and the people in it.

I returned home to share the news with anyone and everyone who would listen. I must admit that few were as enthusiastic as I. I could understand the skepticism, but I also needed to find a way to infuse staff with the prevention bug.

After attending a few more meetings, OPI equipped the members with Change Tools. These tools built learning partnerships, stimulated strategic learning conversations, developed clarity and promoted systems thinking and spawned collaboration. It didn't take long before I started using the tools on the customers I served.

OPI introduced a change tool that altered my interviewing style, The Learning Template. I started using it when interviewing customers who came to the agency in need of cash, food, and medical assistance. The Learning Template allows you to inquire into beliefs, intentions, and actions so you may reach your desired outcome. As I used it with customers, many had never given much thought to their actions and the consequences of them. They lived in a world of survival. Using the Learning Template made them think about what brought them to our office, why they are unemployed, or why they had drug and alcohol issues. The asked about the life they desired, then led them through a thought process exploring current beliefs, intentions, and actions that would more than likely lead them away from their desired outcomes. We then went around the Learning Template again and talked about changing those beliefs, intentions, and actions to achieve a life or outcome that they wanted. I used this process at each meeting with the customer and saw the customer make progress needed to make changes. The customer learned to use the tool to solve other life situations such as dealing with their children or finances. To my excitement, other case managers used this tool and were amazed at the conversations generated with customers.

As I predicted in August 2005, my life changed as a direct result of this initiative. I now hold a position where I can infuse a new way of doing business at SRS through cultural change using the tools of the effort, a change that truly benefits both customer and staff. The initiative prepared me for the journey of Cultural Change, to assist our agency in becoming one that listens to the customer, meeting them where they are, providing tools to effectively deal with tomorrow, and preventing them from needing our agency's services in the future.