Be a change agent: Tools and techniques to support organizational and individual transformation

Abstract

More people with disabilities are living and working in the community than ever before, including many who receive support from provider organizations and state agencies. These organizations play an important role in facilitating community living and employment. Organizational change is necessary as our system continues to shift away from segregating people with disabilities to a society in which people with disabilities are fully engaged and contributing their strengths and talents in their communities. However, there are well-established patterns of thinking, practice, and policy that make organizational change difficult to implement. OBJECTIVE: This paper will describe lessons learned when working with a large agency to implement organization-wide adoption of person-centered practices (PCPs) using a model of episodic and continuous change (Quinn, 1996). This includes an overview of the episodic/continuous model of organizational change, with detailed information about how to implement each type of change. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing well-balanced organizational change activities and strategies, including elements of episodic and continuous change, is an effective way to work toward lasting change within agencies that support people with disabilities in fully inclusive setting. This can be a useful tool to support increased competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities.