State Association Presidents Participate in Leadership Development Institute
By Ashley Opp Hofmann
On January 11–12, 2008, members of the Affiliated State Association Presidents (ASAP) from across the country participated in a Leadership Development Institute sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) at the Association’s headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.
AOTA President Penelope Moyers, EdD, OTR/L, BCMH, FAOTA, invited state association presidents to take part in the event, noting that making the Centennial Vision a reality depends significantly on the occupational therapy profession’s capacity to influence and lead. To that end, AOTA hired the company Leadership Outfitters to create a program tailored to the state presidents that focused on, among other things, how to motivate others in a state association, effective communication, dealing with constant change, and how to recognize talent in others.
President Moyers deliberately selected state association presidents for this first Leadership Development Institute. “The state presidents are the grassroots organizations for occupational therapy,” she says. “Although AOTA has a grassroots presence through its Representative Assembly, it is the state presidents that have to lead a strong organization in every state to keep occupational therapy practice strong.”
Debi Hinerfeld, OTR/L, president of the Georgia Occupational Therapy Association (GOTA), lost no time in applying to participate in the Institute. “I was so excited when I was invited to apply. Leadership is something that is really fun for me,” says Hinerfeld. “Having AOTA recognize the skill that leaders need to obtain to be good leaders and provide that training was such a gift. I was excited I could take advantage of it.”
The institute had two goals. The broader, larger purpose aimed to train participants how to identify and develop leadership in others. “My idea was that we needed state presidents and leaders to be constantly grooming new leadership within the states,” says Moyers. “That would benefit not only the state organizations, but AOTA as well.”
The institute also endeavored to develop the leadership skills of the attendees. As Moyers says, “If you’re going to lead others to leadership, you have to develop your own simultaneously.” As part of the workshop, attendees received resources to work on their own leadership style and professional development.
Attendees absorbed everything they could within the two short days. “I learned a lot of things about dealing with people and about making change an easier process,” says Hinerfeld. “That’s what being a leader is all about—being the initiator of making things happen, whether that’s a challenging or easy process.”
Institute participants spent a lot of time examining “process” and considering how they might challenge it. “Often, organizations can get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing year after year, even if it doesn’t make any impact on the organization. We learned to challenge that process and look for better ways to do things that are more effective,” Hinerfeld says.
“There are so many traditions in the way we run our organizations that don’t really fit the lives, skills, and interests of new practitioners,” Moyers says. “So there were a lot of discussions about how things need to be done differently, taking a strong look at what processes you can try out that will enable [new practitioners] to participate in ways that are not enabling them now, whether it’s through technology, small projects, and so on.”
Although the content was exciting, many participants enjoyed interacting with other attendees the most. “My favorite part was being with those other state association presidents and leaders of AOTA and learning with them. The energy in the room was just so wonderful,” Hinerfeld says.
“This was a very dynamic group. The networking that went on among the participants was excellent, which will be another way in which they can foster their personal development, continue to share resources and ideas, and share understanding of what things work best,” Moyers says.
The Leadership Development Institute constitutes one of the tangible signs that the Centennial Vision is progressing. “We have to make a lot of changes in our processes as far as being researchers, being more scientific, promoting our profession, and demonstrating that we are leaders in the health care environment,” Hinerfeld says. “Occupational therapy practitioners who are learning how to be better leaders and who are instrumental in creating change will help the Centennial Vision move forward.”
Ashley Opp Hofmann is AOTA’s senior staff writer.