Walking the Talk

"Can We Afford Not To?": Walking the Talk at Emmaus Homes

Judy Alexander-Weber, president and CEO of Emmaus Homes in Missouri, describes herself as a "glass is half full" person. So it makes sense that she would be interested in Walking the Talk, CHHSM's consulting initiative that uses Appreciative Inquiry and other asset-based approaches to help ministries leverage their spiritual and organizational strengths.

In tandem with Alexander-Weber's positive outlook, however, is focused attention to client outcomes and the bottom line of Emmaus, a ministry that serves about 325 people with developmental disabilities. "Money and resources are so tight," she says. "I need Walking the Talk to produce quantifiable outcomes. I can't afford to do this initiative as icing on the cake, just so everyone can feel good."

Specifically, Alexander-Weber has chosen Walking the Talk as a strategy to increase staff retention and morale. "Typically folks who come to work at organizations like Emmaus initially come because it's a paycheck, but they stay because of their hearts. It's physically and emotionally demanding work. But they stay because they leave their jobs at the end of the day and know they've made a difference in someone else's life. We need to find ways to recognize and honor those gifts we give to each other. If not, we'll continue to lose staff."

Walking the Talk at Emmaus began in April as team members Daniel Pryfogle, Shirley Nelson and Carol Tilley conducted a one-day session with five Emmaus management leaders. Although Alexander-Weber is eager to move to the next phase of the project that will foster an appreciative grassroots culture at Emmaus, she has already begun to see the benefits of Walking the Talk. "The other day we were in a management meeting and someone used this technique. I said 'You're using AI [Appreciative Inquiry] on me. I can tell.'"

Having her management team embrace the project is just the first step, however, "This can't be a top-down initiative. It's got to be a grassroots movement, overlaid in processes that are already happening at Emmaus. If it's seen as another management-driven change, it will not be embraced as it should."

As Alexander-Weber points out, integrating asset-based practices into existing processes can be simple, which makes grassroots success likely. Already she has added a new opening item to all meeting agendas: "What's better today?" Answers can be personal or professional, and the resulting roundtable story-telling help employees know one another better and work together more effectively.

Another new opportunity for appreciative techniques has emerged in Bible study groups led by the pastors on staff. The study groups include residents and staff, an important practice at Emmaus, where staff become deeply connected to the residents for whom they care. Recently, study leaders have been using appreciative techniques to explore biblical teachings about diversity. "This gives people a way to express themselves positively about difficult issues," said Alexander-Weber, "and also allows staff, many of whom are African American, and residents, who suffer discrimination based on their developmental disabilities, to understand their common experiences."

Walking the Talk's objectives at Emmaus are tailored specifically to the organization's goals, but Alexander-Weber points out that the entire service industry needs the kind of employee initiative that she is cultivating. "In the next decade, the service industry is going to be severely challenged by a declining and aging workforce. When I encounter resistance to doing this work in a deficit environment and people ask 'Can we afford it?' I say, 'Can we afford not to?'"

To explore how Walking the Talk can help your organization achieve its goals, please talk with Director of Consulting Services Daniel Pryfogle via e-mail or call him at 919-460-7069.