Dragging out the move only served to lengthen the period of uncertainty for staff. Leadership should include a strong philosophical base with clear values guiding actions, and should be willing to act and take risks. Having a new director come in who had a strong belief in supported employment was essential since this was not a strength of current staff. The value of strong leadership supports and the willingness to take risks by entering uncharted program territory mirrors consistent findings in the business and rehabilitation literature. Attitudes and beliefs are shaped by experience.
Success builds the confidence and support of staff, consumers and administration.
Many people need to test the efficacy of old beliefs before they can adopt a new belief system. The only effective way to communicate a value is to act in accordance with it. Specifically, as consumers become employed, more people believe in the process. At MBES, the work done prior to the move to recruit referrals and lay the groundwork for the program helped enable the program to get off to some early successes. What was equally important was keeping everything simple - no formal assessments or complicated placement criteria to be met, and a minimum of paperwork.