Liz Natter, executive director of DRC, speaks of the impact of a commitment to continuous improvement on her own growth as a manager: “Organizational development has really helped with human resource management. Before the MRBF Program, I took criticism about management personally. OD work helped me to see management as malleable, changeable and centered on figuring out the direction we can move in. Our weekly staff meetings feel more supportive now. I’ve experienced a shift—I recognize the importance of the organization responding to the needs of the people who work here, and I am trying to get away from the notion of manager as enforcer. This involves giving people leadership over what they are working on;
for example, we rotate the facilitation of staff meetings. When people raise a problem, we problem-solve vs. insisting on blame.”