MCH LEND Leadership Competencies and My Reflections

Maternal and Child Health: Leadership Education in Neuro-developmental and Related Disabilities - MCH LEND -  has been one of the most wonderful opportunities that I have had in my professional career.  The networking with faculty, friends of LEND and trainees is truly awesome for professionals in Maternal and Child Health in Hawai`i.   I have just completed my final semester in LEND. Dr. Louise Iwaishi and my mentor, Leolinda Parlin kindly agreed for me to complete the program in 2 years instead of the required, one. They swore to track me down if I did not return, but that was not a problem - I was pestering them to find more ways I could be involved.  I am so pleased to have been invited to join them as a faculty member for Fall 2010 and am grateful that the DOE agrees that my participation is worthwhile to them as well as to LEND.


I used the MCH LEND competencies (listed below) to frame my reflections on my professional growth, my DOE community, the families I serve and my work in policy and advocacy.   Here are some of the thoughts I had while reflecting on these areas.

I continue to seek balance in body - mind - spirit.  I find this essential to my personal and professional well being.  

Physical craves to experience strength, endurance, vigor, fun, play and wellness. Spiritual embraces the interconnectedness of all life and seeks relationship. Mind wants challenge, learning, dissonance, problem solving, creativity and seeks to be engaged. In my professional life - the balance is reflected by -  enthusiasm, endurance and “being bamboo”, meaning flexibility rooted in strength.

Know that during the life cycle of a individual and also of an organization there are times of risky behavior and times when you can capture a moment and make lasting change. It is believing in this cycle for yourself, your organization and when helping others - the finding of those unique moments - that is crucial to promoting health and wellness of the individual, of others or of an organization.  

It is  in knowing that life’s events -the glorious and the  tragic - occur for each of us with such ferocity, that we are certain that we are alone and unique in our experience.  But in the truth of our shared humanity,  our story has played out countless times in countless other lives.  It is by embracing this common thread that we are most able to support, to nurture and to love each other.

I believe that we often deceive ourselves about ourselves.  

Reflections on my DOE community and the families I serve - 

Conscious communication is relaying your message in a way it can be received and responded to by your intended audience and in the way you are able to listen, receive and respond in turn.  It is a give and take of respect, not necessarily agreement, but of mutual appreciation and right to individual differences.

Some years ago, my desire was to be the “human face” of Special Education Administration. It is easier to vilify  the efforts of a faceless bureaucracy.

Today my desire is to make family involvement more than just a phrase and a compliance measure.

Sometimes you have to agree to disagree.

Negotiation and conflict resolution are beyond skills;  they are essential competencies for working with families and professionals. They are also not one and the same.

Relationship is the key to everything.

Cultural Competency is a life- long process. It is not a destination reached once, but a voyage of self discovery that grows in depth and complexity

Cultural competency works for families, organizations, agencies, professions, individuals and systems.

When you are open to it, cultural competency challenges your assumptions and attacks your personal bias.

Every aspect of a person’s life experience is affected by the lens of culture.

Working within systems requires the ability to see both the forest and the veins on the leaf. The interaction of the micro and the macro along with the understanding of how the day to day affects the decade to decade

“The successful MCH leader thinks systemically about the complexity of policy, practice, and research challenges. Personality characteristics and temperament that may aid in this competency include passion, persistence, self-motivation, optimism, flexibility, creativity, charisma, humility, and patience”

To become a change agent at the systems level I need to:

Broaden my network

Become more knowledgeable of MCH systems of funding

Gain experiences by joining

Learn the issues and know the players

Refine a vision

Keep learning and being open

Say yes

Be willing to fail

Be brave and take a stand

My advocacy now is focused on inclusive practices and interventions for all learners.

I. Self

1. MCH Knowledge Base / Context
2. Self Reflection
3. Ethics and Professionalism
4. Critical Thinking

II. Others

1. Communication
2. Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
3. Cultural Competency
4. Family Centered Care
5. Developing others through Teaching and Mentoring
6. Interdisciplinary Team Building

III. Wider Community

1. Working with Communities and Systems
2. Policy and Advocacy

Excellent website for expanded understanding of the competencies with resources, definitions, assignments and means to both self assess and assess others in the essential competencies for professionals in the field.
http://leadership.mchtraining.net/