Leadership Academy 2013-14 LeadingAge New York Feb. 2014 | Page 7

Catherine Chabrier
Administrator
Wayne County Nursing Home

Accountability Tool
1

How would you describe your Action Learning Project and the difference you hope it will make to
advance your organization’s mission (or the field) and benefit the individuals you serve?

My project is to implement a tool(s) for leadership/management skill development that allows us to set individual goals in alignment
with our organization’s goals and philosophy. The use of the tool(s) will create accountability between the employee and his/her
mentors, supervisors, and the organization by tracking the success of the employee in reaching these goals and measuring the impact
on the organization. I believe that this will over time help us to ensure our development programs are effective, increase retention, and
ensure there are strong candidates for succession. The benefits to the individual will be the responsibility for his/her personal success
and the outcomes that s/he achieves.

2

How have the relationships you’ve developed as part of your project (with mentors, partners,
stakeholders, etc.) influenced this direction and you as a leader?

My relationships with the senior leadership team as we discuss culture change and development of our management team has
influenced the direction of this project by allowing me to recognize the disparity between them in their personal development.
Recognizing this disparity has made coming up with a process to ensure that each leader and potential leader is working on their
future a necessity. My relationships with mentors who have and do give me independence by listening and asking great questions
has helped me understand that passion comes from pursuing what interests you. People will get the tasks and projects done because
they are told they have to, but they grow and learn about what interests them and creates emotion (passion or frustration). Every
celebration should be followed by “what’s next?”

3

What have been important turning points for you, in your own learning, as you’ve engaged with
the action learning process (you might consider a surprise, insight, setback, or challenge)?

After the second session on Leading Change and Innovation, I came back to my first week as the Administrator at our facility. The
senior management team was planning our annual goal review with the full management team. I had to craft a message to our staff
for our semi-annual “Administrative Update”, my first. And we were making changes of other management positions. I feel it was the
combination of events that made me realize that my personal success was going to depend on how independent I made others for
their own development, responsibilities and goals.

4

How do you hope your project might unfold in the months and years ahead and what impact do
you hope it will have on the field at large?

I hope that over time the impact will be to influence a large number of people who become leaders in our region. I hope that they
will be invested in growth throughout their careers and invested in growing the next generation of leadership. I’m also hopeful the
project will allow our management staff to empower the staff reporting to them to be innovative, responsive to customers, and
life-long learners.

5

How has the action learning process in the context of the Leadership Academy experience
contributed to your growth as a leader?

The action learning process has contributed to my growth as a leader by helping me to focus on what is missing from the large
number of projects and programs that are already in process. Because of my strengths for planning, I have realized I need to invest
time to pause along the way to evaluate the plan or I risk successfully completing the checklist without achieving the intent.
IGNITE Leadership Academy Action Learning Project 2013-14

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