Excellence is within Your Reach: The Importance of Planning for Performance in the State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program

摘要

Leadership across the state-federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program must be strategic in demonstrating accountability for employment outcomes given ever-present internal and external challenges to its operations. In order to reach for excellence in performance, leadership must have a lens toward systems thinking and build the components of a high performing organization. The authors introduce rehabilitation professionals to a context of performance in the state-federal VR Program and discuss the planning processes involved to manage a system that addresses employment outcomes. We provide information on the components of high performance organizations; systems thinking; strategic development, implementation, and leadership; and tools for use in project planning and tracking effectiveness of state agency services and practices. We discuss training and practice implications.