AN OVERVIEW: BUILDING POSITIVE CULTURES IN NORMATIVE COMMUNITIES

NAFI/NFI is a Massachusetts-based, nonprofit human service agency that operates a coordinated network of over 90 community-based schools and programs from Maine to Florida. NAFI/NFI's services are driven by the agency's commitment to develop normative communities that empower its members to become partners and active participants in shaping their mission and culture.

Since the mid-1990s, NAFI/NFI's Training and Consulting Group has been in the forefront of providing training and consulting to public and private organizations in the field of human services. The group has helped many agencies, schools and organizations develop a philosophical and practical framework in which to establish and monitor positive, mission-driven norms that shape their cultures. Additionally, the training group provides technical assistance to organizations facing challenges in managed care, education, leadership, organizational commitment and their overall quality of service. NAFI/NFI has also assisted organizations in such areas as homelessness, mental health, hospital care, police community training, adult corrections and juvenile justice. NAFI/NFI designs each training to fit the specific needs of the organizations it serves.

THE NORMATIVE APPROACH

In the course of working with hundreds of organizations since 1974, NAFI/NFI developed the Normative Approach, which is a systematic method to help a school, program or organization develop a culture that reflects its vision while applying the tenets of its mission to all aspects of community life.

The process of developing a Normative culture in a school first focuses on the vision of its leaders, then aids the community to hone a mission that is understood and relevant at all times to every teacher, student and parent. The degree to which this mission is experienced in every program activity will determine the degree to which a program creates a safe, caring environment that nurtures growth and, ultimately, academic performance. Although NAFI/NFI realizes that the path that connects vision to student growth is demanding, utilizing the Normative Approach has proven to be a very effective way to empower staff, students and parents to build cultures in which expectations of behavior and achievement are mutually established and observed. In the Normative Approach, program communities structure time to allow its members – faculty, students and parents -- to examine shared expectations and continuously measure the resulting norms of behavior that occur. This ongoing process of evaluation and feedback allows everyone to have a voice as well as an opportunity to advocate for their point of view. If fully heard, participants become invested stakeholders in their community – whether it is a classroom or the entire program, with a sense of belonging. (see following description for a lengthier explanation of the Normative Approach).

To facilitate proactive forums for stakeholders to examine their community norms requires skills that are not traditionally taught to teachers. NAFI/NFI has the ability to offer peer empowerment and facilitation training as part of its training and consulting curriculum.

Currently NAFI/NFI operates over thirty schools within more than 90 programs that it manages for youths at risk who are referred from courts, juvenile justice organizations and state departments of social services. Additionally, NAFI/NFI is currently working closely with a number of public and private schools to help their leaders develop mission-driven, Normative Communities (See following for examples).

HOW TO BUILD A NORMATIVE COMMUNITY OR PROGRAM

The Normative approach to building a successful program, school or working environment begins when a leaders identify and clarify their organization’s operating philosophy and goals and share the resulting vision with all of their community members. This starting point provides an opportunity to develop a shared sense of purpose that is critical to establishing a mission.

A second and vital part of establishing a Normative community occurs when an organization creates a mission statement that makes concrete the core values of the organization in a way that employees and clients can honor them. In Normative environments, it is common to discover that every community member, from veteran staff to the newest client to enter a program, knows and embraces the mission statement. It becomes a context in which goals are developed and achieved. Through active participation in community meetings, all community members in Normative environments become advocates of the mission. And, as advocates, they help other employees/students remain focused on their purpose through feedback and respectful confrontation, and by modeling behaviors that are consistent with the goals of the program, school or agency.

Just as the vision and mission form the foundation of a Normative culture, norms are the building blocks that truly shape the organization’s structure. By definition, norms are patterns of behavior that reflect values and shared expectations. Norms are explored and discussed in the context of supporting the mission and ultimately supplant rules.  For example, a school rule may require that staff be punctual but if it is not the common practice, the rule is meaningless in light of the norm of students or employees being tardy. Another example is a rule that requires all students  to clean their desks before leaving a classroom. Yet, if students fail to comply, the rule has no bearing on the norm of students having messy work spaces. In a community structured to give all community members the opportunity to examine and monitor their norms, the gap that often separates rules from norms closes. Instead, the community establishes mutual support for shared expectations and community members agree to hold each accountable to uphold the agreed-upon norms that reflect the organization’s mission.

This is accomplished through interactive meetings that allow people to talk about their community values, mission and norms that govern daily life. Does a behavior support the mission, or does it detract from it? Is the activity or norm  “on mission” or “off mission”? These kinds of questions are encouraged and deemed healthy and vital; and leaders of Normative organizations make every effort to ensure that the community meets regularly to address them, whether in a classroom or in larger forums.

In many organizations engaged in developing Normative communities, “norms committees” are created that assess organizational practices in the context of their goals. Committee members represent a cross section of the organization. In all cases, their conclusions are then shared with their larger community and discussed for their merit and impact. Again, the process of allowing all community members to review and discuss norms creates ownership, which ultimately shapes the culture. When helping an organization establish a Normative approach, the NAFI/NFI Training and Consulting Group focuses on these principles while giving trainees the opportunity to build interpersonal and leadership skills to utilize the Normative approach.

An example of putting these principles to work is exemplified by Shelter Care, NAFI/NFI’s 25-bed assessment program and residential school for some of the most challenging adjudicated boys in Massachusetts, recently celebrated 1,400 days without a run, shattering every AWOL record in the state. Unlike many programs with adjudicated youths, the program’s doors are never locked. Although the typical stay of a resident is only four weeks, the program’s mission – Give Respect, Get Respect, Self-Respect – is an anthem that every new student learns from other youths in the first hour of his arrival. Within 24-hours, new students have attended community meetings, understand the expectations of the program and – very importantly – observe how openly and respectfully feedback is given between all members of the community in upholding the program’s norms and mission. Over the years, Shelter Care has established a culture where participation, speaking honestly and living the mission are at the core of all of its activities.  Much of the success that Shelter Care has experienced results from an understanding that the responsibility of enforcing the program’s norms belong to every resident at all times, not just to on-duty staff or self-selected resident leaders.

A major difference between cultures that take a Normative approach and those that operate in a more traditional hierarchy is that, in Non-Normative working environments, there tend to be divisions between those who are responsible for the mission and organizational goals and those who are not. In Normative working communities, every employee and client becomes a stakeholder through a process of orientation and training that teaches them the values, mission and shared expectations of the organization. In Normative working and living environments, all staff and clients – managers, frontline workers and students -- are given the opportunity to exchange ideas about the issues that affect them.  Normative communities, then, are necessarily participatory and inclusive in nature and operate under the assumption that their members will develop a sense of ownership about the goals of the organization if their opinions are expressed, heard and valued.

As a Normative community develops, it is critical that members learn how to respectfully give feedback. Through training, community members receive the opportunity to become catalysts of open communication where accountability, feedback and consensus are accepted and respected. As a result, they become culture bearers of their community values, with the skills and credibility to uphold their vision and mission.  

One of NAFI/NFI’s most exciting training projects that demonstrates the power of the Normative approach is its work with a network of homeless shelters outside of New York City. Two years ago, these family shelters had high incidences of violence; litter was visible throughout the grounds and graffiti decorated its walls. Communication between staff and residents was disjointed and often negative. There was a poor sense of community and no clear mission.

Members of the NAFI/NFI Training and Consulting Group met with the leaders of the organization to identify problems, discuss their vision and collaborate on solutions. They developed a plan with timelines that included implementing Normative trainings and generating a “train the trainers” component to help the organization perpetuate its own success.

The plan was put into effect in a structured, inclusive and rigorous way. At community meetings, the organization’s leaders shared and discussed their vision. A mission statement was honed and posted on every floor of each facility. Staff and residents focused on developing expectations. All staff, including administration, participated in three-day Normative trainings. They held community meetings. They formed norm committees, and they created a culture of open communication.

And with each step, the shelters changed. First the graffiti and litter disappeared. Then the shelters redecorated their buildings. Little by little, staff and residents resolved ways to confront and discuss problems.

Eventually, incidents of violence fell. As a body of in-house trainers continually introduced new residents to the growing Normative culture, the organization was better able to help its residents become more communicative and productive citizens.

In the year ahead, NAFI/NFI’s Training and Consulting Group will be:

• Working closely with schools in the Bronx and in the South End of Boston to help develop Normative cultures in their classrooms

• Training and consulting with social service agencies in Maryland and New York

• Working with Police Corps Academies across the nation to develop leadership skills

Each project is an exciting opportunity for NAFI/NFI to fulfill its mission of assisting organizations to establish highly effective Normative communities.