Leadership and Cultural Change: Implications for Behavior Analysis

Creating Inclusive and Equitable Cultural Practices by Linking Leadership to Systemic Change

From a global pandemic to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and others in the Black community, the year 2020 has cast light on long-standing social injustices. With this has come a critical social movement and a call for change-specifically, a call for transformative solutions that address not only new challenges but also centuries of systemic issues, such as systemic oppression and systemic racism. Leadership across the globe has scrambled to answer the call, some issuing statements committed to change, others engaging in necessary action. What is critical, however, is that leadership understands the cultural factors that have given rise to centuries of oppressive practices, and that leaders are held accountable for the commitments they have expressed. Leadership must promote, create, and maintain prosocial, inclusive, and healthy work environments. This requires new cultural practices and a focused organizational model. Equally important is the need to resolve ambiguity and communicate effectively, with strategic consideration of constituent perspectives and needs. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to discuss the contribution of behavior analysis to addressing systemic oppression, as well as the pivotal role leadership communication plays in occasioning social change. It is our hope that this conceptual work will inspire behavior scientists to advance the field of behavior analysis and social movements in the direction of equitable, prosocial change that dismantles systemic oppression.

Implementation Science, Behavior Analysis, and Supporting Evidence-based Practices for Individuals with Autism

Although applied behavior analysis researchers have created efficacious treatment and intervention practices for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is a gap between research and practice. Implementation Science (IS) and Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), based with Applied Behavior Analysis, are two parallel fields that could close this gap. This paper provides descriptions of both IS and OBM, highlighting their commonalities and unique featuers. The paper concludes with examples of how researchers have used IS and OBM to promote practitioners' use of evidence-based practices and services for children and youth with ASD.