Making an Impact

An organization. A leader. A region.
Each improving rapidly. Adapting, growing, embracing change. Leading the way.

Their aims, individually and collectively, are:
To make an impact.
A significant difference in the lives of those they serve.
Each fueled by a drive to excel; not satisfied with good enough.

And the example I share here weaves them together. This leader of an organization, who is also pivotal in the regional endeavor. I am glad to share the unfolding story of Dell Anderson, Renew Grant Behavioral Health & Wellness, and the North Central Washington region.

The Organization

Renew Grant Behavioral Health & Wellness is a remarkable organization! They are transforming year over year over year. But it was not always this way.

A few short years ago, they set out to refresh and renew: their image in the community, their brand, their services to the communities they serve. They had a reputation which needed re-building… from the way things “used to be.”

And they have undertaken this renewal under Dell’s leadership. Leadership that is open, listening, inclusive, and in service to others.

Their mission, proudly displayed on their website, gives you a glimpse into what makes them special:

I first got to know the organization a couple of years ago. My colleagues and I in Ingenium Healthcare Advisors have been partnering with a number of organizations in North Central Washington to markedly improve access to health and human services, especially for those facing barriers to access.

Hand in hand, we have partnered with Renew to fulfill their mission over the past couple of years. First developing, then implementing, a far-reaching virtual care strategy. Then broadening more recently to a comprehensive, organization-wide strategy, grounded in a compelling mission and vision. They are passionately pursuing multiple goals and strategies to become a Model of Excellence in Behavioral Health & Wellbeing.

I enjoy the energy at Renew, their thirst for learning, the willingness to ask “What if?”, the desire to innovate in order to reach those most in need of their services. The organization is markedly improving — both their services but also the way they deliver those services in order to reach individuals across their vast and remote service area.

They are a great example of creating your excellence advantage. They are defining what excellence means; they are open to revisiting and challenging long-held assumptions and patterns; they are raising the bar both internally and in their communities; they are measuring and monitoring; they are improving; and they are ensuring long-term sustainability.

Some of you reading this had the opportunity to hear Dell and I share the Renew story at the Thriving Together Virtual Care conference in Washington. Others in other venues.

The story is still unfolding. The impact is still magnifying. The work is life-changing. The leadership is ever-present.

The Leader

Dell Anderson is a humble human being and leader. He has been the executive director at Renew since early 2020. And, like many of my chief executive clients who came into leadership in 2019-2020, the first years were filled with first-evers. The pandemic necessitated rapid learning, pivoting, and adjusting.

I vividly remember first meeting Dell during our telehealth assessment project. He shared that he was carefully considering how telehealth could be used at Renew, but that he wanted to go at the right pace to do it well.

So together we laid a solid foundation through a telehealth optimization engagement — putting in place an engaged steering team, solid workflows, effective technology and supports, and a clear strategy. Now on solid footing, he and his team became movers and shakers. Together, in just 90 days time, we implemented a dozen new telehealth service offerings!! When the time was right, leveraging one-time grant funding, they rapidly enacted new ways to reach students, recovery clients, individuals in crisis, and inmates in locations across their county.

Throughout this, Dell’s leadership shined. He made decisions when needed, quickly and with information in hand. But more often he relied on his cohesive team to plan, implement, and make things happen. We built a relationship based on mutual trust. Dell is an enabler, a visionary, and a pragmatist.

I have had the good fortune of being his executive guide for quite some time. First through the virtual care strategy work, but then more broadly as we assisted them in defining their organization’s strategic direction for the years ahead.

Dell’s leadership lights the path. He and his team have defined a path forward, articulated in a clear and compelling mission, vision, values, and set of goals & strategies.

Dell was wise not only to invest the time and resources to develop their organizational strategy, but also in the ongoing leadership development work needed to ensure they can capably execute on their strategic priorities year over year over year. I am honored to be one of their guides on their journey to excellence.

Dell has recently been selected for the prestigious Baldrige National Fellows Program, readying him for what comes next in their organizational transformation. Like most senior leaders I have had the pleasure to work with, he is preparing himself for the journey, for the quest…as excellence is not about a destination, but about making an impact all. along. the way.

In my view, Dell is a great leader and his impact is being felt in quiet and profound ways across Renew, across Grant County, and across the North Central Washington region.

The Region

…More to come, in another edition, on that third part of this unfolding story — the North Central Washington’s novel, coordinated, and transformational approach.

I mention it here just briefly to tie the loop together, as Dell is the Vice Chair at Thriving Together NCW — the regional convenor that is shepherding the regional endeavor, bringing together unlikely partner organizations to pursue a common goal and make a remarkable impact in the lives of those across the four-county region.

If you’d like to receive these Inspirations in your inbox every other week, you can subscribe to Kathy’s Excellence Advantage Inspirations Newsletter.
Kathy Letendre, President and Founder of Letendre & Associates, advises organizations and leaders to create their excellence advantage.
Contact Kathy by phone or text at 802-779-4315 or via email.