Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) offers behavior analysts a powerful and underutilized framework for addressing two of the most pressing challenges facing ABA organizations today: building genuinely inclusive workplaces and preventing the epidemic of employee burnout. While behavior analysts routinely apply principles of reinforcement, antecedent control, and performance management to client outcomes, these same principles are often conspicuously absent from the management of the organizations in which they work.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Tennessee Association for Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) offers a powerful framework for building workplaces that are both values-aligned and resilient against employee burnout. While behavior analysts routinely apply principles of rule-governed behavior, reinforcement, and performance management to client outcomes, these same strategies are often underutilized in shaping organizational culture. This workshop examines how embedding values as verbal antecedents into organizational systems can create sustainable cultures of inclusion, alignment, and employee well-being. Participants will explore how vague or misaligned values lead to behavioral drift, disengagement, and attrition, particularly in high-stakes human service settings like applied behavior analysis (ABA). Recent data underscores the urgency of this work: Gallup (2024) reported that only 44% of U.S. employees "know what is expected of them," a decline from 55% in 2019, while McKinsey (2020) found that organizations in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to financially outperform their peers. Through guided activities, attendees will (a) assess current value-behavior alignment, (b) translate organizational mission into observable, measurable, and reinforced practices, and (c) design one inclusive system—such as a hiring process, feedback mechanism, or policy—that decreases burnout by increasing belonging. Grounded in OBM principles and supported by empirical evidence, this session equips participants to leave with a "Mission-to-Action Plan" for cultivating workplaces that function as behavior-analytic interventions in and of themselves.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | Ethics |
Portia James has spent nearly two decades shaking conference tables — challenging systems that prioritize efficiency over dignity and outcomes over people. As the founder of Behavior Genius, she built the organization from the ground up with a singular conviction: that sustainable performance is impossible without care, clarity, and human-centered leadership. Today, Portia serves as Chief of People & Performance, where she focuses on the lived experiences of both staff and families. Her work centers on organizational behavior management (OBM), mentorship, psychological safety, and performance systems that support people without burning them out. She partners closely with clinical and operational leaders while maintaining a visible, front-line presence — meeting families during intake, mentoring leaders, and ensuring the mission is felt through every interaction with the people she serves. Known for blending rigor with relational leadership, Portia believes that accountability and compassion are not opposites — they are partners. Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to stewarding people well, protecting culture, and “mothering the mission” under the core belief that growth should not cost anyone their humanity. She is also the author of Radical OBM, where she reimagines traditional organizational behavior management through a human-centered, systems-driven lens — challenging leaders to design environments where people can perform, grow, and belong. At her core, Portia views leadership as service — a calling to be present, responsible, and faithful with what (and who) she has been entrusted to lead. Her work is rooted in healing the systems we’ve survived — and building workplaces that people don’t have to recover from. Outside of work, Portia is a wife, a homeschool mother of three, and a collector of experiences in the form of concert tickets, sky miles, and recipe books.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
233 research articles with practitioner takeaways
225 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.