These answers draw in part from “Expert Panel: A Seat at the Table” by Linda LeBlanc, PhD, BCBA-D, Lic Psy (BehaviorLive), and extend it with peer-reviewed research from our library of 27,900+ ABA research articles. Clinical framing, BACB ethics code references, and cross-links below are synthesized by Behaviorist Book Club.
View the original presentation →Getting a seat at the table means having meaningful participation in decisions that affect clinical services, organizational direction, or professional standards — beyond the scope of your direct caseload. For a clinic-based BCBA, this might mean being included in discussions about staffing models, service eligibility criteria, or clinical quality standards. For a BCBA in an advocacy role, it means participating in insurance policy discussions, legislative testimony, or professional standards committees. The common thread is that your behavior-analytic expertise is influencing decisions that have downstream effects on clients and practitioners beyond those you directly serve.
Workplace politics — the informal influence and resource allocation systems that operate alongside formal organizational structure — can be navigated ethically by treating it as information rather than participation in manipulation. Understanding who has informal influence, what motivates key decision-makers, and how decisions are actually reached (versus officially announced) allows you to bring your expertise to the right conversations at the right time. The ethical line is between using information to promote evidence-based practice and using it to advance personal interests at others' expense. BACB Ethics Code Standard 6.02 provides guidance when organizational politics create direct conflict with ethical obligations.
BCBAs typically receive strong training in behavioral methodology but limited explicit training in three areas most predictive of leadership success: relational skills (building and maintaining professional relationships across organizational levels and disciplines), strategic communication (translating behavioral science for non-specialist audiences), and organizational navigation (understanding how institutions work, how resources are allocated, and how decisions are made informally). Public speaking, professional writing, and conflict resolution also represent common gaps. These skills are learnable and transferable — they respond to the same deliberate practice principles as clinical competencies.
Approach interdisciplinary conflicts as you would a clinical disagreement: seek to understand the other party's framework before defending yours. Different disciplines operate from different evidence bases, different training traditions, and different conceptual frameworks. Effective conflict resolution begins with accurately representing the other party's position — which often requires more inquiry than defense. When the disagreement is about empirical questions, bring data. When it is about values or priorities, look for shared goals at the level of client outcomes. The Ethics Code Standard 2.10 (Collaborating with Colleagues) requires BCBAs to respect other professionals' expertise even while maintaining their own standards.
Advocacy for underrepresented colleagues requires specific behavioral actions, not just general support. Concrete steps include: nominating colleagues for committees, leadership programs, and speaking opportunities when you are invited to recommend others; explicitly crediting colleagues' ideas in meetings where they were not present; raising procedural concerns when advancement or recognition processes appear inequitable; and mentoring outside your immediate network rather than defaulting to people who are most similar to you. BACB Ethics Code Standard 1.05 (Non-Discrimination) applies to your professional conduct broadly, not only to your direct clinical relationships.
Technical expertise is necessary but not sufficient for leadership credibility. BCBAs who are known as skilled clinicians have a foundation of professional credibility that opens doors to leadership conversations — colleagues and administrators are more likely to solicit input from practitioners whose clinical competence is recognized. However, clinical expertise alone does not produce leadership influence. Practitioners also need relational skills, communication competency, and organizational awareness to translate clinical credibility into institutional influence. The most effective behavior-analytic leaders maintain genuine investment in clinical practice while developing the additional repertoires that leadership requires.
Use the same goal-setting principles you apply in clinical programming: define the target behavior specifically and observably, establish a measurement strategy, set a realistic timeline, and build in a review point. Rather than setting the goal of 'becoming a leader,' define the specific participation you are targeting: presenting at one professional association conference by a given date, joining one committee within your organization, completing a leadership training program. Identify the prerequisite skills and schedule deliberate practice. Vague intentions to 'develop leadership skills' produce about as much behavior change as vague treatment plans produce clinical change — which is to say, very little.
Start with time-limited commitments rather than open-ended ongoing roles. Serving on a task force with a defined scope and timeline is a more sustainable entry point than joining a standing committee with indefinite commitment. Match the type of contribution to your current strongest skills: if you're an effective writer, offer to contribute to position papers or advocacy communications; if your strength is clinical expertise, offer to review content or serve as a subject matter expert. Be clear with yourself and others about your available time before accepting responsibilities, and build explicit exit points into your commitments so you can step back without abandoning ongoing work.
Across accounts from experienced behavior-analytic leaders, several themes emerge consistently: the importance of building relationships before you need them (not instrumentalizing others when you need something), the value of learning to communicate behavior analysis accessibly to non-specialist audiences, the significance of knowing when to hold firm on empirical and ethical positions versus when flexibility serves the larger goal, and the reality that leadership involves sustained engagement with slow-moving processes rather than singular decisive moments. Most leaders also report wishing they had sought mentorship and peer consultation earlier, rather than waiting until they were advanced in their careers.
Section 6 of the 2022 BACB Ethics Code addresses the behavior analyst's responsibilities to the profession. Standard 6.01 requires affirming the scientific foundation and ethical standards of behavior analysis. Standard 6.02 addresses conflicts between organizational policies and ethical requirements. Standard 6.03 prohibits conduct that brings discredit to the profession. Together, these standards establish that BCBAs have active responsibilities to the culture and direction of their field, not only to their individual clients and supervisees. Professional engagement — contributing to associations, advocating for evidence-based policy, mentoring the next generation of practitioners — is an expression of these obligations.
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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.