An Interview with Allan Leno

Sunday, August 29, 2004 | 0

The following is an interview of rehabilitation expert, Allan Leno. Allan has been a frequent contributor to WorkCompCentral, offering his expertise and opinion on vocational rehabilitation and FEHA issues since our beginning. In this interview by California Association of Rehabilitation and Reemployment Professional's Jamie Charter (JC), Allan offers tremendous insight on the new role vocational rehabilitation professionals will play, and reminds us that the industry's problems are all of ours, and that change is a catalyst for opportunity.

JC: In what geographical area do you live? Work?

I live in, and work out of, Thousand Oaks and generally cover most of Southern California. I handle an occasional Northern California expert witness case and conduct training programs on FEHA statewide and on ADA nationwide. The bulk of my business though is in the Southern California area.

JC: Did you always live in this area or did you relocate here? If relocated, from where?

I grew up in Vermont and came to California to attend USC. I have lived in Southern California ever since (except for 2 years in Germany while I was in the Army). I guess Southern California really agrees with me because I have never been tempted to move back East. Or anywhere else for that matter.

JC:Any relation to Jay? How many times do you get asked this question?

The answer to that question is - yes but distantly.

We are something like 5th cousins so we obviously aren't close enough to "stay in touch". I get asked the question at least a couple of times per week. Some might consider that an annoying frequency but it is often a very effective icebreaker so I really don't mind.

And it can be the source of some amusement - and sometimes with unintended consequences. Some years ago, my wife worked at Disney in their travel department. Her given name was the same as a co-worker who had more seniority. Her boss didn't want any two members of her department using the same first name (apparently she thought it would cause some confusion among their customers) so she required my wife to choose another name. My wife wasn't pleased but I suggested she use the name "Jaye." Her boss didn't catch the connection so my wife was "Jaye Leno" for the 4 plus years she worked at Disney. That was fine until the day one of her customers sent her a large floral arrangement to thank her for scheduling a particularly difficult two-week trip. Even though the customer specified that the flowers were to be sent to the Disney Travel Dept., they were re-routed to (you guessed it) the Tonight Show.

JC: How did you decide to enter the workers' compensation field? Can you give us a sense of your path?

Like many people in workers' compensation, it was accidental. While working on my master's at USC, I ran the veterans' registration office; my boss was an Assistant Dean of Admissions.

Several years later, I reconnected with him through a mutual acquaintance. I was "between jobs" so he suggested I go to work for him - he was part owner of a VR counseling firm. I spent five years there including four plus as manager of one of the company's counseling locations. I left counseling to work at Zenith as Manager of Rehabilitation Services where I spent 15 years. When I left Zenith in 1999, I opened my own consulting business - it was something I had been considering for several years.

My career path is not one that I planned. When I got my master's degree, my intended path was in city management. However, I completed my degree just after Prop. 13 was passed and local government job openings disappeared. So I followed opportunities that appeared challenging, which eventually landed me in vocational rehabilitation. Somewhere along the way, I discovered that meeting challenges and making a difference were more important to me than meeting some artificial career goal.

JC: How long does it take you to prepare one of your newsletters? How do you go about synthesizing all of the materials to arrive at your conclusions?

Writing the newsletter doesn't take all that long - perhaps 3-4 hours. But I may spend several times that thinking about what issues might be of interest to the community and what I want to say about those issues. I don't like to rush into writing about issues because - too often - the result is overly biased.

Our industry doesn't need another shrill voice pointing the finger of blame. The fact is we all contributed to the industry's problems to some degree and we all have to be a part of the solution if there is to be any hope of providing benefits and services at a price employers can afford to injured workers who need and will use them properly.

I find that an organized approach to problem solving helps me arrive at balanced conclusions. First, I try to identify all the relevant facts, opinions, and points of view. Then I try to identify the relevant issues/problems. This process is important because identifying issues and problems often helps differentiate between the real obstacles to progress and those that are simply smoke screens (as we all know, people often argue or complain about minor matters to avoid facing underlying problems). Finally, I try to come up with a constructive resolution or strategy.

Complaining about a problem without proposing potential solutions makes the complaining party appear to be a "whiner." Identifying problems and proposing constructive solutions creates an atmosphere supporting negotiation and resolution. I am as prone to holding stringent opinions as the next person but it has been my experience that confrontation rarely produces a positive result.

JC: What do you find the most rewarding in what you do?

In terms of my work, I would say that my most satisfying rewards have come from helping people. I don't mean doing things for people but, instead, helping them acquire the skill and means to take control of their own circumstances.

As a VR counselor, I did not like working with people who wanted everything done for them. Instead, I most enjoyed working with people who used me as the catalyst for their success and not as the cause or driving force. Perhaps it is the reason I enjoy teaching. People come to class because they want and need information to succeed. They succeed through their own hard work and motivation; as a teacher, I am only an information conduit and (I hope) a catalyst for their learning experience.

I worked as a VR counselor back in the days when we could actually do placement and it was very satisfying to see an injured worker get a job and regain control of his/her life. Similarly, I have been in the industry long enough (25+ years) to see people I have helped train advance to management positions.

JC: When you are not working, what do you enjoy doing to relax?

Spending time with friends. Home repair projects - I have almost enough tools to stock a hardware store. And I have used most of them - with varying degrees of success. I build computers as a hobby. Seems like the ones I have built for friends always work better than the ones I build for myself - perhaps because I never stop tinkering with them. My wife and I love to travel. We have been to Japan and England (twice) in the past few years as well as to Hawaii several times. Hawaii is great for rest and recuperation but England and Japan were much more fun because we both love to explore new places.

JC: What words of wisdom can you offer the community regarding the new laws?

As rehabilitation professionals, we have spent a lot of time and effort convincing injured workers that they need to make some important changes in their lives. Now it is our turn.

Rehab as we know it is rapidly disappearing so we need to redirect our skills where they can still be useful in helping persons with disabilities return to productive work. The demise of rehab means employers have much greater exposure under California's Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA).

Employers will need assistance in developing proper job descriptions, dealing with physicians, assessing opportunities for modified and alternative work, ergonomic assessments, return to work programs, facilitating the interactive process required by FEHA, etc. Failure to do these things could result in judgments like a recent case in Riverside that cost the defendant $450,000 in damages, approximately $150,000 for plaintiff attorney fees, and an estimated $200,000 for defense costs.

Rehab is now about return to work and not about retraining. We need to re-orient ourselves to provide services to a new customer base. And it actually might be more fun because we should find ourselves working with two motivated parties.

JC: What advice would you give to anyone right now working in the workers' compensation field?

There is an old, and very true, adage that "knowledge is power." It is also true that great change creates chaos for some and opportunity for others.

AB 227, SB 228, and SB 899 have turned the workers' compensation system upside down. Claims administrators, applicant attorneys, defense attorneys, and physicians must make major changes in how they manage their piece of the system; failure to do so can easily put them out of business.

Learning the intricacies of a new system isn't easy but those who make the effort will be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities to provide service to the less prepared. Read everything you can about the statutory changes, attend the meetings; listen to the arguments and watch for your opportunity to address unmet needs. Those who are prepared will not only weather the storm, they will prosper.

JC: What would you hope people would always remember about you? What three to five words describe you?

I would hope to be remembered as someone who was honest, fair, and good at his craft. I must say that I do not act or live my life worrying about how I will be remembered. I believe that being honest with, and considerate of others, respecting opposing or different points of view, and remembering that respect and a good sense of humor are essential ingredients for good relationships will take care of you in this life - and will most likely contribute to your being remembered well and missed when you are gone. As for those three to five words, it would probably be best to ask others.

I would hope they would pick from among honest, fair, knowledgeable, thoughtful, and considerate. It is possible that "stubborn" and "opinionated" might also pop up.

JC: What is your motto for your life?

I never thought about having a motto for my life but, since I am being forced to choose one, I guess it would be, "Enjoy life because you only get one chance." I enjoy the time I have with my wife, my friends, business associates, and the people we meet by happenstance day to day. I would not choose to repeat any of the negative things in my life - but I do understand that those experiences make the good experiences seem that much sweeter. Life is short - let's live it with gusto!

Reprinted by permission from the CARRP newsletter; California Association of Rehabilitation and Reemployment Professionals, www.carrp.org; Keeping California Working since 1975. br>
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