Episode Details

If you're leading in this field, chances are you already know: there's no real playbook. No one handed you a map for the exact situation you're in right now.

Amanda Elder and Kim Champney lead in rural Alaska, where that's not a metaphor — parts of their state aren't even on a road system. But the bigger truth is one you'll probably recognize: they've had to build the way forward themselves, one hard decision at a time.

You'll hear what happened when Amanda got kicked, hard, by someone she supports — and why she says it's the best thing that ever happened to her leadership.

You'll hear how a promotion gone wrong became the blueprint for a completely different kind of job, and the $250 benefit that came out of it.

And you'll hear how direct support professionals in Alaska got something almost no one in this field has: an actual seat at the table when policy gets made.

No map. No excuses. If you're figuring it out as you go, this one's for you.

🔗 Frontier Community Services — https://www.fcsonline.org/
🔗 Alaska Association on Developmental Disabilities (AADD) — https://aaddalaska.org/
📥 Free resource — 7 Warning Signs Your Supervisors Are Burning Out Their Staff: iddleader.com/burnout

Timestamps
00:00 – Why the standard workforce playbook doesn't work here
01:13 – Meet two leaders working without a map
02:26 – What made them choose a different path
03:15 – "There's not even a road system"
03:55 – The conference that changed how Kim saw her career
08:55 – Why Amanda never wanted this job in the first place
11:11 – Giving yourself permission to innovate when the house is on fire
14:23 – The moment that changed everything about how Amanda leads
19:42 – Meet Kyle — hired for the hot dogs, not the job
22:07 – The promotion that didn't work, and the job that did
23:40 – "I think that's a cop out"
25:17 – The $250 benefit that came from one hard conversation
28:21 – How Alaska gave DSPs a real seat at the policy table


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