In this episode of In the Field: The ABA Podcast, host Allyson Wharam continues her conversation with Liz Matthews, CEO of EMG Consulting. After exploring burnout and personal evolution in Part 1, this episode dives into what that evolution looks like in practice—through hiring, supervision, equity, and organizational design.

Liz shares how she’s built a workplace that prioritizes flexibility without sacrificing quality, and how leadership grounded in values, boundaries, and honest conversations has helped EMG become one of Virginia’s Best Employers.

💬 Key Topics:

• Intentional Hiring and Interview Design: How Liz’s team uses structured, values-driven interviews to identify candidates who align with the culture—and why she’s willing to say no, even to highly qualified applicants.
• Flexible Systems with Accountability: How EMG balances autonomy and support, and why quality and flexibility aren’t mutually exclusive.
• Rethinking Pay and Progression: The challenges of building equitable compensation in a field where negotiation advantages are uneven.
• The Role of Supervision: Why EMG’s approach is rooted in shared values, honest feedback, and slowing down the process to focus on long-term fit and clinical integrity.
• Knowing When It’s Not a Fit: Candid stories about supporting trainees, setting boundaries, and recognizing when behavior analysis may not be the right path for someone.
• Practice Drives Policy: How EMG constantly evolves internal systems based on reflection, feedback, and real-world application—not just what looks good on paper.

✨ Key Takeaways:

• Flexibility without clarity leads to confusion. Clarity without flexibility leads to burnout. EMG’s model tries to avoid both.
• Trainees and staff are selected with care, not just credentials. Culture fit and internal motivation matter.
• You don’t need to scale fast to be successful. You need to scale intentionally.
• Real leadership means making hard calls—including downsizing when growth isn’t values-aligned.
• “Practice drives policy” is more than a phrase—it’s a guiding principle that allows the organization to evolve without losing its foundation.

📣 Connect with Liz:

• Instagram: @emg_consulting
• Facebook: EMG Consulting
• LinkedIn: Elizabeth Matthews

📚 Book Mentioned: Inclusion on Purpose by Ruchika Tulshyan

👂 Listen to Part 1:

Didn’t catch the first half of this conversation? Be sure to listen to Part 1, where Liz shares her story of burnout, evolution, and reconnecting with purpose.

🎧 Subscribe to In the Field: The ABA Podcast and explore more resources at SidekickLearning.net.

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