Kathie Cole is a Training Specialist with Portland
General Electric (PGE)’s Organizational Development &
Training department. Kathie has worked for PGE for 29
years. In recent years, she has been a key player in
bringing Windmills training to employees throughout PGE.
“What,” you may ask, “do Windmills have to do with PGE?”
We asked Kathie that same question…
KATHIE COLE: Windmills is a training program for
employers. It was developed in the early 1980’s by
Richard Pimentel at the request of the California
Governor’s Committee on Employment for People with
Disabilities. It focuses on attitudes towards people
with disabilities – or “different abilities”.
OBLN: Kathie, how did Windmills get its start at PGE?
KATHIE COLE: Windmills’ author Richard Pimentel is a
wonderful and dynamic speaker and he was invited to
speak at the Diversity Summit in Portland in 2004. At
the Summit, he presented one of the modules of the
Windmills program called “Pick-A-Disability.” Richard
was the “hit” of the Summit! One of our Vice Presidents
saw him and was so impressed that he brought him in to
speak to our Managers Group. Following that, I had the
opportunity to take the Windmills train-the-trainer
course and brought it back to PGE. It has taken off as
in a very grass-roots way. It has been supported by our
Advisory Committee on Diversity and our Human Resources.
Everybody has gotten behind it and supported it!
OBLN: Does the training focus on interacting with
people with disabilities as coworkers or as customers?
KATHIE COLE: It could be both. The training
approaches the whole person – whether or not they are at
work. Our personal attitudes influence how we interact
with people with different abilities – wherever we
encounter them. We all work with people with obvious or
hidden disabilities and our attitudes affect how we
interact with those people. Our attitudes also affect
their access to being hired into our companies. Those
kinds of topics are all covered in our training.
Our training is really on disability awareness and it
is attitudinal training. We hope to shift people’s
attitudes that govern how whey approach, interact with
or work with people with disabilities, or “different
abilities”.
OBLN: How long is the Windmills course and what does
it cover?
KATHIE COLE: Windmills is modularized so it is very
easy to adapt it to different situations in a
cost-effective manner. Its eleven modules cover
different topic areas and presentations can vary in
length from 30 minutes to an hour. The modules are
extremely thought-provoking and cause participants to
dig down deep.
It is very portable. It travels well. We can easily
deliver it to employees at our different sites. It is
sometimes presented as a stand-alone training. It has
been presented as part of “team days” for different
departments. It was recently presented at 8:00PM at
night to two fellows in one of our control rooms. In an
abbreviated version, we can even bring Windmills to our
line crews.
OBLN: Can you give us an idea of what the Windmills
modules are like?
KATHIE COLE: One of the Windmills modules is called
“Whose Fault?” It happens to be my favorite. It is a
story module. The group is presented with a story about
someone who uses an electric wheelchair and is hired
into a new job. As the story unfolds, a number of
difficulties arise and, ultimately, there is a
particular incident that causes this person to lose his
job.
In the training session, participants are asked to
break in to small groups and discuss who was at fault
for the unsuccessful employment of this person. What led
up to it? What could have been done differently? Was it
entirely the fault of the employee himself – or were
others responsible? It is an extremely well-written and
thought-provoking module. Recently, we had a group from
our legal department go through this module. The
discussion was very animated. Whose fault was it? The
Personnel Manager? The Vice President of Administration?
The employee in the wheelchair? The supervisor? This
module was a big hit with them!
OBLN: How is Windmills training made available to
employees at PGE?
KATHIE COLE: Windmills training is delivered upon
request. We have had eleven PGE employees trained to
deliver Windmills to other employees. From all different
levels in our organization, many of them are people who
are in our Disabilities Resource Network or are
employees who have family members with disabilities.
The training has been very well-received by our
employees. People often leave with comments like: “Boy,
it really changed my point of view!” Based on
participant evaluations, Windmills has received an
average rating of 4.3 out of five for its value and
usefulness.
We have done at least thirty presentations in this
past year to a total of over 600 employees – some of
whom have attended more than one module. PGE Windmills
trainers are also encouraged to take the training out to
their personal communities – their church groups, Boy
Scout troops, etc.
OBLN: You have said that Windmills is only delivered
on a “on request” basis, yet nearly a quarter of your
workforce has undergone some portion of the training
within the past year. What makes it so popular?
KATHIE COLE: Word has gotten out within the
organization that this is valuable training. It is the
right thing to do. People find it useful. We have an
aging workforce and with that comes increasing
disability-related concerns. I like a quote from Steve
Hanamura that was in an earlier edition of the OBLN’s
e-Zine: “People are already in the disability
conversation. As we age, there are some pieces of the
aging process that can become disability situations.
Also, all of us are encountering disability in our
family lives – even if it is a temporary situation. It
is really weird because we are all there within the
disability experience yet we don’t make the connection
to embrace it and translate it into what is most viable
for employees with disabilities.”
OBLN: Kathie, with such a successful year behind you,
what are your plans for Windmills in the year ahead?
KATHIE COLE: We have implemented three of the eleven
modules this year and have four new modules in
development for next year. In 2006 we hope to be rolling
out modules on Learning Disabilities, Hearing
Impairment, Reasonable Accommodations, and the Rumor
Game. We are looking forward to another great year of
Windmills training here at PGE.
* * *
In concluding her interview with us, Kathie said she
strongly recommends that other companies follow PGE’s
lead and make Windmills training available to their own
workforces. In addition to effectively addressing
disability-related attitudinal barriers at PGE,
Windmills training has given employees valuable insights
into dealing with the disabilities of family members and
friends. Additionally, the Windmills program has proven
to be a valuable team-building exercise and to lay
important groundwork for broader issues of workforce
diversity.
Companies interested in learning more about the
Windmills Attitudinal training Program are encouraged to
contact Daniel Gounder at the California Governors
Committee on Employment for People With Disabilities.
Send Email to
Daniel Gounder... 
