The Massage Pundit

This is the final post in my series of interviews with the leaders of the organizations of the massage therapy profession. Paul Lindamood is the CEO of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. He recently answered my questions, and as with the others, his answers are offered here unedited.

LA: What is your background in the massage profession? Are you now or have you ever personally been a massage therapist?

PL: I am not a massage therapist, but I have been working both in and for the profession for over three years now. I quickly became captivated by the field and the people who represent it when NCBTMB partnered with the firm where I was previously employed, and had provided strategic services and solutions to health-related clients – including nonprofits – for nearly 30 years. From a personal perspective, however, I have been an ardent believer in the benefits of massage ever since I first utilized it myself as a stress reliever some 20 years ago.

When I assumed the CEO position, the NCBTMB board, staff, volunteers and all of our stakeholders generously shared their knowledge and experiences with me, so that I was able to gain an understanding of the many challenges and opportunities facing our profession. I have since dedicated my career to exploring these opportunities and overcoming these challenges.

An interesting sidebar: I will never forget the day – about 15 years ago – when a young business associate of mine unceremoniously quit what was a very promising business career … to become a massage therapist. I remember thinking that massage therapy must be an amazing profession to have attracted such a charismatic, talented and creative person away from us. And now, some 15 years later, I have to smile when I think back. Amazing indeed.

LA: How long have you been with the organization?

PL: Well, technically before working for NCBTMB, I worked with NCB. As I mentioned, my former company was asked to respond to an RFP by NCBTMB in 2006. Consequently, we were selected by the Board of Directors to assist in developing its strategic, business and communications initiatives. As the lead executive, I worked with NCB in that capacity for 2 years prior to accepting the position of Chief Executive Officer. So I worked as a vendor for the organization starting in November, 2006, and became CEO on December 15, 2008.

LA: Have you been in the same position with the organization since you started, or did you climb through the ranks?

PL: I was brought on as Chief Executive Officer in December of 2008, which is the only position I have held as an employee of NCBTMB. I came from a highly respected business solutions and marketing firm, with more than 20 year’s experience as a C-level executive. I have devoted my career to positioning, directing and promoting associations, professional firms, healthcare organizations, businesses and nonprofits, utilizing my background in operations, communications, promotion, recruitment, budgeting and finance, culture building and service excellence. In fact, it was in this capacity that I first began working with NCBTMB, directing the organization’s communications, public relations, media and re-branding strategies.

LA: What is the mission statement of your organization?

PL: NCBTMB’s mission is to define and advance the highest standards in the massage and bodywork profession.

LA: What do you think your organization is doing to honor the mission statement?

PL: We try to ensure that everything NCB does supports our mission. Not only do we work to define and advance the highest standards in the profession, we are deeply committed to defining and advancing the highest standards in our organization.

Upon accepting my position, I immediately began conferring with Chair Delaporta and, under the auspices of the Board, began taking steps to address critical management, operational and financial issues. Some of our fiscal actions included:

• Revising the budget based on realistic projections and a thorough cost analysis
• Eliminating extraneous and excessive costs associated with Board and committee meetings
• Streamlining operations, processes and procedures to reduce costs and provide better service
• Cutting marketing and legal expenditures
• Communicating with stakeholders and the profession openly and frequently.

These internal initiatives have made it possible for NCB to more effectively and efficiently pursue our mission.

We continue to define – and redefine – the profession through Job Task Analyses and industry input. This enables us to provide accredited exam programs that reflect the requirements for entry-level practice and serve as testing instruments for both National Certification and state licensure. In addition, NCB is now working with the profession to develop Advanced Certification, a credential the field has been calling for since 1997. Specialty certifications may follow.

In the past year, we have introduced resources that help schools prepare students for success on their tests and in their careers – an online practice exam, revised study guide and Spanish language exams.

NCB also offers financial and volunteer support of industry organizations such as the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care, Massage Therapy Foundation, Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge project, and AMTA state chapters.

Most recently, NCB was the only national massage and bodywork organization to attend the Integrative Healthcare Symposium and promote our profession and its benefits to physicians, chiropractors, nurses, dieticians and other healthcare providers. We also provided evidence-based research supporting the efficacy of massage in treating specific medical conditions.

NCB remains committed to working with state massage therapy boards across the country to introduce and refine legislation designed to protect the health and safety of the public.

If your readers have suggestions as to how NCB can further advance our mission and serve their interests, I ask that they send them (and their contact information) to our Director of Communications at jwagley@ncbtmb.org.

LA: What do you feel has been your biggest achievement there?

PL: Though my tenure has been relatively brief, my energies have been focused on improving service to our certificants, increasing awareness of the benefits of certification and initiating Advanced Certification. Still, there is much to do to achieve our goals.

One of the things of which I am particularly proud is how NCB is coming together in a renewed spirit of leadership as a team – Board, volunteers and staff – to evaluate and reinvigorate the role of the organization. We are working hard to keep strong the credentialing foundation that was laid 17 years ago, but even harder to assess our shortcomings and rebuild processes and procedures that need to be recreated.

I have also come to appreciate the fact that the NCB of today truly stands on the shoulders of many of the great volunteers from its earliest days. I am amazed at how many of the profession’s best and brightest have passed through these portals – and played a major part in creating a national standard of quality. Every single day I am reminded that certification in this profession truly belongs to everyone who reaches for excellence and cares about massage’s future.

LA: What do you see as the most important initiative for moving your organization forward?

PL: I believe that the most important initiative for moving NCB forward is to do our part in continuing to move the profession forward.

Also, while our primary role is creating and administering the exam programs that denote a certified practitioner of massage or bodywork in the United States, I believe that we are much more than that. NCBTMB is an organization truly committed to this profession, determined advocates who are dedicated to:

• Advancing the profession – and practitioners – by developing new advanced credentials
• Reaching out to schools and helping them prepare students for success
• Supporting and identifying qualified continuing education providers
• Assisting state boards in the protection of citizens and promoting public health and safety
• Providing financial support whenever feasible to other organizations working in the name of our profession
• Promoting the benefits of massage to the healthcare community
• Increasing the visibility and credibility of massage to consumers
• Promoting outcome based research that proves the efficacy of massage in treating medical conditions

What I want people to understand is that, by becoming and staying Nationally Certified (and soon, holder of the Massage Advanced Certification), you earn much more than a credential. You gain knowledge that your certification dollars help support the exam programs, ethics and discipline processes, initiatives and broad-based communications efforts that the profession’s nonprofit certification organization is working toward. For all of us who believe in – and rely on – the national potential and transformative power… of massage.

LA: What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your organization today?

PL: I would have to say the industry perception, and to a degree connections to our past.  While we recognize that NCBTMB has approached some situations in ways that were not well received by the profession, we have taken numerous, tangible steps to correct those issues. And further, have changed our approach not only on paper, but in our actions.

We know it will take some time for the industry to see and believe in those changes, but we are all working hard every day to re-establish our credibility and instill trust within all our constituencies. Because we all sense that the time is now – for a national health and wellness referendum that will embrace certified massage therapy as the standard of excellence – and moreover, acceptance – as a viable choice in the national healthcare model about to take shape. So yes, we take that challenge very, very seriously. We owe it to everyone in the profession.

LA: There are more organizations and associations for the massage profession now than ever before. What do you see as the ideal relationship between them?

PL: Ideally, I think that each organization and association would concentrate on its mission and operate within its best “sphere of influence” – that is, devote its resources to that which it does best.

• AMTA: serve its members while advancing the art, science and practice of massage therapy
• ABMP: provide comprehensive liability insurance and practice support for massage/bodywork practitioners and students
• FSMTB: support member boards in their work to ensure the practice of massage therapy is provided to the public in a safe and effective manner
• MTF: advance the knowledge and practice of massage therapy by supporting scientific research, education and community service
• NCBTMB: define and advance the highest standards in the massage therapy and bodywork profession

In the future, I would like to see all these organizations and associations continue to collaborate on innovative initiatives such as the Body of Knowledge project. I believe that each of the participants brings something unique to the table, and that the profession is best served when we are all there, sharing in a spirit of community and collaboration.

LA: If you could only say one thing to your stakeholders, what would it be?

PL: Thank you for believing in us. And for those who are not so sure, please take another look. Because in the words of one Laura Allen, “There is something big happening at the National Certification Board: THEY ARE LISTENING!” And just as important, we are responding.

The profession needs certification – and Advanced Certification. We ask you to support us in our mission to help take massage to the next level and help our profession take its rightful place in the healthcare community. What you do is critical – it is powerful and transformational. It is, quite simply, amazing. I want to thank you for making the profession what it is today … and invite you to join us in taking massage where it can be tomorrow.

–thank you–