A Week in the Life of a Social Work Leader

SOWK 679.10 S02: Maximizing Staff Performance Through Supervision

Miriah McIsaac

University of Calgary

April 11, 2019

SECTION 1: A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A SOCIAL WORK LEADER

MONDAY

Overall, what is your general feeling about all of these challenges and tasks? What issues
are brewing here? Rate these in a scale of most important/worrying – least
important/worrying.

Immediately I am put on edge from the hostile voice message. The agency has

received bad press lately and I want to ensure this issue can be handled discretely. I’m

upset that I haven’t received any information about an incident from the Shelter staff and

no one is answering the phone. These feelings mix with nervousness for my upcoming

radio interview and stress knowing I have a full schedule today. I can already see many

issues beginning to brew – the incident at the Shelter, a threat from a parent to speak to

the media, fear that my personal feelings about a funder have come across in my tone

during the interview and the funder’s potential negative reaction to such, the strained

interaction with a former co-worker in a professional setting, and knowing the situation at

the Shelter hasn’t improved yet valuing work-life balance and wanting to see my family.

The situation at the Shelter is most worrying, as I need but do not have all the

information to properly respond to the angry parent, to ensure client/worker safety, that

proper protocols were used, and that there are channels in place to respond to similar

incidents in the future. This worry is increased after finding out the situation has not

improved at day end. Next, I am worried about the radio interview. I have not heard it yet

and do not want to damage my relationship with the funder. I am less worried about my

interaction with a former co-worker, as this is the first time I’ve seen them since they left

the agency and believe their response is not personal and that they may be embarrassed to

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communicate with me. I value work-life balance and make it a priority; therefore, I am

not worried about being unavailable after-hours.

Discuss the decisions made and if, looking back to the beginning of the day, you would
have done anything differently. Describe what you would do differently and outline some
of the reasons why. Describe how the day would unfold in comparison.

Looking back, I would email the Shelter Team Leader and/or frontline staff first

thing requesting an update on the recent situation and any accompanying documentation

(i.e. incident report). I request a meeting with involved staff to occur first this tomorrow.

While at my desk, I would also contact the Communications Lead to discuss interview

content and voice my concerns that the information has potential to become negative

and/or accusatory and that it may be better to speak broadly to the issue and barriers to

funding, without naming specific funders.

My schedule has become more demanding with the onboarding of the Breakfast

Program; therefore, I would speak to a senior staff member who has talked in supervision

about gaining more leadership experience and having an interest in research/funding

about attending the afternoon meeting in my absence. This creates an opportunity to let

go of some control and show my theoretical foundations and commitment to shared

leadership and building capacity within the team. Wheatley (2005) writes that in

organizations we must rely on everyone’s creativity and that it is our leaders that must

engage and invite staff to participate in creating solutions for issues that are

meaningful to them. Further, Woodbury, Cohen & Zayszly (2001) state that excellent

supervisors delegate and delegation presents opportunity to build supervisee skills and

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allows the supervisor to accomplish more (Page 49). By delegating I’ve freed up time

to attend to the other pressing issues of the day.

TUESDAY

What do you do to recover the situation so far? How would you do it?

I have lunch and gather myself after the team meeting. I know I acted

inappropriately and that I need to address and apologize for my behaviour; however, I

need to prepare for my next supervision session. I want this meeting to be an opportunity

to discuss my supervisory philosophy and provide some context for understanding

supervision within the organization (Matheson, 2019). I want to focus on creating a

connection and building trust, which I believe will lower some of the supervisee’s fears. I

start the session checking-in with the worker and ask questions to get to know them better

– who are they, what is their background, why they are drawn to this work? I talk about

my supervisory experience and practices (new supervisor/open door policy/transparency).

We discuss the supervisory contract including accountabilities and expectations, and the

supervision continuum in which I commit to bi-weekly supervision, or as needed, due to

this person being a new professional. I also make a point to normalize any feelings or

worries related to being a beginner and decide to tell a story about my first day.

Do you take his advice and do this? Why or why not? How – or what would be your
alternative?

I appreciate his advice; however, I am at a different place in terms of relationships

with my team members and need to be intentional and adaptive in the way I present

information. A supervisor is expected to approach situations with various employees

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differently based on the type of rapport that exists between them (Campbell, 2011). I will

speak to my team members; however, will wait until I have a plan and appropriate venue.

You’re running late, what do you do?

I follow through on the commitment, though a few minutes late, as I confirmed

my attendance in advance. I have set boundaries regarding attendance after business

hours, to ensure it does not impact my work-life balance, so this will be the first event

I’ve attended in quite some time.

WEDNESDAY

What do you do?

Knowing the staff member directly involved won’t be back until Monday, but that

I have group supervision booked this afternoon, I make the decision to return the angry

parent’s call by end of day. This gives me time to gather more information and hopefully

does not give the impression that I am dismissing or minimizing the complaint. I will

notify the parent of the formal complaint process during our phone call. Afterwards, I

email my supervisor, the Director of Child & Family Services, and relay the complaint so

they are aware. I also request meeting with involved staff on Monday as part of the

complaint process. These meetings will double as supervision, as they will provide open

and non-defensive exploration of the professional and personal issues involved as a

means of gaining new skills and professional development (Henderson, 2009).

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How would you describe your style based on the need now and this supervisory process
and its components? How do you proceed? What techniques might you use in order to
recover some of the events so far? What do you image to be the end result?

When I become overwhelmed in my supervisor role, I tend to prefer task-focused

work; however, I am aware of this tendency and need to be “feelings-oriented” as cited

by Henderson (2009), especially due to the high emotions exhibited by my supervisees in

an earlier team meeting. I explain that my behaviour earlier was not appropriate and that I

want an opportunity to speak with each member individually about what happened at

another time. Given this, I am transition back to group supervision. I remind the group of

the basic ground rules, purpose, expectations, and goals (Matheson, 2019).

When I provide group supervision, it is reflective supervision wherein I am

interested in why and how things happen, and what happened to the supervisee in this

process - not just what happened (Matheson, 2019). As I often use case review as a

strategy within group supervision, I ask if supervisees have a case they would like to

present. They unanimously agree that they want to talk about the recent incident at the

Shelter and take turns presenting the case from their points of view. I ask clarifying

questions and ask them to reflect on their actions and responses to the incident. After the

team members present the case, I suggest a role-play to aid in developing strategies to

improve communication, different points of view/ways to handle conflict, and overall

team processes. During this process, roles and responsibilities of each team member are

identified to improve efficiencies and allow for smoother processes (Rosso, 2014).

The end result is gaining more information about the event (which I was lacking)

while using the scenario as a learning experience and skill development for staff. When I

use group supervision, I also make a point to recap and summarize at the end of the

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session. This also presents an opportunity to connect and understand the learning and

processes within the greater organizational and service delivery context. This also

provides a platform for creating and committing to a shared vision and understanding the

“why” (Simon Sinek, 2009).

How do you manage them and your concerns?

I suggest that we schedule a meeting with all staff and volunteers of the

Breakfast Program to ensure transparency and equal access to information. I want

to speak with the Coordinator first, out of respect, and will advise the rest of the

team in the scheduled meeting. I will disclose concerns about funding and listen to their

concerns. I will remain positive and optimistic as we work to address the situation.

THURSDAY

What do you say to her and what decision do you make?

I attempt to problem-solve with her – is there any hard copy records/other

means of finding these outcomes/another staff that is skilled with retrieving

information from the database? If this is not only a technical or database error, I will

need to speak with this staff member about responsibilities and accountability. A

primary supervisor factor contributing to conflict is a supervisor’s failure to convey

specific performance expectations to their supervisees (Nelson, Barnes, Evans &

Triggiano, 2008). I need to discuss expectations with staff, provide feedback, and accept

feedback (if I wasn’t clear in the past). However, I decide to wait to have this

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conversation at another time when emotions (both hers and mine) are not as high,

as I wish to have a calm and rational conversation.

What could happen here that could make this situation positive and future-thinking? Who
could take the initiative? What you then be the end result?

I take a moment to gather myself before I re-engage in a conversation with my

colleague. I ask for more information about the encounter that has left him resentful.

Lusk and Salcido (2017) write that supervisors may exhibit cultural incompetence by

failing to lead effectively when they overlook or dismiss important elements of their

supervisees’ worldview, values, and social position. Cultural competence is important to

my supervision framework; therefore, if this colleague felt the comment was not

culturally sensitive, I need to know this.

Afterwards, I explain that I am disappointed that he did not approach me prior to

this conversation, as I would appreciate knowing so I can respond or work on the issue.

Nelson, Barnes, Evans & Triggiano (2008) speak of the importance of making an effort

to be aware of what influences your working relationships and openly discussing sources

of discomfort and disagreement. Understanding that communication differs between

cultures, I would speak about how I like to be communicated with (i.e. active listening).

Is this appropriate? (If not, is there anything you can do about it?) What will you say to
the board member? And what will you plan to do between now and the meeting next
week? What is your strategy?

The staff member has not used the appropriate channels to voice their concerns.

This person should have come to me first with their concerns, and should they still feel as

though the concerns have not been addressed then go to the Director of Child and Family

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Services. I inform the board member that I have not been previously made aware of any

concerns and state my disappointment in the way the complaint was handled. Between

now and the meeting, I will request supervision where I will speak to my direct

supervisor about the complaint and other challenges – i.e. needs of staff, organizational

demands, personal anxiety, etc. I will also plan to meet with the staff member who made

the complaint to gather more information and problem-solve, if possible.

FRIDAY

What do you think about this situation as a worry (or not)? What is the issue(s)? What
advice would you give? How would you suggest undertaking your idea(s)?

I think this situation has the potential to be very worrisome as it may be an

example of poor judgment from staff, a possible confidentiality breach, and can impact

organizational culture. I would suggest that each supervisor speaks to their respective

teams about the information that has come to light and use this as an opportunity to

remind them of the ethics and practice standards that we follow as a team and as an

organization. Discipline and/or responses to those identified to be involved will need to

be decided. I would also suggest that this issue is discussed with the policy sector, so

policies regarding social media can be created.

SECTION 2: ISSUE ANALYSIS

On Tuesday, I made a mistake. I lost my temper when accused by a staff member

of never being available and became defensive when asked about cutback plans for the

Breakfast Program. I typically don’t react this was to feedback or questions; however, I

was feeling overwhelmed by my supervisory responsibilities and disrespected by the way

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the topic was approached. I think I reacted this way because I know I have been

unavailable lately and thought I was protecting staff from learning the inevitable plight of

the program. Regardless, I acted inappropriately and given the opportunity I would

handle the situation much differently.

I am aware that when under pressure and feeling stressed, I prioritize tasks over

relationships (Henderson, 2018). Unaware, I did not adapt my style to be more

relationship focused with my supervisees (Henderson, 2018). I know I need to prioritize

my relationships. I also need to apologize for my reaction to the feedback. Henderson

(2009) writes that the emotional arousal that is engendered by inappropriate and hostile

comments makes individuals feel humiliated, unsafe, if not also angry, and inhibits the

clarity of thought necessary to the supervisee to make good use of a supervisory space.

My disclosure and acknowledgement is important to normalize shame and to create a

platform for self-disclosure/vulnerability. I name my mistake (becoming defensive

earlier), own it, ask for forgiveness, and move on. This also creates an opportunity to

model a culture in which it is safe to be emotional or show vulnerability and

“humanness” (Beddoe & Davys, 2011).

I understand that supervisees want to have access to information, or at least have

their concerns heard. Withholding information about the Breakfast Program has been

challenging for me, as I value trust and honesty between supervisees and myself. Looking

back, I should have prioritized supervision with my staff and been upfront in the team

meeting about the program, as part of gaining trust is breaking the secrecy and I want my

staff members to believe that I will be transparent with them.

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 Although I did not appreciate the location or audience for the accusation, I should

have presented as calm, listened to the concerns, and asked more questions about this

from the group. I struggle to receive feedback and I know that supervisees also struggle

to give feedback in supervision; therefore, this may have been an opportunity for people

to feel safe bringing concerns to my attention. In the future, I would acknowledge staff

member’s feelings and frustrations, confirm that I’ve heard them and that I want to

discuss more and book individual supervision sessions at the end of the meeting.

Given the concerns, I need to schedule supervision with my supervisor. I am new

in my role and need to present my current challenges – meeting the needs of my

supervisors and other workplace demands, so I can receive feedback and guidance. From

here, I learn from and accept my mistakes, and commit to professional and personal

development. Self-reflection is also a core component of my leadership framework.

Kousez & Posner (2003) write, “the self-confidence to lead comes from learning about

ourselves - our skills, prejudices, talents, and shortcomings”. Therefore, greater self-

reflection is also needed to ensure situations such as this one do no re-occur.

SECTION 3: REFLECTING ON THE WEEK

This was a very challenging week given the onslaught of professional and

personal demands. I felt vulnerable after the feedback, accusations, complaints, difficult

conversations, and increasing demands on my time. I felt isolated due to my direct

supervisor being unavailable and my attempt at receiving support from my colleague. I

don’t think I improved morale or was very inspiring this week, but I am human, I am

resilient and I have a new perspective and awareness heading into the next week.

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