LEADERSHIP

There are two out-of-home care (OOHC) services run by the same organisation. Same resourcing, same policies and even the same OOHC model. One effective and getting results, the other not and constantly struggling. They could be residential, foster care or transitioning from care services.  Can you think of a couple of examples? What do you think the key difference between the two services might be? 

It could of course be all kinds of things. Maybe it’s the children? Maybe it’s the staff? Or maybe it’s the community? But most likely of all? It’ll be the person in the leadership position. So what do I mean by leadership in an OOHC context?

In his 2014 book Leadership in Residential Child Care: A Relationship-based Approach, and largely applicable to other forms of OOHC too, Adrian Ward identifies the following four critical leadership domains: change and vision, influencing and motivating, organising and prioritising. 

Change and vision: You’ll likely have heard the change management mantra “The only constant in life is change” (turns out that this actually comes from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus and has been around for over 2,000 years!). 

In an OOHC context this is new referrals, placements and discharges, key staff changes, or unexpected crises or events within or external to the service. It is also the leader introducing some form of improvement or practice change. And it is envisioning with the team and others, better and more sustainable outcomes and together working towards meaningfully realising these. 

Influencing and motivating: Whether influencing and motivating staff, other colleagues, senior managers or children, this encompasses modelling, listening, respect and trust, as well as problem-solving and coaching. It’s also about the team culture and providing some day-to-day stability for children.     

Organising: The modern work environment is punctuated with meetings, and OOHC is no exception. These may be internal staff meetings, supervision sessions or meetings with children, families or foster carers. Or meetings with other managers or agencies. Whatever the meeting, organising these meetings must always be purposeful. The leader also needs to be visible and present. This is particularly so in relation to residential care. However, even with foster care and transitioning from care, the leaders responsibilities go far beyond simply providing and supporting a worker, and so some form of broader engagement is required. Leaders also need to balance their administrative tasks with their professional tasks.

Prioritising: Making active choices about where to focus time and energy, being able to anticipate the impacts of such decisions, and also knowing when to change tack, is also a critical area. All OOHC services need to some extent to be reactive and to respond to the needs of others. However, in less effective services, being reactive can all too often become the default position. Once in that place, it can be very hard to get out of. Busyness, or how tired you are at night, is not a measure of effectiveness. Effective leaders make conscious choices about the amount of time and energy they spend on different tasks, whether that be carving out thinking time, talking to a mentor, developing staff, delegating duties, influencing others, or responding to a specific crisis etc. 

 To the above I’d add two further points.

 Firstly, all four of these domains encompass skills that can be taught or strengthened. Or in other words, leadership is a practicable, learnable skill. Secondly, our application of leadership learning is also shaped by the OOHC contexts in which we work. As such, and to be most effective, leaders in OOHC  also requires excellent knowledge and understanding of OOHC and statutory social work, compatible values and other relevant experience and skills e.g. being able to effectively engage with children and young people on OOHC issues.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can email me at: iain@betteroutcomes.co.nz

Kia kaha (Stay Strong).

Iain