By Shelly Wimpfheimer      

Being a social worker and a manager can be very lonely.  Sometimes social work managers work among other social work colleagues who are focused on doing direct service with clients. Other times these managers work in settings with others who are not social workers or in places where the primary focus is not on traditional social work services.  (i.e. schools, YMCA’s, health care settings)  In all of these situations incidents arise when social work managers must use their humanistic management approach to solve problems, and the more complex the problems the more appealing it is for managers to seek out peers for consultation.

The Institute of the National Network for Social Work Managers, in partnership with NASW, the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services and Social Work prn, sponsored a three-week series, in the fall and again in the spring, to provide social work managers with the opportunity to address common concerns, learn, and enhance their skills.

Under the auspices of the institute, for three consecutive Fridays in November, a group of 18 social workers met in an agency meeting room to listen to colleagues who spoke with them about challenges faced by social workers who are also managers.  The discussion focused on three major issues:  supervision, dealing with difficult employees, and making the transition from line worker to manager.  Although hailing from agencies throughout the City, it was clear that each group member found the topics familiar and particularly challenging.

These social workers signed up for the workshop series to sharpen their management skills.  They were interested in listening to the thoughts of more experienced people and also enjoyed the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns with peers with whom they felt a common professional bond.  The group remained relatively constant over the three weeks, and as time went on there were fewer and fewer lulls in the conversation as participants shared their own experiences with one another.

Time and time again Institute organizers have been told that managers at all levels of their organizations enjoy meeting in small groups for discussion.  Since these social workers tend to be “macro” focused and involved with running organizations, they seem to relish the opportunity to speak directly with peers about some of the larger issues that arise when managing people and organizations.  They are eager to learn new and different strategies and techniques for problem solving that allow them to maintain their commitment to clients, to social work values, and to being an effective manager as well.

Although the workshop sessions all had a particular topic around which much of the discussion centered, group members used the time to raise other issues that were on their minds.  What about supervisors who are not supportive?  What if a manager is asked to support a position that is contrary to social work values?  In this group setting members can raise some of the vexing questions that have been disturbing them and are as yet unresolved.

Workshop participants suggested that they wanted more and that they wanted to go beyond a workshop series.  They stated in their evaluation forms that they would be interested in attending an ongoing group where they could explore more fully professional/management issues arising from their work.  Although they were somewhat concerned about how this might be looked upon by their employers, they felt that such an experience would help their professional development tremendously.

After some discussion by the sponsoring agencies it was determined that this series should be called a “discussion series” and that the content of these discussions should be determined by the participants.  It also seemed appropriate for the sessions to be facilitated by a trained group work professional.

Meeting in groups can be a very effective way of resolving all kinds of issues. Although not usually regarded as a way of accomplishing specialized staff development functions, group gatherings can provide a good venue for exploring tough issues that require substantive discussion in a safe and nonjudgmental environment. Convinced of the need for ongoing professional development and technical assistance for managers and supervisors, The Institute of the National Network for Social Work Managers and its partner agencies, NASW, the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services and Social Work prn remain committed to offering the management/supervisory workshop series twice per year and hope to expand their offerings in the future.

For Information contact:

Ellen Brodsky at 914-637-0442
Shelly Wimpfheimer at 212-630-9697