Effective Supervision in a Coordinated Service

EnvironmentDeborah Yip, MSW

DirectorThe Resource Center for Family-

Focused Practice

Collaboration Assessment

• Complete the Collaboration Assessment at the beginning of your packet

• Identify the two most important items

• Turn to the person next to you: share and compare

Goal of Supervision

• Maximize comprehensive, concurrent services to families

• Model collaboration and integration

• Provide consistent philosophical, policy, and procedure guidance

• Mediate any conflict to resolve current issue and reduce future occurrences

Supervisory Styles

• Consolidated supervision

• Matrix management• Collaborative

supervision• Multi-disciplinary

supervision• Single discipline

supervision

Tools of the Integrated Services Supervisor

• Accountability

• Responsibility

• Controls

• Credits

Accountability

• Clear directions, criteria to be met

• Put objectives in writing• Everyone understands• Set milestone• Resources• Level of responsibility• Evaluate and measure

outcomes

Responsibility

• Have control to carry out responsibility

• Ask for input• Delegate responsibility • Create written work

plan• Set checkpoints and

monitor progress

Controls

• Provide safety valve• Checkpoints monitor

progress• Use milestones as

opportunity to fine tune• Implement the next

step

Credits

• Recognize the contributions of all

• Enrich jobs by identifying the importance of the job

• Give credit where due• Look for rewards• celebrate

Conflict in Integrated Services

• What are the most common sources of conflict in integrated services settings?

Transforming Conflict

• Conflict facts• Common causes of

conflict• Conflict to contrast• Oppositional cycle of

conflict• Integrative cycle of

contrast• Communicating

Conflict Facts: Fact or Fiction

• People in situations of conflict know the reason for the conflict.

• Conflict is the result of actions or content of a situation.

• People are not malicious toward others.• People do not have a strong desire to “be

right.”

Conflict: Fact or Fiction

• During conflict, people focus on dialog and fail to capture nonverbal communication.

• By the time people deal with conflict, information is often lost in half-truths, misperceptions, and partial memories.

• Conflict is like chess – a series of moves, jumps and counter-moves.

Common Causes of Conflict

• What are your thoughts?

• Communication• Differences in objective• Differences in how to accomplish the

objective• Personality characteristic variances

Can you shift from conflict to contrast?

Oppositional Cycle of Conflict

Oppositional Cycle of Conflict Continued

Integrative Cycle of Contrast

Communication

• Disengage

• Empathize

• Inquire

• Disclose

• Depersonalize

Change and Work Overload

• Re-define thinking and attitudes about change

• Recognize that we live in permanent change

• We only have partial control at any moment

• Change impacts everyone on emotional level

Common Dynamics

• Uncomfortable with unknown

• Focus is on what we give up

• Feelings of isolation• Eventually, everyone

feels overloaded and burned out

• Ambiguity elicits fear

• Feelings of lack of resources

• Without pressure, revert to prior known behavior

• Fail to recognize transferable

• Fright or flight• May fail to participate

Supervisory Support in Times of Change

• Create a sense of control

• Prompt disclosure of inner feelings

• Live fully present in the moment

• Self-awareness and intervention

Thinking Modes

Analytical• In your head – mental• Uses memory, analyzes,

stores, compares• Makes plans for future

based on past• Computes and calculates• Linear and detail oriented• Task related and effort• Obsess and churn over and

over

Reflective - Flow• Effortless• Reflective and creative• Being in the “zone”• Insightful, inspired, wise,

intuitive• No effort thinking• Slow down to the present• Opens the mind• Feel calm, curious, positive

When is the right time?

Analytical

• This is the mode taught in schools and best used when all variables are known

Reflective – flow

• This is the mode best used when the variables are NOT known. You don’t have a clue what to do next.

When Analyzing Isn’t Working

• Keep your focus and healthy mental perspective

• Talk less and listen more• Do one thing at a time

and at a calm pace• Clear, direct focus• Control negative

thoughts• Stop the struggling!

Want Training?

• Contact us:– The Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice• dyip@unexmail.ucdavis.edu• Call (530)757-8643

• It’s FREE! Designed and facilitated by experienced subject experts from CalWorks and child welfare.