Collaborative Leadership

As a social worker, it is likely you will be in many situations where you will have to interact with individuals from other disciplines. It is not uncommon for a social worker to collaborate with psychologists, nurses, counselors, teachers, and more as we work to assist our clients in achieving their goals. Competence is one of the core values of Social Work, and as such, a social worker should be competent in their field of practice. Not only that, but social workers should also strive to be competent leaders.

Leadership training can be invaluable to any organization, but it has proven to be particularly helpful in the field of social work. A study from 2014 in The British Journal of Social Work found that transformational leadership training was effective “in creating a workplace where employees are committed and know what their assignment is. Interaction effects of leader continuity and co-worker support indicate the need for some stability in the organization in order to increase the positive influence transformational leaders have on employees.” (Tafvelin, Hyvonen & Westerberg, 2014) A workplace in which people feel supported and stable will yield effective and committed social workers, to be sure. When a person has a clear purpose, it is contagious and anyone they come into contact with can easily be brought on board in order to make a positive change in the lives of whoever they treat.

If more agencies work to implement leadership training and mentorship, or perhaps even offer the training outside of the profession, it stands to reason that we could see more effective collaboration as the helping professions work to make the world a better place.

Tafvelin, S., Hyvönen, U., & Westerberg, K. (2014). Transformational Leadership in the Social Work Context: The Importance of Leader Continuity and Co-Worker Support. British Journal of Social Work, 44(4), 886–904. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/10.1093/bjsw/bcs174