Introducing leadership concepts and principles to students at the beginning of the Master of Social Work program helps establish clear goals for them to strive toward and ensure that they are working toward a leadership style that is congruent with social work values and ethics.
Arendt (2017) illustrates some of the transferable skills that social work leaders will learn early on in their social work identity and leadership development:
Early on in our careers as social workers, we develop skills such as emotional intelligence, problem solving, and advocacy. These skills are integral to not only our identities as social workers, but also our identities as leaders–whether our leadership is focused on a micro, mezzo, or macro level.
Here is a video from a unique perspective that discusses the importance of leadership!
(Can’t access? Here’s the link!)
References:
Arendt, V. (2017). Transferable Social Work Skills [graphic]. Retrieved from https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/career-jobs/changing-areas-of-practice-the-tranferability-of-social-work-skills/