Social work and social care leadership development programme

Leadership development

About this programme

Bringing together the specialisms from the expert staff in the social care, management and leadership team at Tavistock Consulting, this unique programme combines the Tavistock systems-psychodynamic approach to leadership and to contemporary social work practice, for recently appointed and aspiring team leaders or those who want to develop their leadership skills.

We are now taking bookings for our course starting in March 2025.

What will I learn?

Each session will focus on key areas of leadership: self, team, system, change, diversity and learning and will examine the following:

• What it means to take up the role of leader, hold individual and teams to account, manage boundaries, encourage engagement in quality improvement in services to adults and children
• Developing a coaching approach to your leadership and management style
• How to understand team dynamics, enhancing team performance, influencing and addressing challenging conversations
• Leading teams through change and uncertainty
• Understanding the impact of individuals and the bigger system on effective work.

Participants will have the opportunity to build a supportive peer learning group as they progress through the programme and managers will be encouraged to be active supporters throughout this programme, giving the participants opportunities to implement and embed their learning through their role with their team and in their organisation.

Programme overview

The programme will focus on the following:

Developing yourself as a leader

You will explore the connection between your personal history and your professional identity and how this informs how you take up the role of leader. You will identify your personal leadership learning goals and your particular areas for development. There will be opportunities to reflect on this as you progress through the programme in both individual and group sessions.

You will develop an in-depth understanding of the value of leadership and its role in systems of accountability. Key leadership concepts such as role, authority, power, task will be thought about in relation to your social work context. You will learn about different leadership styles and their appropriate application in your role as a new or aspiring social work manager. You will also learn skills that support you to develop a coaching style to your leadership approach.

Leading effective, diverse teams

You will consider what makes for, and how to facilitate, effective team working in a social work or social care setting. There will be a strong emphasis on developing your confidence in working with difference and diversity of experience and identity and specifically how to lead teams which value anti-racist, anti-discriminatory, anti-oppressive practice and support progression of a more diverse leadership.

You will explore the value and nature of team boundaries and the role of the manager on the boundary, whilst also working with wider boundaries in relation to people who access social services. You will develop ways of understanding and managing conflict within and between teams and further develop your coaching approach when challenging and influencing especially during times of change and uncertainty.

You will have the opportunity to build a supportive peer learning group as you progress through the programme. You will also be encouraged to engage with your workplace managers as active supporters throughout this programme. You will be supported to take up opportunities to implement and embed your learning back in the workplace through a range of possible activities such as shadowing, stepping up and learning more about your system.

Programme facilitators

• 

  Jo Williams

  Associate, Faculty

• 

  Rose McCarthy

  Senior organisational consultant

Who is this programme for?

This programme is for you if you work in a social work or social care setting and want to develop your leadership skills and build resilience and confidence to take on this important role.

Bookings

We are currently taking booking for this course.

Please email RMcCarthy@Tavi-Port.nhs.uk

Dates for the upcoming course are:

• Weds 12th March
• Weds 2nd April
• Weds 23rd April
• Weds 21st May
• Weds 4th June
• Weds 25th June

All sessions will be held on Zoom.

Pricing

This course provides you with 6 full days of learning and two 1:1 reflective development sessions (after days 2 and 5).

The costs are £2,600 per person.