subject: Leadership Dynamism in a Changing Health and Social Work Roles [print this page] Leadership Dynamism in a Changing Health and Social Work Roles
One of the key influencers in retaining a stable and motivated team is if those changes come from the top. A good leader is much more than 'just a manager'. A good leader will master four universal leadership goals that are crucial for a cohesive and successful working environment increasing trust and communication, managing conflict in a professional way, building organisational capability and driving organisational strategy. Leaders who achieve these goals will be better placed to guide teams through any storm. The emphasis within social services and the wider welfare organisations are to help employees or workers understand their own working behaviours. This would enable them to work more effectively as this is something crucial to success with reduced teams.
Equally crucial is for leaders to understand their employees' behaviours. Practice experience revealed that a number of workers or employees feel their managers didn't understand their skills, preferences and motivations. Using accessible psychometric tools to examine and acknowledge what drives social care workers and clinicians where their strengths and talents lie is invaluable in making the most of teams, especially as resources tighten. It also helps indentify how professionals respond to change, allowing leaders to recognise and mitigate areas of stress that may escalate to conflict.
Any change can make employees feel unsettled, often triggering a drop in motivation and productivity. Rather than bury heads in the sand, it is therefore crucial that employers acknowledge change, and keep staff abreast with developments. The more that staff feel informed about changes being made, and their impact, the quicker they will be able to accept those changes and re-engage with the organisation.
