Effective Supervision in Human Services

Think for a moment about all of the supervisors with whom you have worked throughout your professional career. If you are like most people, you probably have worked with both effective and ineffective supervisors. Bring to mind the effective ones. What traits or skills did they possess? What behaviors did they demonstrate? Now, bring to mind the ineffective supervisors. What were they lacking?

For this Discussion, you draw on your professional experiences to examine what makes for an effective supervisor in human services settings.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare

· Review your Course Announcements for possible information related to this week’s Discussion and Assignment.

· Review the Learning Resources on effective supervision. Think about the characteristics of effective supervisors and leaders.

· Reflect on your professional experiences. Identify examples of effective and ineffective supervision you experienced or observed, and consider how those examples would inform your role as a supervisor in a human services setting.

By Day 4

Post one example of effective supervision and one example of ineffective supervision that you experienced or observed in a professional setting. Be sure to use pseudonyms to protect the identity of the people involved. Explain how your examples would inform your role as a supervisor in a human services setting.

RESOURCES

· Schram, B., Mandell, B.R., Dann, P.L., & Peterson, L. (2020). An introduction to human services: Policy and practice (9th ed.). Pearson.

· Chapter 10, “Working with Groups” (pp. 255–276)

· Pittman, A. (2020). Leadership rebooted: Cultivating trust with the brain in mindLinks to an external site.. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership and Governance, 44(2), 127–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2019.1696910 Links to an external site.

· Social Care Institute for Excellence. (2017). Effective supervision in a variety of settingsLinks to an external site. . Links to an external site.

· Wonnacott, J. (2014). What difference can supervision make?Links to an external site. In, Developing and supporting effective staff supervision reader: A reader to support the delivery of staff supervision training for those working with vulnerable children, adults and their families (pp. 15–26). Pavilion. Links to an external site.

· Wonnacott, J. (2014). An integrated approach to the delivery of supervision—the 4x4x4 modelLinks to an external site.. In, Developing and supporting effective staff supervision reader: A reader to support the delivery of staff supervision training for those working with vulnerable children, adults and their families (pp. 27–48). Pavilion.

· Interact. (n.d.). What’s your conflict management style?Links to an external site. [Interactive media]. https://www.tryinteract.com/quiz/what-s-your-conflict-management-style/ Note: Take this Quiz for help determining your conflict management style. Links to an external site.

· Walden University. (2017, May 30). What’s your conflict management style?Links to an external site. Walden News. Links to an external site.

· Walden University, LLC. (2020b). Hart CityLinks to an external site. [Interactive media]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com Note: Visit the Hart City Community Center and view the scenario about Stacey. Then, visit Tommy’s House Residential Group Home and view the scenario about James.