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Leading Practice Presentation

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Mary Mckinnon
Mary Mckinnon

In 2015, LWB began the implementation of the Leading Practice strategy, aiming to build a learning culture among a 4,200-strong workforce that improves leadership and practice quality at the frontline.

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LEADING PRACTICE IN LIFE WITHOUT BARRIERS Implementing Our Practice Framework and Building A Culture Of Learning and Reflection Not for Profit People Conference November 2016 – Mary McKinnon
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY 2 We would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land we’re meeting on today, and acknowledge our gratitude that we share this land today, our sorrow for some of the costs of that sharing, and our hope and belief that we can move to a place of equity, justice, and partnership together.
WHO WE ARE 3
Life Without Barriers is a not for profit organisation committed to providing community-based programs to assist children, young people, adults, older people and families to live the best life possible. We are a values-based organisation committed to achieve positive outcomes for all clients. WHO WE ARE 4
OUR PURPOSE - TO PARTNER WITH PEOPLE TO CHANGE LIVES FOR THE BETTERWHO WE ARE 5 • 300+ communities across Australia • 4,000+ staff • Supported by 2,500+ volunteers • Work with 15,000+ individuals each year • Social-purpose organisation • Values-based
6
WHAT IS LEADING PRACTICE? 7
LWB PILLARS OF PRACTICE 8
OUR LEADING PRACTICE GOALS 9 Build leadership skills at the frontline, in relationship with staff and clients Strengthen quality supervision Improve client outcomes Strengthen relationship based practice A culture of learning and continuous improvement Improve staff retention
WHY FOCUS ON FRONTLINE LEADERS? 10 There are over 400 frontline leaders across Life Without Barriers These leaders work with teams to support clients in a variety of service types and settings including family support and out of home care; disability services, mental health, youth justice, support for refugees and asylum seekers home and community care Teams work in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote locations across Australia ‘Frontline supervisors influence virtually everything we do. They affect how policies are followed and what practices are encouraged.’ ‘They set the tone and expectations in the workplace to the extent that they are our keepers of culture.’ (Family and Children’s Resource Program, North Carolina, 2008)
The challenge of implementing practice and culture change through professional development. WHAT ARE WE DOING? 11 A national progressive rollout – Perth, Northern NSW, Victoria and beyond Training is great but…. It should be experiential and allow for skills practice Recognition that learning is an ongoing process (not an event) Integrated with existing workplace functions especially supervision and group based activities Coaching for success Practice, practice, practice Fixsen et al (2005), Gray and Gibbons (2002), McArthur and Thomson (2014), University of California Training Academy (2013).
12 WHAT DOES LEADING PRACTICE LOOK LIKE? HOW ARE WE DOING IT? Relationships, reflection and learning • Experiential learning, dispersed leadership ideas and multi functional supervision • Strong role for frontline leaders in governance and implementation • Workshops co facilitated internally by LWB leaders • External expertise to provide individual coaching • Local implementation supported nationally • Integrated with our national supervision policy guideline
Uses processes, techniques and information that mirror supervision and leadership Builds on participants’ experiences, existing knowledge and skills. Facilitator, not trainer/teacher/ expert Not topic driven - primarily discussion-based Model processes, techniques and skills Guide discussion about participants’ experience Scenarios, activities and practice tools WORKSHOP APPROACH 13
• A ‘bridge’ from the workshop to the workplace • Combination of information only and action oriented resources • Covers topics such as: –Organisation and social context –Practical guides for reflective practice –Relationship based practice –Emotions and leadership –Supervision skills and techniques –Beginning, continuing and ending supervisory relationships • New tools being progressively introduced • Scenarios, videos, journal articles - internally and externally produced • Available in hard copy, digitally on USB and on the LWB intranet RESOURCES AND TOOLS 14
• The learning cycle in introduced in the workshop - participants are encouraged to spend more time in reflection and analysis in order to learn. • Practice leaders have access to up to six coaching session • Coaching participation is voluntary but strongly encouraged and supported. COACHING APPROACH 15 Experience – what happened? Reflection – what was it like? Analysing/ theorising – why and what does it mean? Action/ planning – what next? • A unique opportunity for a frontline leader to set and be supported to work towards learning goals • Uses the reflective learning cycle combined with the RE-GROW approach.
Coaching is a collaborative, solution focussed, and strengths based process between coach and coachee, focussing on enhancing practice and ultimately client outcomes. Successful coaching requires: • Coach and coachee willingness to develop a relationship • Time limited, goal focused approach • Direct, sensitive and often challenging conversations • Clear understanding of roles; – Coach plays the role of facilitator of change – Coachee’s responsibility to enact change • An understanding that either the coach or coachee may elect to terminate the coaching arrangement at any time COACHING - THE BASICS 16
CIRCLES OF CONCERN INFLUENCE & CONTROL 17
EVALUATION 18
WHAT FRONTLINE LEADERS TELL US 19 Hear what Tham and Raewyn have to say about Leading Practice at https://youtu.be/Ufxs3z4JLLM Tham Fuyana Case Manager Children and Family Raewyn Laing Community Support Worker
Planning and Implementation • Support by senior staff is essential • Enthusiastic, motived and supported local people make a real difference in implementation success and impact on culture • Local focus on embedding learning after workshops and coaching can support real change Workshops • Facilitators need time together and support to prepare for workshops • ‘Early adopters’ on first workshops in each location • The workshop approach is different than many people’s experience of training – so participants need to know what to expect before attending • Where possible ensure a mix of skills, experience and support areas in each workshop Coaching • Procurement of local external coaches can be challenging and take up to three months • It takes time to explain and understand the coaching process and benefits • Coaches should attend a workshop lunch session to familiarise • Coaching can be individual or small group • Coaching uptake takes time to build - word of mouth is helpful, as is support from managers and peers 20 WHAT WE ARE LEARNING
21 Inputs Internal and external expertise Resources Org structure Activities Workshops Practice tools Coaching Participation Frontline leaders Facilitators / Local and national teams Outcomes Leadership Supervision Teamwork A learning culture that improves leadership and practice quality at the frontline DEVELOPING A PROGRAM LOGIC HELPED US IDENTIFY THE SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG TERM OUTCOMES TO MEASURE
22 MEASURING THE SHORT TERM OUTCOMES USING A SURVEY APPROACH EVALUATION INITIAL FINDINGS
About the workshop “For the first time since becoming an acting Care Coordinator I actually feel like a leader and I can do good things for my clients and staff.“ About the resources and tools “I use the Circles of Control a fair bit in my assessments and with staff during consultations. I also use the leadership paradigm to remind staff when they have taken a leadership role and successfully reached a positive outcome. I use the reflective cycle when debriefing staff and the sources of power tool” About coaching “I have used the coaching that I received via the Leading Practice which has given me ideas to try in Team Meetings. These ideas/activities proved to be a success” WHAT FRONTLINE LEADERS TELL US 23 “I just want to thank LWB for the opportunity to participate in the leading practice training and coaching sessions. I will continuously refer to the program to improve my management skills and create a positive workplace culture“
24 National rollout around Australia including in remote areas – current locations are: • Sydney and Southern NSW • Hunter and Central Coast NSW • Western NSW • South Australia • Reflect and learn as we implement and make changes • Continue to develop and review practice resources and tools as the sector changes and grows • Continue the evaluation to measure medium and long term outcomes and report on our findings NEXT STEPS
REFERENCES 25 Family and Children’s Resource Program (2008). “Supervision and the Future of Child Welfare”, Children’s services Practice Notes, 13 (2) Fixsen, D, Naoom, S, Blasé, K, Friedman, R and Wallace, F (2005). Implementation Research: a synthesis of the literature, Louis de la Parte, Florida Mental Health Institute, Tampa. Grant, A (2011). “Is it time to REGROW the GROW model? Issues related to teaching coaching session structures. The Coaching Psychologist, Volume 7, Number 2. Gray, M., & Gibbons, J. (2002). Experience based learning and its relevance to social work practice. Australian Social Work, 55(4), 279-291. Life Without Barriers (2015). Pillars of Practice Framework, Available at lwb.org.au. McArthur, M and Thomson, B (2014). “Getting more bang for your buck: what works best in professional development in the child, youth and family workforce”, Developing Practice, 39 (July). University of California Training Academy (2013). The Coaching Toolkit for child welfare practice, in partnership with Case Family Programs, University of California, Davis.
THANK YOU & QUESTIONS 26
Leading Practice Presentation

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Leading Practice Presentation

  • 1. LEADING PRACTICE IN LIFE WITHOUT BARRIERS Implementing Our Practice Framework and Building A Culture Of Learning and Reflection Not for Profit People Conference November 2016 – Mary McKinnon
  • 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY 2 We would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land we’re meeting on today, and acknowledge our gratitude that we share this land today, our sorrow for some of the costs of that sharing, and our hope and belief that we can move to a place of equity, justice, and partnership together.
  • 4. Life Without Barriers is a not for profit organisation committed to providing community-based programs to assist children, young people, adults, older people and families to live the best life possible. We are a values-based organisation committed to achieve positive outcomes for all clients. WHO WE ARE 4
  • 5. OUR PURPOSE - TO PARTNER WITH PEOPLE TO CHANGE LIVES FOR THE BETTERWHO WE ARE 5 • 300+ communities across Australia • 4,000+ staff • Supported by 2,500+ volunteers • Work with 15,000+ individuals each year • Social-purpose organisation • Values-based
  • 6. 6
  • 9. OUR LEADING PRACTICE GOALS 9 Build leadership skills at the frontline, in relationship with staff and clients Strengthen quality supervision Improve client outcomes Strengthen relationship based practice A culture of learning and continuous improvement Improve staff retention
  • 10. WHY FOCUS ON FRONTLINE LEADERS? 10 There are over 400 frontline leaders across Life Without Barriers These leaders work with teams to support clients in a variety of service types and settings including family support and out of home care; disability services, mental health, youth justice, support for refugees and asylum seekers home and community care Teams work in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote locations across Australia ‘Frontline supervisors influence virtually everything we do. They affect how policies are followed and what practices are encouraged.’ ‘They set the tone and expectations in the workplace to the extent that they are our keepers of culture.’ (Family and Children’s Resource Program, North Carolina, 2008)
  • 11. The challenge of implementing practice and culture change through professional development. WHAT ARE WE DOING? 11 A national progressive rollout – Perth, Northern NSW, Victoria and beyond Training is great but…. It should be experiential and allow for skills practice Recognition that learning is an ongoing process (not an event) Integrated with existing workplace functions especially supervision and group based activities Coaching for success Practice, practice, practice Fixsen et al (2005), Gray and Gibbons (2002), McArthur and Thomson (2014), University of California Training Academy (2013).
  • 12. 12 WHAT DOES LEADING PRACTICE LOOK LIKE? HOW ARE WE DOING IT? Relationships, reflection and learning • Experiential learning, dispersed leadership ideas and multi functional supervision • Strong role for frontline leaders in governance and implementation • Workshops co facilitated internally by LWB leaders • External expertise to provide individual coaching • Local implementation supported nationally • Integrated with our national supervision policy guideline
  • 13. Uses processes, techniques and information that mirror supervision and leadership Builds on participants’ experiences, existing knowledge and skills. Facilitator, not trainer/teacher/ expert Not topic driven - primarily discussion-based Model processes, techniques and skills Guide discussion about participants’ experience Scenarios, activities and practice tools WORKSHOP APPROACH 13
  • 14. • A ‘bridge’ from the workshop to the workplace • Combination of information only and action oriented resources • Covers topics such as: –Organisation and social context –Practical guides for reflective practice –Relationship based practice –Emotions and leadership –Supervision skills and techniques –Beginning, continuing and ending supervisory relationships • New tools being progressively introduced • Scenarios, videos, journal articles - internally and externally produced • Available in hard copy, digitally on USB and on the LWB intranet RESOURCES AND TOOLS 14
  • 15. • The learning cycle in introduced in the workshop - participants are encouraged to spend more time in reflection and analysis in order to learn. • Practice leaders have access to up to six coaching session • Coaching participation is voluntary but strongly encouraged and supported. COACHING APPROACH 15 Experience – what happened? Reflection – what was it like? Analysing/ theorising – why and what does it mean? Action/ planning – what next? • A unique opportunity for a frontline leader to set and be supported to work towards learning goals • Uses the reflective learning cycle combined with the RE-GROW approach.
  • 16. Coaching is a collaborative, solution focussed, and strengths based process between coach and coachee, focussing on enhancing practice and ultimately client outcomes. Successful coaching requires: • Coach and coachee willingness to develop a relationship • Time limited, goal focused approach • Direct, sensitive and often challenging conversations • Clear understanding of roles; – Coach plays the role of facilitator of change – Coachee’s responsibility to enact change • An understanding that either the coach or coachee may elect to terminate the coaching arrangement at any time COACHING - THE BASICS 16
  • 19. WHAT FRONTLINE LEADERS TELL US 19 Hear what Tham and Raewyn have to say about Leading Practice at https://youtu.be/Ufxs3z4JLLM Tham Fuyana Case Manager Children and Family Raewyn Laing Community Support Worker
  • 20. Planning and Implementation • Support by senior staff is essential • Enthusiastic, motived and supported local people make a real difference in implementation success and impact on culture • Local focus on embedding learning after workshops and coaching can support real change Workshops • Facilitators need time together and support to prepare for workshops • ‘Early adopters’ on first workshops in each location • The workshop approach is different than many people’s experience of training – so participants need to know what to expect before attending • Where possible ensure a mix of skills, experience and support areas in each workshop Coaching • Procurement of local external coaches can be challenging and take up to three months • It takes time to explain and understand the coaching process and benefits • Coaches should attend a workshop lunch session to familiarise • Coaching can be individual or small group • Coaching uptake takes time to build - word of mouth is helpful, as is support from managers and peers 20 WHAT WE ARE LEARNING
  • 21. 21 Inputs Internal and external expertise Resources Org structure Activities Workshops Practice tools Coaching Participation Frontline leaders Facilitators / Local and national teams Outcomes Leadership Supervision Teamwork A learning culture that improves leadership and practice quality at the frontline DEVELOPING A PROGRAM LOGIC HELPED US IDENTIFY THE SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG TERM OUTCOMES TO MEASURE
  • 22. 22 MEASURING THE SHORT TERM OUTCOMES USING A SURVEY APPROACH EVALUATION INITIAL FINDINGS
  • 23. About the workshop “For the first time since becoming an acting Care Coordinator I actually feel like a leader and I can do good things for my clients and staff.“ About the resources and tools “I use the Circles of Control a fair bit in my assessments and with staff during consultations. I also use the leadership paradigm to remind staff when they have taken a leadership role and successfully reached a positive outcome. I use the reflective cycle when debriefing staff and the sources of power tool” About coaching “I have used the coaching that I received via the Leading Practice which has given me ideas to try in Team Meetings. These ideas/activities proved to be a success” WHAT FRONTLINE LEADERS TELL US 23 “I just want to thank LWB for the opportunity to participate in the leading practice training and coaching sessions. I will continuously refer to the program to improve my management skills and create a positive workplace culture“
  • 24. 24 National rollout around Australia including in remote areas – current locations are: • Sydney and Southern NSW • Hunter and Central Coast NSW • Western NSW • South Australia • Reflect and learn as we implement and make changes • Continue to develop and review practice resources and tools as the sector changes and grows • Continue the evaluation to measure medium and long term outcomes and report on our findings NEXT STEPS
  • 25. REFERENCES 25 Family and Children’s Resource Program (2008). “Supervision and the Future of Child Welfare”, Children’s services Practice Notes, 13 (2) Fixsen, D, Naoom, S, Blasé, K, Friedman, R and Wallace, F (2005). Implementation Research: a synthesis of the literature, Louis de la Parte, Florida Mental Health Institute, Tampa. Grant, A (2011). “Is it time to REGROW the GROW model? Issues related to teaching coaching session structures. The Coaching Psychologist, Volume 7, Number 2. Gray, M., & Gibbons, J. (2002). Experience based learning and its relevance to social work practice. Australian Social Work, 55(4), 279-291. Life Without Barriers (2015). Pillars of Practice Framework, Available at lwb.org.au. McArthur, M and Thomson, B (2014). “Getting more bang for your buck: what works best in professional development in the child, youth and family workforce”, Developing Practice, 39 (July). University of California Training Academy (2013). The Coaching Toolkit for child welfare practice, in partnership with Case Family Programs, University of California, Davis.

Editor's Notes

  1. The Pillars of Practice framework is designed to assist our staff to reflect on what guides their work and to consistently apply their knowledge and skills in Life Without Barriers’ organisational context. Our practice and outcomes focus is critical to continuous improvement and delivering a quality service to each of our clients. The Pillars of Practice are underpinned by the LWB values and represent the key activities that support the development of a culture that promotes good practice. ​The Pillars of Practice framework articulates 'why we do', 'what we do', and 'how we do it'. Leading Practice is a key lever for implementing our pillars of practice framework. It is in interaction with their supervisors that our frontline staff experience respectful relationship based work that they are being asked to implement with clients. Leading Practice is about the pillars concerned with supervision and team work but is fundamentally about all the pillars. We want supervisors and frontline staff and carers to have respectful, worker centred relationships that are characterised by our pillars.
  2. Unlike many organisations LWB is investing in leadership at the frontline. Frontline leaders are commonly conceptualised in human services as managers who implement decisions made elsewhere in the organisation. LWB has challenged this approach by clearly conceptualising leadership as a day to day frontline activity – within the parameters of our practice framework and associated initiatives. It can be difficult to be a frontline leader. These people are often “caught in the middle” with significant pressure coming from more senior leaders and from their staff and clients. Frontline leaders often feel quite disempowered and yet, in reality, they have an enormous influence over organisational culture and the client experience. We wanted to make it clear to frontline leaders that they have this influence and encourage them to use it.
  3. Leadership initiatives are notoriously difficult to implement well. We have adopted evidence informed implementation levers that are proven to drive change. This includes the ongoing availability of practice tools to support frontline supervision and teamwork and supporting more senior leaders to support frontline leadership. It also includes the availability of coaching for all frontline leaders in the organisation – available straight after they experience a Leading Practice workshop.
  4. The practice resources and tools that have been developed for Leading Practice are evidenced informed, action oriented tools that are easily applied in the real world. They include team building activities and supervision activities and reflective practice processes that can be done individually, in supervision or in a group. They are linked to LWB values. We have brought copies of the leading practice resources folder to the conference. If anyone would like to look at them please approach one of us. Colleagues with me today will role play a demonstration of the use of the practice tools in a supervisory conversation.
  5. Coaching is a key element of Leading Practice and has been the most difficult to implement. Despite the success of the workshops and practice tools many frontline leaders have faced personal and other barriers to engaging in coaching. However with support and flexibility in coaching delivery uptake is increasing. Once leaders commence coaching we have found they tend to stay engaged and the coaching relationship is highly valued. Taking the first step is the most chalelening.
  6. This is an example of a practice tool that is used in the workshop and has applicability in the workplace with staff and leaders. Steven Covey conceptualised the circles of concern and influence to help people experience empowerment at work and in their lives. Frontline managers and staff can often face many difficulties in helping clients with complex and entrenched problems that go beyond the immediate ability of the helping relationship to solve. Some issues are beyond the control of frontline staff and managers. Focusing on these issues is exhausting and disempowering. Switching to a focus on issues wecan exercise control over can be more empowering for both frontline managers and staff.
  7. Let’s hear directly from a couple of our frontline leaders –Raewyn and Tham – 3 mins 22 sec
  8. We have developed a theory of change to help us understand if Leading Practice is achieving he things we want. We have interpreted this theory of change into a program logic summarised on this slide. This theory of change and program logic forms the basis for our evaluation.