You're a social worker. How do you build strong teams that change lives?

🔗 By nurturing a team culture of empathy, respect, and shared purpose. 🤝💖 As a social worker, I foster environments where every team member feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute their best. 🌟👂 This collective strength becomes our most potent tool in transforming lives, one empathetic action at a time.

I've sparked team cohesion by sharing impactful moments from our work upfront. 🤝💖 Recently, celebrating a small victory for a family we supported not only lifted spirits but also reminded us of our shared mission. This practice fosters a culture of appreciation and resilience, turning individual efforts into collective achievements. Together, we're more than a team; we're a force for change. 💪

I have found that keeping vision and mission simple for small teams has been most effective. For instance, I usually focus on two very basic concepts ("The Two A's"), Autonomy and Accountability. Within these basic team concepts, I can incorporate many more details or specifics about the work, but at the end of the day, it all falls under the primary foundational concepts simply provided by "The Two A's".

In der sozialen Arbeit ist eine wichtige Grundlage für gute Teamarbeit üblicherweise schon gegeben und zwar das Gefühl etwas sinnvolles zutun. Wer in der sozialen Arbeit tätig ist braucht zudem soziale Intelligenz und Empathie. All das spricht für eine gute Basis für Teamarbeit. Vision und Mission müssen jedoch immer wieder vor Augen geführt und diskutiert werden. Jedes Teammitglied braucht das Gefühl mitreden und gestalten zu können. In einem Beruf, der sehr viel von einem fordert, ist ein gut funktionierendes Team umso wichtiger. Ein Team das auf einander aufpasst, das sich gegenseitig stärkt und entlastet. Dafür braucht es vor allen Dingen genügend Ressourcen. Die sind leider fast immer zu knapp.

Have their voices heard so that they are part of the decision-thinking, not just decision-making. This is because as agents for change, social workers are not passive bystanders. Be able to create self-care methods that build resilience physically, emotionally and professionally. Celebrate successes and achievements as well supporting and validating each other as this helps team morale and creates a supportive team environment.

As a former youth development director, building effective teams hinges on clear roles and responsibilities. Here’s a concise approach: Identify Skills and Strengths: Allocate roles based on each member’s skills and interests, boosting motivation and productivity. Foster Ownership and Accountability: Encourage members to fully embrace their roles, understanding their impact on the team and clients. Promote Interdisciplinary Collaboration: In many cases, social work teams are interdisciplinary, bringing together professionals from various backgrounds. Clearly defining how these different roles interact, support each other, and contribute to a unified strategy enhances teamwork and the quality of service provided.

Social work needs not only salaried persons, in this field we are need who are interested to work as a Social worker and who are interested in Social Work and want to change Social life and want to change our lives. In this field many obstacles are come between us because in this field no more government support we get and no more attractive salary we get, but still passionate about Social Work, so Social care, social justice and social service and social security, it's our strength....

Rollen und Aufgaben-Klarheit sind sehr wichtig, um einerseits Missverständnissen vorzubeugen und unnötige Arbeit zu vermeiden. Dazu gehört auch Begriffe und Aufgaben klar zu definieren. In unserm Fall hat es auch oft geholfen, Ergebnisprotokolle von Besprechungen zu führen, in denen die To Do's und die Verantwortlichkeiten noch einmal niedergeschrieben wurden. Als Mail an die Teilnehmer*innen geschickt, dann hätte noch jede *r Gelegenheit nachzufragen oder zu widersprechen. Rollenunklarheiten führen definitiv zu Konflikten und Frust!

As the leader of my health team, I understand the essence of specifying clear roles and responsibilities within your team. Team members must work together to complement one another’s skills in the spirit of collaboration without competition.

Como trabajadores sociales en el marco de programas sociales, los roles y funciones vienen desde bases técnicas bien definidos. Sin embargo, me parece importante identificar la temática en que cada miembro del equipo se desenvuelve y asignar los casos en función de ello. De esta forma, al realizar análisis de casos, se comprende el fenómeno/problemática desde diferentes temas y puntos de vista. Siempre es adecuado además entender la importancia de la colaboración.

Building a strong social work team requires that everyone is on the same page in terms of expectations. These expectations must be communicated initially upon joining the team, and should be revisited frequently as a reminder and to ensure relevance as requirements, policies, etc. change. I have also found that the communication of expectations for team members should be written, as a live document if possible, so that there is no uncertainty or ambiguity among team members. This ensures that everyone knows what is expected of them in terms of quality of work, timeliness, accuntability, etc. Ongoing communication about expectations goes a long way towards building strong, effective, and happy teams!

I believe that communication is key. To have great teamwork everyone needs to be able to communicate with each other like letting everyone know like hey I’m running a bit late or hey sorry I can’t make it today. It’s important for your team to know ahead of time so they can adjust and be flexible with the schedule. This is also important when working with clients because as social workers we want them to be able to open up and share with us about what’s going on and how we can help. Communication also allows everyone to understand what is expected of them when working together as a team. Communication should always come first in anything.

In der klassischen sozialen Arbeit geht es meist nicht um kreative Prozesse. Es geht um Fall Arbeit und Beratung. Die wichtigste Form des Austauschen ist daher das direkte Gespräch. Das kann natürlich auch mal über Videokommunikation oder Telefon geschehen. Hierin muss man jedoch gut geschult sein. Und speziell im Team, das oft flach in der Hierarchie ist, braucht es Rollenklarheit und Empathie. Auch die Dokumentation ist wichtig, damit immer jemand einspringen kann.

The benefit of clear team communication cannot be overemphasised. Excellent and respectful communication reduces confusion around role assignments and the priority of tasks. My employer has guidelines for all the various communication components, including verbal and non-verbal (body language). Team members are also advised to be courteous in emails and faxes, as etiquette in electronic communication can be ignored.

While on a team, having open communication where everyone can share what they are feeling is going to ensure that cohesiveness and maintaining team bond is occurring regularly. I believe that communication needs to occur when there are more than just problems so that the team can share wins together as well.

The skillset for preventing and managing workplace conflicts is a soft skill that we look out for in new staff during job interviews. Conflicts are inevitable in human interactions, and our workplace has a policy around conflict management. Depending on what the issues are, the first step may be for the staff members involved to have a chat. If the matter cannot be resolved, it can be escalated to their manager or supervisor. Serious conflicts may be referred to the Human Resources department for their input.

Understanding that your team of social workers have a very difficult and noble job. When you provide space to train effectively not just in competent practices but also competency within their emotion regulation and work/life balance. In a high stress environment you may encounter conflicts with coworkers and addressing issues swiftly can help minimize issues. Often times the key is understanding one another. We often get caught up in stress we don’t always see how other peers are looking into our best interests. Especially if that peer is causing more work on our end. Having a safe person to mediate conflict is crucial in this.

Aus meiner Erfahrung gibt es zwei große Schlüssel für gute Teamarbeit: Ein*e fähige*r Chef*in Genügend finanzielle und zeitliche Ressourcen Wenn diese beiden Faktoren stimmen, lässt sich sehr vieles im Team lösen.

I have clearly articulated the goals and objectives of our team and the organization we were working for. Also encourage open communication and active listening among my team members because that is a key to team work also establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bounded realistic goals for the team and foster and cooperative culture between the group members. Always leading with an example and manage stress and burnout and flexible to any type of productive changes.

As social workers, we work independently far more often than we're collaborating in the interest of confidentiality and 1-1 work with clients. Being able to have a supervision support system/ team will help to regulate emotions, and when on teams, communicating about any and all emotions when they arise, in the appropriate moments, can ensure team cohesion.

It is essential to maintain a working community where everyone works together towards the same goal and where everyone feels important, valued and being a part of the team. I like to say that great teams are like great bands; each team member brings their own skills and knowledge to the team and knows each one´s role in the team. The team leader must keep up both open and supportive atmosphere and discussion culture.

Encouraging team members to share ideas, concerns, and feedback openly creates a sense of belonging and empowerment. Embracing diversity within the team can also lead to innovative solutions and a richer team dynamic. By prioritizing both the professional growth and well-being of each team member, you can truly unlock the full potential of your team.

Ich habe zuletzt in einem sehr schnell wachsenden Team mit vielen neuen und hohen Herausforderungen mit wenigen zeitlichen und finanziellen Ressourcen gearbeitet. Die Zeit und der Wille dazu das Team zu stärken und Erfolge zu feiern, auch um ein Team zu formen kamen zu kurz. Das hat die Teammitglieder viel gekostet.

O desenvolvimento profissional de uma equipe de trabalho social está muito ligada à missão e visão da instituição, de forma que esse deve ser o caminho para a construção de conhecimentos na área. É muito importante que a equipe além de consumir conteúdos sobre a área, possa também documentar os casos, analisar as evoluções, as estratégias que foram utilizadas, para que possa servir de base para outras equipes. Um déficit muito grande na área do serviço social é a falta de registro de procedimentos técnicos, para compreender a trajetória para alcançar aquele objetivo e tornar-se um modelo de atuação.

I believe that having the support of your team can go a long way. It can help with professional and personal development. When working as team it can help us as social workers because we are able to see other people’s perspectives on certain situations. This is how we can learn as well as receive feedback on how we can improve. It’s a great way to learn from your team members because everyone has their own way of doing things and who knows maybe you’ll find that their method works better and they might find that your method is better. A very large deficit in the area of social work is the lack of registration of technical procedures to understand the trajectory to achieve that goal and become a model of action.

Social workers are people first. We have to make time to check-in, assess, recharge, etc; once we do that for ourselves, we can extend out and check on our teams. I often notice that we too, need “permission” to take a break. The messages around the work we do, set an expectation that, we just adapt and we should know how to manage ourselves better, when in reality, sometimes it can be hard to find the space. Take your time. The work will be there.

O cuidado começa quando a gestão respeita a vida pessoal da equipe: permite idas ao médico, acompanhar um filho na escola em um evento, participar de uma reunião escolar, sem que isso comprometa a entrega dos resultados. Devemos ter em mente que de nada adianta falar sobre autocuidado, se temos medo de pedir uma dispensa para um compromisso, se temos medo de ser mal vistos por sairmos no nosso horário de trabalho ou não querer fazer horas extras excessivas. Devemos ter em mente que um bom ambiente de trabalho é um ambiente que entende os limites da atuação.

Als Führungskraft war es mir immer wichtig, ein offenes Ohr und ein offenes Herz für meine Mitarbeitenden zu haben. Denn in der Sozialen Arbeit, ist es die Aufgabe der Führungskraft, sich um die Mitarbeitenden zu kümmern, die sich um die Klienten kümmern. Offene Gespräche, Supervision und Coaching sind essentiell für die mentale Gesundheit des Teams.

How well we can show up for others is 100% based on how well we show up for ourselves. If we're not taking care of our own health with things like physical health needs, connection with others, and stress outlets we're not giving others our best. You really can't pour from an empty cup so consider this: would you rather overwork yourself and burn out after a couple years trying to do as much as possible, or set up a sustainable practice for yourself so you can do your best work ongoingly as long as you'd to practice? Long-term success is this field starts with how you care for YOU.

Practicing self care, setting boundaries, and checking in with your team is important in taking care of yourself and your team. I think that sometimes as social workers we might tend to get caught up in our work and we forget about ourselves. Yes it maybe hard to find the time to relax but it’s always good to try and take some time off for ourselves, practice self care, and set your boundaries. When you do take that time off try to turn off your phone for a bit, go out and enjoy nature or any activity that you do for self care that can help you relax and destress.

First thing is to establish transparent and open communication channels within the team. Regular team meetings, updates, and a culture that encourages sharing ideas also enhances collaboration. Ensure there's a shared vision and goals within the team and that everyone understands and aligns with the organization's mission. A shared vision fosters a sense of purpose and unity among team. Recognize and leverage each team member's strengths and assign tasks based on individual capabilities, which fosters a sense of competence and contribution. Team building activities are also essential as they enhance trust and camaraderie. This can include workshops, retreats, or team lunches to promote a positive and cohesive. work environment.

Lo que mejor me ha funcionado como líder de equipos es hacer que los proyectos o procesos sociales que debamos desarrollar sean cocreados en un 80% por el equipo, donde se valoren las múltiples habilidades y conocimientos de cada uno de los integrantes.

Providing access to resources such as counseling services, stress management workshops, or mindfulness practices can also be beneficial. Ultimately, by prioritizing the mental health and resilience of your team, you can create a more supportive and sustainable work environment for everyone.