Leadership Series

Essential Skills of Supervision

Seminar code: SHU-02

Led by Lawrence Shulman, MSW, EdD
Friday, June 6, 2008
9:00 am to 4:30 pm

Supervising and managing staff is a dynamic process that can increase job effectiveness, be mutually satisfying and challenging, and maintain the focus on the well-being of clients. The ability to succeed in this role is based not only on the supervisor's clinical or technical competence, but also on the assumption of a role that requires a clear set of skills and a work-enhancing relationship.

In this highly relevant workshop, Lawrence Shulman will focus on five major areas of supervisory practice: understanding the impact of time and the four phases of work; dealing with difficult staff (passive resistance, denial, personal problems, the “deviant staff group member”); feeling caught in the middle between staff and administration; dealing with the impact of traumatic events such as the death of a client or staff cutbacks; and addressing inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic issues related to race, gender, ethnicity, etc.

Lawrence Shulman conducts this interactive workshop in a presentation and discussion format. He will use case studies drawn from a wide range of settings, and invite participants to share examples.

This workshop with this influential educator will provide you with a blueprint for effective supervision. You will learn —

The stages of the supervisory relationship

To work with resistant staff members

To help mediate between the staff and “the system” when “caught in the middle”

To deal with the impact of traumatic events such as the death of a client or an attack on a worker

To address inter- and intra-ethnic issues such as race, gender, or ethnicity

To cope with the impact of cutbacks and organizational change

To mobilize staff to provide support for each other

Techniques for dealing with the challenge of being a new supervisor, whether promoted from within or hired from the outside

The focus of this workshop will be on method — what the supervisor or manager does in interaction with staff. Essential skills in communication, relationships, and group leadership will be described and illustrated.

Fee: $169 until April 10; $179 after April 10

Location: Metro-Central YMCA
20 Grosvenor Street, Toronto

About the Presenter

Lawrence Shulman, MSW, EdD, is Professor and former Dean of Social Work at the University of Buffalo, University of New York. Dr. Shulman is a widely respected teacher, author, consultant, and workshop leader. His books on supervision, working with people, and group work are used as the texts at many universities and colleges across North America. He has trained thousands of helping professionals through his workshops and taught for more than 20 years at McGill University and the University of British Columbia. This extensive Canadian experience makes him one of our most influential social workers. Dr. Shulman's unsurpassed reputation as a teacher and a group facilitator has spread his fame to helping professionals in many different fields. He has presented at each of Leading Edge Seminars’ series for the last 13 years.

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