Professional leadership to social
workers: A case study in the
Philippines and Australia
Nicamil K. Sanchez, RSW, MPM, Dip. Ger.(Malta)
PhD candidate
nksanc001@myacu.edu.au/nsan0001@um.edu.mt
Abstract id no: 2390087
Session name: WS 051 Social work leadership (3:7)
Session date: 2012/07/09
Session start time: 4:00:00 PM
Session end time: 5:30:00 PM
Jane Addams, Nobel Peace Prize in 1931,
mother of American Social Work
Source: http://www.thenation.com/slideshow/154631/slideshow-fifty-most-influential-progressives-twentieth-century
Dorothy Height Civil Rights Leader
Source: http://www.ssw.uconn.edu/our-community/centers-institutesprojects/nancy-a-humphreys-institute-for-political-social-work/politicalsocial-workers/dorothy-height-civil-rights-leader-1912-2010
Maria Kalaw Katigbak Scholar’s intellect,
an impressive background in social work
and undiminished good looks were the
passport to the Philippine senate. Source:
Marie Coleman
first woman to head a
Commonwealth Government statutory
agency, and the first woman to hold the
powers of Permanent Head
(http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/former_senators/maria_katigbak.htm
http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0042b.htm
Outline
Background
Social Worker and Leadership
Professional Leadership
• Department of Social Welfare and Development (Philippines)
• Department of Human Services (Australia)
Challenges and Opportunities
Conclusions
Background
Mid 19th century, emergence of professional social work (Midley, 1997)
Australian social work as mere franchises of British social work (Mcmahon, 2003)
Philippine social work could trace its roots from American since majority of pioneering Filipino
social workers are trained and studied in the US.
Professional groups emerged like the American Public Welfare Association and British Social
Policy Association (Midgley, 1997)
Australian Association of Social Workers, Australian Council of Heads of Schools of Social Work,
and the Australian Council of Social Services
Philippine Association of Social Workers, Association of Local Social Welfare and Development
Officers of the Philippines Inc. (ALSWDOPI), Medical Social Welfare Association
Council on Social Work Education (2012)
• provides leadership in social work education and encourages its member to step up to leadership position and acquire
exposure as a leaders
• CSWE Annual Program Meeting (APM), commissioner; councillor which seeks to identify new leadership for its commissions
and councils.
Background
Leadership has different meaning for different people but until now, there is still no universal common
definition of leadership. “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to
achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2012 p. 5).
Leadership is a critical issue for social work education and in-order for the profession to meet the emerging
challenges of our society requires innovative leaders among both social work faculty and students, and
practitioners (CSWE, 2011).
Female social worker dominates leadership position in social welfare agency, non-governmental organizations,
and even in the academe.
National Social Welfare Organization – Department of Social Welfare and Development (Philippines) &
Department of Human Services (Australia- National Social Work Team)
Increasing demand for social workers to handle leadership position
Limited literature and lack of training on social work and leadership
Review of the literature on leadership and social work, and case study of national social welfare organizations
that inform professional leadership direction in the Philippines and Australia.
Professional Leadership
According to McNabb & Webster (2010, p. 44), “professional leaders are responsible for recruitment,
performance management and training of social workers, establishing professional standards, policy,
quality improvement relating to social work and the wider organisation, and setting salaries”.
Leaders occurs at all levels in an organization (Weinbach & Taylor, 2011)
‘leader’ was in use throughout social services departments post since 1970s like social work teams
had team leaders (Harris, 2003)
National Network for Social Work Managers, a professional membership organization established in
the mid-'80s
Certified Social Work Manager (CSWM) credential, the only nationally recognized credential for
specialists in social work management
Social workers, with their experience in case management, “service coordination” and provision,
advocacy, policy analysis and development, and other areas, are well positioned to address the needs
of this new world (Behrman & Volland, 2003)
Value of interpersonal skills in social work have a positive impact in in providing effective
leadership(Rogers & Reynolds, 2003).
Social Work directors are strategic and transformative leaders in hospitals (Mizrahi &
Berger, 2005)
Leadership is a critical issue for social work education and in-order for the profession to
meet the emerging challenges of our society requires innovative leaders among both social
work faculty and students, and practitioners (CSWE, 2012)
Composite skills of leadership are already part of social work practice (Lawler, 2007)
Requires paradigm shift that encourages innovation and promotes the role of leadership
that provides a framework and to observe, nurture, shape and reflect as well as to
implement (Hartley & Allison, 2000)
Social work teams had ‘team leaders’ whose designations changed with the onset of
managerial reforms in the 1980s and 1990s into ‘district managers’ (Harris, 2003, p. 1).
Building effective relationship and enhancing groupwork skills which includes group
leadership promotes leadership skills and competences (Rogers & Reynolds, 2003)
Professional Leadership
Personal leadership is encouraging willing cooperation through training and development in
the personal side of leadership like caring for organizational members, sharing with them,
and acting with morals (Mastrangelo, Eddy, & Lorenzet, 2004)
Professional groups emerges which was influenced by the establishment of the American
Public Welfare Association and British Social Policy Association (Midgley, 1997)
Women are more expressive in caring and sharing with organizational members and thus, it
could be an advantage for female social workers
Leadership is provided by many levels through ensuring ownership, alignment to the vision
(Van Zwanenberg, 2010).
Profession’s leadership to build consensus.(Midgley, 2001)
Social work needs to be seen as an equal partner in any multidisciplinary endeavour as well
as a highly informed debater in public forum (Hopps, 1986)
National Social Welfare Organization
Department of Human
Services
DSWD – Central Office
Philippines
National Social Welfare
Agency
Australia
DSWD Field or Regional
Office
DSWD Provincial Office
City Social Welfare
Offices
Social Work Team
(Commonwealth Office)
Portfolio Zones
Municipal Social Welfare
Office
SW Call Center
Regional Social Welfare
Agency
SW in Centrelink Offices
Emphasis from central government as often been about individual leaders and not the organization as a whole,
and it requires paradigm shift that encourages innovation and promotes the role of leadership that provides a
framework and to observe, nurture, shape and reflect as well as to implement (Hartley & Allison, 2000)
Professional Leadership: Philippine system
DSWD will be the world's standard for the delivery of coordinated social services and
social protection for poverty reduction by 2030 (DSWD, 2012)
As the lead agency in social welfare and development
• it formulates policies and plans
• Develops and enriches existing programs and services
• Registers, licenses and accredits individuals, agencies and organizations
• Provides technical assistance and capability building to intermediaries;
• DSWD Secretary also directly supervises and monitors the performance of 16 Field Offices
• Ensure the delivery of strategic outputs, including timely, efficient, and effective program implementation.
(DSWD, 2012)
Operations and Programs Group (OPG), Institutional Development Group, Policy and
Plans Group
Corazon Juliano-Solima
Secretary
Profession which helps individuals, families, groups, and communities develop, improve,
DSWD
maintain or restore their capability for coping with the demands of their environment,
through the use of social work methods and interventions (IRR RA 9433)
Government, the private sector, and the public have a joint responsibility for promoting
the social well being of all people through evidence based social work practice and
responsive social welfare policy and programs (PASWI, 2009)
Professional Leadership: Australian system
Department of Human Services (2011a) priority is to support individuals,
families and communities to achieve greater self-sufficiency through the
delivery of policy advice and high quality accessible social, health and welfare
services and other payments.
Human Services portfolio integrated the Medicare, Centrelink, Child Support,
Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service (CRS) and Australian Hearing into a
Department of Human Services.
Centrelink social workers provides free and confidential counselling on many
things including domestic and family violence, homelessness, relationship
issues, loss and bereavement and other personal concerns and referral to
community support services and assist claims for payments (Department of
Human Services, 2011b).
National Social Work Team provides leadership to Centrelink social workers
through providing technical assistance and monitoring of social work services
and social inclusion program as well as engagement with clients and
community
Desley
Hargreaves, Nation
l Manager, Social
Work
Services, Centrelin
Professional Leadership: Australian system
SWS is the largest employer of social worker and mandated to ensure provision of social work services toward
inclusion of disadvantaged citizen.
Providing professional leadership to social workers is one of the main thrust of the National Social Work Team which
provides the steering role
Social work services is vital in fulfilling the Department’s mandate to promote and provide accessible and efficient
welfare services and serves as the main link for clients to access other services available in their own State.
National social work team set the national direction and monitoring of social work services and coordinate significant
service like the homelessness program
One of the challenges is to integrate leadership development for its social workers in ensuring efficient and effective
social welfare delivery and the need to develop social worker who are steeped in empirical substance among its
branch manager and to promote responsible followership with its rank and file (Rank, 2000).
Australian Public Service Commission (2004) advocates for the development of rank and file staff or social workers
that will be available to replace key people in middle and senior management to ensure continuity and in preserving
institutional knowledge and expertise.
Mentoring and coaching is in-place and the appropriate capacity training on supervision and management.
Challenges & Opportunities
As a professional leader, they are expected to have skills, knowledge, and expertise in
leading an organization or profession.
Position our profession to play a leadership role in the 21st century by applying a
broad, competency-based education (Sisco, Volland, & Gorin, 2005)
Organization must recognize that authoritarian control of knowledge workers can stifle
the very innovation and (Pearce, 2004)
Emerging form of leadership which is shared leadership in non-profit sectors (C. L.
Pearce, Yoo, & Alavi, 2003)
Improvement of the SW skills and strategies necessary for effective leadership in a
constantly changing environment
In the Philippines, majority of former Head of the DSWD are non Social Workers
attributed to politics or lack of social workers rising in national leadership prominence
Different professional organization should provide direction on the improvement of
practice
Conclusions
Discussion and writing by faculty and the practice community to insure that more highly
skilled and well-trained professional social work managers and leaders (Wimpfheimer,
2004)
Profession should continue to think in terms of several aspect of leadership
development
National Social Welfare Organization, Academe and professional group should inform
and provide professional leadership
Strong linkages in developing evidence based- practice to inform professional leadership
and practice
Leading role in structuring the public debate on social welfare policy and services
Need to include leadership in social work education
Further research to explore and gain an in-depth understanding of professional
leadership within the Social Work Services.
References
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Australian Government. (2011). CSP’s Change Management Framework (D. o. h. Services, Trans.).
Australian Public Service Commission. (2004). Public Service Leadership Emerging Issues. Retrieved from
Brilliant, E. L. (1986). Social Work Leadership: A Missing Ingredient? [Article]. Social work, 31(5), 325-331.
Council on Social Work Education. (2012). Membership Retrieved January 05, 2012, from http://www.cswe.org/Membership.aspx
Department of Human Services. (2011a). Our priorities Retrieved September 05, 2011, from http://www.humanservices.gov.au/corporate/about-us/priorities
Department of Human Services. (2011b). Social Work Services Retrieved August 22, 2011, from http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/Centrelink/social-work-services
Department of Social Welfare and Development. (2012). Organization and Functions Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.dswd.gov.ph/index.php/about-us/36-about-us/1893organization-and-functions
Ezell, M., Menefee, D., & Patti, R. J. (1989). Managerial Leadership and Service Quality. Administration in Social Work, 13(3-4), 73-98. doi: 10.1300/J147v13n03_05
Gellis, Z. D. (2001). Social work perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership in health care. Social Work Research, 25(1), 17-25. doi: 10.1093/swr/25.1.17
Harlow, E. (2003). New managerialism, social service departments and social work practice today. Practice, 15(2), 29-44. doi: 10.1080/09503150308416917
Hartley, J., & Allison, M. (2000). The Modernization and Improvement of Government and Public Services: The Role of Leadership in the Modernization and Improvement of Public Servi
Public Money & Management, 20(2), 35-40. doi: 10.1111/1467-9302.00209
Haynes, D. T., & White, B. W. (1999). Will the "real' social work please stand up? A call to stand for professional unity. Social work, 44(4), 385(386).
Hopps, J. G. (1986). Reclaiming Leadership, Editorial, Social work, pp. 323-324. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=5279969&site=ehost-li
Lawler, J. (2007a). Leadership in Social Work: A Case of Caveat Emptor? British Journal of Social Work, 37(1), 123-141. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bch404
Lawler, J. (2007b). Leadership in Social Work: A Case of Caveat Emptor? British Journal of Social Work, 37(1), 123-123-141. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bch404
Marshall, V. W., & Altpeter, M. (2005). Cultivating Social Work Leadership in Health Promotion and Aging: Strategies for Active Aging Interventions. Health & Social Work, 30(2), 135-144
doi: 10.1093/hsw/30.2.135
Mastrangelo, A., Eddy, E. R., & Lorenzet, S. J. (2004). The importance of personal and professional leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 25(5), 435-451.
McNabb, D., & Webster, M. (2010). Qualities and practices of professional social work leadership in an interdisciplinary mental health service: an action learning approach. [Article]. Acti
Learning: Research & Practice, 7(1), 41-57. doi: 10.1080/14767330903576846
Midgley, J. (1997). Social welfare in global context: Sage Publications, Inc.
Mizrahi, T., & Berger, C. S. (2005). A Longitudinal Look at Social Work Leadership in Hospitals: The Impact of a Changing Health Care System. Health & Social Work, 30(2), 155-165. doi:
10.1093/hsw/30.2.155
Northouse, P. G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and practice (Sixth ed.): Sage Publications, Inc.
Pearce, C. (2004). The future of leadership: Combining vertical and shared leadership to transform knowledge work. [Article]. Academy of Management Executive, 18(1), 47-57. doi:
10.5465/ame.2004.12690298
Pearce, C. L., Yoo, Y., & Alavi, M. (2003). Leadership, social work, and virtual teams. In Ronald Riggio & Sarah Smith Orr (Eds.), Improving leadership in nonprofit organizations (pp. 180-2
San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=erCRWiTggAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA180&dq=social+work+leadership&ots=qSRGJrTIUB&sig=dhyQTf8E2stTazTO1jJPGjTTBIE#v=onepage&q=social%20work%20leadership&f=false.
Rank, M. G. H. W. S. (2000). An Analysis of Leadership within the Social Work Profession. [Article]. Journal of Social Work Education, 36(3), 487-202.
Rogers, A., & Reynolds, J. (2003). Leadership and vision.
Schneider, R. L., & Netting, F. E. (1999). Influencing social policy in a time of devolution: upholding social work's great tradition. Social work, 44(4), 349-357.
Sisco, S., Volland, P., & Gorin, S. (2005). Social Work Leadership and Aging: Meeting the Demographic Imperative. Health & Social Work, 30(4), 344-347. doi: 10.1093/hsw/30.4.344
Van Zwanenberg, Z. (2010). Leadership in social care (Vol. 51): Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Weinbach, R., & Taylor, L. (2011). Leading The Social Workers as Manager: A Practical Guide to Success (Sixth ed., pp. 79-102). Bosaton, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Wimpfheimer, S. (2004). Leadership and Management Competencies Defined by Practicing Social Work Managers: An Overview of Standards Developed by the National Network for Soc
Work Managers. [Article]. Administration in Social Work, 28(1), 45-56. doi: 10.1300/J147v28n01_04
nksanc001@myacu.edu.au
nsan0001@um.edu.mt
MELBOURNE WELCOMES YOU TO THE
JOINT WORLD CONFERENCE ON
SOCIAL WORK, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
JULY 9 – 12 2014