Using Solution-Focused-Thinking in Supervision and Management
I was originally trained as a therapist and Social Worker, and my passion is working directly with clients. Working in management was never something I aspired to do, and I had experienced past supervisors and managers who seemed very unaware of what it was like working on the front lines. In fact, many of their decisions only further eroded staff morale, increased turnover, and ultimately decreased the quality of client care. Yet, as often happens, a position become available, and the lure of “moving up” was too great to resist. The job was a clinical supervisor, so I didn’t see it as a betrayal of my clinical roots. In fact, I saw it as a way to make an even deeper impact on the quality of care clients received.
However, I quickly discovered that the administrative supervisor had her own issues, and her absenteeism and lack of professionalism was at the core of many of my new team’s issues. With time, she left. Out of fear of who might take her place, I volunteered to do both the administrative as well as clinical work in my supervisor role. It was a steep learning curve, yet the 15 years that followed were some of the most rewarding of my career as I took what I knew . . . Solution-Focused Practice . . . and applied it to supervision and management.
As a Solution-Focused Practitioner, I believe that people are people. We are no different from our clients . . . we just have different issues on our plates. Solution-Focused Practice is one of the few models that is non-pathology based, respectful, and has curiosity at its core. This means that we can use it on ourselves and our colleagues. I then set out to use this powerful model in leading this team, and the results were amazing!
Staff became energized and excited about their work despite a highly regulated, fast-paced work environment with some of the most challenging clients. Workplace drama diminished, accountability became the norm, and the quality of work soared. Team members (including myself) worked harder than any of us knew was possible. We left work each day knowing we were making a difference and proud to be a part of the team. By using Solution-Focused Supervision, we were able to create a close-knit team with low burnout and turnover.
Staff were focused on making a difference with their clients and on doing their best. They knew they were valued, and they were encouraged to think bigger . . . beyond just this job. This resulted in team investment and creativity. It wasn’t perfect . . . it wasn’t always easy. But, we discovered the power of using Solution-Focused Practice in supervision and management. It is an experience I will cherish for a lifetime. I hope you will join us to discover how this amazing model can make a difference in your work!
This Live, Interactive, Online Workshop is Ideal for Professionals Who:
- Provide administrative supervision or management and want to ensure that policies and procedures help get the most from your most valuable resource. . . your staff
- Provide clinical supervision and want to teach and motivate staff to provide effective services while minimizing their risk of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue
- Feel caught in the middle between problem-focused regulations and the need to protect your staff
- Are frustrated by workplace drama, including complaining, staff conflict, entitlement, “praise junkies,” constant turnover, etc.
- Want to leave work knowing you are making a difference to staff and clients
- Feel like you are constantly “putting out fires”
Supervising and leading others can be very rewarding, yet it brings with it many challenges. We are increasingly expected to do more with less. Regulatory pressures increase demands on staff, which increase burnout, stress, and turnover. The key to successful business is taking care of and motivating staff. Solution-Focused Supervision helps to empower staff while holding them accountable to get the work done.
Here are just a few of the things you will walk away with:
- A clear understanding of how to use Solution-Focused Practice as an effective supervision and management tool
- A better understanding about what common management practices are exacerbating common workplace issues and specific courses of action to prevent and resolve them
- Specific tools to address employee conflict and burnout
- Specific tools to empower staff while balancing the agency’s needs
- A better understanding of how small shifts in language can shift conversations in a powerful way
- A way of interacting with staff that will simultaneously teach them how to interact more effectively with the agency clients
- Specific ideas of how to address common problems such as staff tardiness, turning work in late, attitude issues, etc.
This course is designed to introduce professionals of all kinds to solution-focused thinking as it was originally developed by Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer and teach them how to use these principles to motivate staff and effectively lead others. Skills will be taught to effectively address challenging work-place behaviors. Basic agency culture and creating team/program safety will also be reviewed. Lastly, paperwork and dealing with governing agencies will be explored.
Register Today!
Classes fill up fast because we purposefully keep class sizes small.
October 14, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Mountain Daylight Savings Time
6.5 CEs
Price: $125 - $175 USD*
Thousands of students have trained with Teri over the last 25 years
See what attendees of Teri's workshops are saying
"Teri is an excellent presenter, clear, helpful, respectful, and models the SFBT model throughout."
Online class - September 23, 2020
"I like how interactive and hands on the training was. I’m motivated to practice and take more trainings."
Online class – June 22-23, 2020
"Really appreciate that Teri sticks to the time frame. This information was so helpful and practical and feel like I walked away with really useful help."
Online class - June 25, 2020
"Great job using a Zoom platform. Very interactive despite the virtual workshop."
Online class – July 8-9, 2020
"Teri was awesome! She was kind, respectful, skillful, and so knowledgeable! She answered all of our questions clearly and thoroughly. I appreciated her application of metaphors/analogies (i.e. physics) to help us understand the concepts."
Online class – July 8-9, 2020
"It amazes me how Teri is able to maintain a humane learning environment via Zoom. Love that we can interact with each other. Other online courses don’t offer that."
Online class – September 25, 2020
"Very worthwhile training. Received excellent tips I will use daily. Practicing skills within our cohort so beneficial!"
Online class – October 16, 2020
"Teri is a superb trainer. Simply stated, I believe she is the best SFBT trainer."
Online class - October 30, 2020
Looking for more Solution-Focused classes?
We have many different classes and class dates from which to choose.
*NOTE: If you would like to attend, but due to COVID-19, finances are preventing you from registering, please email me to see what financial assistance might be available for this class: Teri Pichot