Piñon Project: Coaching and Mentoring

1. Piñon Project: Coaching and Mentoring

2. Learning Objectives • Identify practice standards for supervisors which align with Piñon Values • Identify strategies for supervising workers at different levels of development • Practice evaluating performance and giving effective feedback • Demonstrate ability to structure casework supervisory conferences in alignment with practice model • Create a plan to enhance worker performance

3. Agenda • Introductions • Supervision in the Piñon Framework • Supervisor as Mentor • Understanding Development • Supervisor as Coach • Putting it All Together

4. Child Welfare Information Gateway Child Welfare Supervision “Child welfare supervisors play a pivotal role in translating and fulfilling their agencies' missions and values. Effective supervision enhances staff performance and retention, and can lead to improved outcomes for children and families.”

5. Improving Worker Performance through Supervision “A core function of supervision is to assess worker knowledge, skills, and abilities against the mission, values, and practice standards of the agency, with the goal of strengthening worker performance.” Child Welfare Information Gateway

6. PIÑON VISION, MISSION, & OUTCOMES

7. VISION Children and youth in New Mexico live in a family environment free from abuse and neglect. MISSION We serve children, youth and families by protecting children and youth from abuse and neglect; pursuing timely permanency; and promoting well being. 7

8. OUTCOMES • Safety: • Children and youth are protected from abuse and neglect and live with their families whenever possible. 8

9. OUTCOMES • Permanency: • Children and youth live in safe and stable environments and maintain their connections with their families and communities. • Children and youth live in family environments, preferably their own families, and when that is not possible, with stable relatives or adoptive families. • Children and youth will achieve timely permanence. 9

10. OUTCOMES • Well Being: • Children and youth are provided appropriate services to meet their educational, physical and mental health needs. • Families have enhanced capacities to provide for their children’s needs. 10

11. PIÑON VALUES & PRINCIPLES

12. SAFETY • Child and youth safety is paramount. • Managing safety begins with our first contact and continues throughout the life of the case. • We assess safety threats, child and youth vulnerabilities, and protective capacities and develop safety plans based on these factors.

13. PRESERVING CONNECTIONS All children & youth will have enduring relationships that provide a family, stability, belonging & a sense of self that connects them to their past, present & future.

14. CHILDREN & YOUTH CENTERED PRACTICE • Our practice is centered on the best interests, well-being & needs of each child & youth we serve. • As age & developmentally appropriate, the child & youth’s views, thoughts & ideas are expressed & taken into consideration in planning & service provision.

15. FAMILY FOCUSED • We recognize that all families have strengths and will have a voice in decisions about their children. • We work with and support the entire family.

16. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCE • Children, youth and families receive services from highly trained and skilled staff to engage and assist them. • Our staff will have a supportive, respectful and positive environment.

17. CUSTOMER SERVICE • Customer service begins at the first point of contact & extends throughout all of our relationships. • We are respectful, courteous, communicative & professional with each other, our children, youth & families, our community partners & the public. • We engage our families, foster parents, & others as part of the team planning & caring for our children & young people to achieve positive outcomes.

18. TRUSTWORTHY & ACCOUNTABLE • We are fair and compassionate & act with respect & integrity. • We are transparent & responsive to our children, youth & families as well as our partners & communities within the limits of confidentiality. • We avoid personal bias & reach factually supported conclusions in a timely & thorough manner.

19. CULTURALLY COMPETENT PRACTICE We understand, respect and serve children, youth and families within the context of their own family rules, traditions, history and culture.

20. DATA DRIVEN DECISION MAKING We collect and use reliable & valid data to inform decision-making, to direct continuous quality & practice improvement & to evaluate our efforts in terms of safety, well-being & permanency outcomes for children, youth & families.

21. EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICE We use evidence-informed practices for effective service planning and service delivery for children, youth and their families.

22. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY • The entire community shares the responsibility of keeping children & youth safe & protecting them from abuse & neglect. • Children & youth are best served when they are part of & supported by their community with services that are accessible & individualized. • We recognize that community partnerships are essential to ensure child & youth safety, permanency, & well-being.

23. Supervision Practice Standards • Choose a posted flip chart with a value. • Discuss: If we were to apply this value as a practice standard in terms of supervision, what would that look like? • Write at least 2 ideas for each program in your group on the chart. (5 minutes) • Move to the next chart & add 1 idea for each program represented in your group. (2 minutes) • Repeat! GALLERY wALK

24. Supervisor as Mentor

25. Supervision - The Foundation • Focuses on the process of change • Helps to expand worker’s empathy • Has a teaching perspective • Highlights ethical issues • Has an evaluative function • Creates accountability • Transfer of knowledge

26. Mentoring Definitions Mentoring (Shea, 1999): • A developmental caring, sharing and helping relationship where one person invests time, know-how, and effort in enhancing another person’s growth, knowledge, and skills. • Responding to critical needs in the life of another person in ways that prepare that person for greater performance, productivity, or achievement in the future.

27. Key Points About Mentoring • Mentors facilitate learning by listening, empowering, coaching, challenging, teaching, collaborating, aiding, assisting, supporting, easing, simplifying, and encouraging. • Mentors do not have the answers; they encourage mentees to find them within themselves.

28. Development • Workers develop at different rates • Some workers come to the job more developed than others • Some workers pick up new ideas or concepts more quickly • Where are you workers developmentally with regards to the Piñon Model?

29. Stages of Worker Development Stages Beginning MiddleEnd Time

30. Beginning Stage • High levels of instruction, structure, and support • Variable sense of professional identity • Supervisees tend to be dependent, anxious, and insecure • Relationship is hierarchical • Usually use didactic, one-on-one instruction • Workers will imitate supervisor • Supervisee lacks confidence • Performance awkward or unnatural • Asks many questions • Naively optimistic about impact on clients

31. Middle Stage • Comfortable with job tasks • Expresses increasing confidence • Learning about the importance of self • Anticipates behaviors and plans accordingly • Recognizes patterns, makes intuitive decisions • Supervisee may become somewhat disillusioned • Supervisor-supervisee relationship is more collegial • Supervisor may use more confrontation and self-disclosure • Often the time when workers question their commitment to field/job and quit

32. End Stage • Boundaries are fully-developed • Can use a flexible style • Developed a fully integrated understanding • More accepting of client participation in problem-solving • Greater acceptance of the complexity, ambiguity, and multi-causality of human behavior • Supervisee-supervisor relationship much more informal, increasingly collegial

33. Applying a Developmental Approach • Know the developmental stage of the supervisee. • Develop a repertoire of strategies for dealing with supervisees at different developmental levels. • Stay motivated and energized to use a developmental approach.

34. Applying a Developmental Approach (cont.) Remember your role is critical in teaching, training, and developing workers in order to promote the Piñon practice model.

35. Make a List • Think about the people you supervise • Rate each person on where they stand with regards to understanding and integration Piñon values and principles in their practice • In small groups, brainstorm supervisory strategies for each stage of worker development

36. Practice Standards • Rate three workers in terms of each of the Practice Standards • Develop some strategies for helping each worker become more competent in terms of the Practice Standards

37. Supervisor as Coach

38. Creating Awareness • Self Awareness • Self Analysis • Self Evaluation • Self Modification

39. Raising Responsibility • Ownership • Commitment • Motivation

40. The Coaching Process • Let the worker know what is expected. • Provide a model of performance. • Provide frequent feedback. • Provide encouragement and assistance. • Recognize achievement.

41. Elements of Expectations • Strengths • Needs • Positive Terms • Goals • Behaviors

42. Getting Started with Your Unit • Complete the worksheet for the 3 workers you included on the last activity, who need the most help on the Piñon Standards • Think about each of the workers strengths and needs • What goal do you want to focus on with each worker? • What behaviors will be evident when they have achieved their goals?

43. The Coaching Process • Let the worker know what is expected. • Provide a model of performance. • Provide frequent feedback. • Provide encouragement and assistance. • Recognize achievement.

44. Model Of Performance • Demonstration • Tangible Example • Review of what made the example a good model of performance

45. Practice • For the workers you rated as needing assistance in the previous activity • Write their names on the worksheet • Think of models of performance you could use to help coach them on the standard you want to improve upon

46. The Coaching Process • Let the worker know what is expected. • Provide a model of performance. • Provide frequent feedback. • Provide encouragement and assistance. • Recognize achievement.

47. Feedback & Job Performance • Effective feedback can: • Maintain desired performance • Change undesired performance • This is done by creating specific: • Qualities • Conditions • Plans for effective feedback

48. High Quality of Feedback Low Job Satisfaction

49. Qualities of Effective Feedback • Tied to expectations • Specific and behavioral • Results oriented • Frequent • Well-timed • Direct • Helpful • Clear

50. Defining Feedback Constructive Feedback: Information-specific, issue-focused, and based on something observed. • Positive Feedback – A statement about an effort well done. • Negative Feedback – A statement about an effort that needs improvement. Praise and Criticism: In contrast, these statements are personal judgments about an effort or outcome. Praise is a favorable judgment while criticism is an unfavorable judgment. (Source: Brounstein, 2000)