Supervision is a shared responsibility across the organisation, the supervisor and the supervisee.
We all have a role to play in ensuring that supervision occurs and that in turn drives high quality services. So currently I supervise six staff. I'll talk about, with them, their clients, their caseload, if they would like to do and any issues that they may have. I'll also focus on, any professional development that they would like to do or training.
As a person undertaking supervision, as a person seeking supervision, you need to own that process. You need to take responsibility for creating an environment where your supervisor can challenge you, challenge your beliefs, challenge how you do work. Supervision is really one of the cornerstones of the work that we do.
As an organisational lead, I think it's really important that we, walk the talk, really. That we actually provide regular supervision to our people, that staff see that supervision occurs at all levels across the organisation. That we provide the investment in supervision. So we're investing in our people to have the skills to be good supervisors.
I've heard the term radical listening. You have to be a radical listener so that you can put aside whatever preconceived ideas you might have and come into supervision ready to be challenged for what you're thinking. But I think the basic, building block of a good supervisory relationship is immense trust and safety. Establishing trust in a supervisory relationship takes time. It's really built on me being curious around how they would like supervision in this space, because it is their space.
It allows people to open up. To talk about the, the cases, the clients that we see but also the injustices and the challenges in the system, in the wider systems as well. Sometimes sitting in a room and having a conversation can not feel like work. But it's a really, really important part for people to know that they can stop and reflect on what's happening for them at any point in time in the work.
Boundaries and the expectations are really important. Not only for the worker, but for the client, the supervisor and the organisation.
The organisation has certain standards and policies and expectations of the work that we're carrying out.
The supervisor, from my perspective, ensures that worker wellbeing and that the client's needs are getting supported. And it's also about connecting the greater picture, the bigger picture of the structural pieces, in the work that we do, connecting that to say intersectional feminism and the theories of, why we do this work. So it helps people make sense of the work.
The benefits of having supervision myself as a supervisor is it allows me to grow as a leader. As a professional. I think when you've been in the sector for 30 years, it's very easy to fall into the trap of feeling that you've known and seen everything.
And supervision gives me that safety where I can discuss with someone who's been in the trenches how I can improve my practice, talk about my fears, and also talk about my inherent biases which creep into work over time. And that's what allows practice improvement to come. When we have staff that are reflective and continually learning, we learn from our clients and we learn from our supervisors.
And if the workforce is really healthy, well-rounded, educated, informed, we can provide, fantastic services and the best practice services to our clients.
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