Looking after yourself and your team: A course for managers

This course is intended for team managers and other first-line supervisors from a range of organisations and sectors. It is suitable for any manager in public-facing services, particularly those working with service users with complex needs.

The specific aims of the course are:

• To look at how managers can ensure staff are as safe as possible at work, including approaches to lone working and dealing with potentially difficult situations.
• To explore what we understand by a “management style” and how you might refine and adapt yours.
• To think about ways that managers can be approachable and comfortable in conversations with staff, whatever the topic.
• To suggest how teams can assess and increase service users’ motivation to change.
• To provide an introduction to sexual harassment in the workplace and how to respond to it.
• To discuss how managers can help staff deal with their personal feelings and work professionally with sex offenders and other groups they may have strong views about.
• As part of that, to reflect on why we see some service users as “difficult” or “challenging”.
• To define what information organisations need about those referred for services and what to do if insufficient information is available.
• To consider some models managers might use in order to understand their colleagues (and themselves) better.
• To assess how managers might approach individual supervision and team-based reflective practice to support continuous development within the organisation.