How can you develop resilience in social work?

An avatar I use for myself and for servant leadership is an aircraft carrier: touch down, support, refuel, patch up, rest, feed, debrief, share intelligence, set mission, relaunch.

Be authentic. Be you. Real people get the job done. They make people stop and think. It's about challenging the status quo, by doing, not just talking about it.

Don't mistake servant leadership for weakness. I approach servant leadership by doing what I have to do because it's the right thing to do. It's leading by example, not playing political games for short-term results, and having the courage to upset the apple cart if need be. In a challenging world, servant leadership in all spheres from social, and corporate to entrepreneurial is required more than ever. Servant leadership is an act of courageous self-leadership that transcends the self to the betterment of humanity.

A servant leader is a leader who knows that in order to have success the team must be supported and served by the leader and not the other way around. A good leader carries his group and tries to give each individual in the group whatever is needed to be a strong and successful employee. For me, this is great people leadership. People who feel valued and supported and taken seriously will always enjoy their work more and if you enjoy what you do, you don’t run into a burnout or need to worry about work-life balance that much. So being lead by a servant leader is a gift and people know and appreciate this.

Modelling resilience being trustworthy, blatant & sharing struggles and emotions with team, without losing pose and self-worth. Foster a resilient culture by encouraging positive work environment, where team members feel secured, appreciated, valued, loved, team can freely express their sentiments, beliefs, thoughts and concerns without fear of judgment or censure. Also challenge team’s resilience by infusing them with authentic feedback, reflect on their operational performance & inspiring them to learn from obstacles & failures.

Servant leaders are made: whether this is learning from example (good or bad) or taking the necessary steps to become self-aware and educated as a leader. Because there is humility, servant leaders aren't offended by deterrence or failure but rather see them as opportunities for improvement.

Knowing your limits, learning. from those moments and situations when you were really challenged both on a personal and professional level. But know also how to help your team members overcome and go beyond their own issues by creating a growth mindset environment.

I would say it's about being curious. Curiosity leads you to understand who you are working with and acknowledging the ressources and needs of your team. Curiosity also leads to see things differently, anticipating opportunities, adjusting and being creative and flexible for change.

Social workers at their core believe in the autonomy and expertise of the clients they serve. We assume a position of not-knowing and have the courage and freedom to admit that we are not the experts. Growing in servant leadership as a social worker means honoring and highlighting the strengths of those around us and empowering others to be healthy leaders as well.

Support Networks: Build strong personal and professional support networks. Colleagues, mentors, friends, and family can provide emotional support and practical advice. Reflective Practice: Regularly reflect on your experiences and practices. Journaling, supervision, and peer support groups can help process difficult cases and emotions.

You'll hear this over and over again, social work is not in a vacuum. Which means—we work within systems, and these systems are often limited in what it offers the clients we serve. Sometimes these systems work against the clients that we serve and this is discouraging and can easily lead to burnout. There can be disillusionment when the very spheres designed to protect and propel clients seem to have no regard for them. Social work is emotional, intense, laborious work and with so much wear and tear on our emotions and souls.

Disenchantment (怯魅) is one of the key elements for effective servant leadership, and resilience build up in team building. Leadership by examples is coherent in this context.

One of the ways to develop resilience is to broaden the comfort zone. Try to take up activities that are currently outside your comfort zone and keep practicing them till you become comfortable with them. With a broad comfort zone we are able to deal with things in a better manner

Working in education, not social work, growth mindset, well-being and meeting individual needs are values that we apply to our students on a daily basis, but we also need to develop this for our teachers and support staff.