Leading across boundaries

Working across safeguarding partnerships and the interface between health and social care, requires professionals to learn from and reach across systems. How we can develop leaders in this space?

For the last four years Research in Practice has been supporting the Principal Social Worker (PSW) Networks. The PSW Network leads social work practice across regions and provides a forum for Principal Social Workers working across adults, children and families to collaborate to drive improvement and support professional development. 

I was personally excited to win the work. It had been a long-held ambition to support the PSW Networks, as we recognised the importance and value of the individual PSW roles and the potential for the networks to influence. Supporting the network is very varied and includes secretariat support, planning and programming network events, as well as delivering continuing professional development (CPD) sessions and communications.  

From the beginning, Research in Practice has provided shared CPD sessions for adults and children and families Principal Social Workers. For many, this has been the first time that they have collaborated with their adults or children and families colleagues. Chairs have had shared priorities around leading anti-racist practice, and this legacy has been built on further with the current Chairs having several shared priorities including around transitions. 

The growing relationship between two networks over the last few years has been a joy to observe. When the networks came together you could see the richness of learning. Colleagues learnt about core concepts together and have seen through each other’s lenses. Being part of these CPD sessions piqued our interest at Research in Practice in boundary spanning leadership as we saw it in action. Ernst & Yip (2009:1) describe boundary spanning leadership as 'leadership that bridges boundaries between groups in service of a larger organisational vision, mission, or goal'. 

At the recent National Children and Adult Services Conference, we heard the voice of Principal Social Workers in many places, and I was pleased to see the chairs of both networks sharing a platform talking about lifespan perspectives and working across boundaries.  

Working across safeguarding partnerships and the interface between health and social care, requires professionals to learn from and reach across systems. Effective work in transitions to adulthood, whether services or safeguarding related, also requires professionals to cross boundaries. With an increasing focus on transitions to adulthood as a priority for presidents of ADCS and ADASS, and PSW Networks, we have become interested in how we can develop leaders in this space.  

We recently delivered a Department for Health & Social Care commissioned leadership programme in adult social care. A key feature of the programme was providing an opportunity to enable people to understand the role of others.  

Feedback says that people enjoyed working with others across the system and we grow boundary spanning leaders when they can collaborate with each other. However, what we learned is that programme had a huge part of the system missing – those working in child and family services and people working in social work leadership roles within NHS settings.  

We are delighted to announce that Research in Practice will be running a paid for place programme – Developing Practice Leaders: Leading across boundaries – for leaders working as Approved Mental Health Professional Leads (AMHP), Principal Occupational Therapists (POT), Principal Social Workers (PSW) and practice focused Assistant Directors or equivalent roles in adult or children and families social care. 

We are hopeful that this programme will support our leaders to develop their leadership skills considering the whole system that they are operating in.  

Find out more about the programme.