Standard 1: Leadership & Management – DSDWEB: FREE STUDY GUIDES FOR CARE QUALIFICATIONS

1.3a Knowledge Sharing Within the Team

October 7, 2018February 12, 2018 by Dan

How is knowledge shared with the team?

Informal discussions on shift

Regular team meetings

Notice board

Communications book

Other paperwork

What are the ways used for sharing practice issues?

Team meetings, training

How often is knowledge shared by team members rather than just leaders and managers?

Regularly – everybody is encouraged to contribute during team meetings and share their ideas with the rest of the team.

How do groups of front line staff meet to share practice experiences and develop their learning?

Team meetings, informal discussions whilst on shift

How could you develop a shared approach to problem solving?

We already do

1.2a How does your organisation encourage and respond to feedback from a range of partners?

November 27, 2018February 11, 2018 by Dan

Silhouettes of many individuals with speech bubbles above their heads representing the giving of feedback

Organisations in the health and social care sector should always strive for excellence and one of the best ways of achieving this is to ask for feedback from others. Historically, if organisations do ask for feedback, it tends to be from their customers. Whilst this can give a useful insight from the perspective of the clients, some companies are now requesting feedback from everyone that interacts with them; this includes clients, employees, managers, shareholders, other professionals, partners and client families. Known as 360-degree feedback, this can provide a lot of valuable information from all viewpoints.

The table below shows the Manager Induction Standards questions for question 1.2a along with example answers. Obviously answers will vary from organisation to organisation.

Questions	Reflection
What systems are in place for receiving, analysing and acting on feedback from different partners?	3C’s form – Compliments, Comments and Complaints Regular formal and informal discussions with all stakeholders
How do you value the contribution of people who access care and support, their carers and relatives?	Contributions are always taken into account and acted on. All 3C’s forms are thoroughly investigated by Senior Management
In what ways can they be encouraged to contribute even more?	By asking them for feedback
How is everyone in the organisation equally committed to the idea of participation?	By knowing that all ideas and contributions will be taken seriously. By being encouraged to take calculated risks
What can you do to ensure that other members of the team understand the key importance of involving people who access care and support, their carers and relatives?	Regular coaching, supervision and training

1.1d Describe one area where you’ve demonstrated leadership skills and one where you’ve demonstrated management skills.

October 7, 2018February 10, 2018 by Dan

Consider the role of a manager in your social care organisation. Describe one area where you’ve demonstrated leadership skills and one where you’ve demonstrated management skills. Give reasons for your choice of style.

	Area of responsibility	Reasons for choice
Leadership	Exploring ways to help a client lose weight in collaboration with the client and team. Ideas were discussed in a team meeting.	Democratic – everyone involved discussed ideas and decided the way forward. This meant that staff and the client had ownership of the ideas and would be more likely to follow through with the plan.
Management	Telling a member of staff they are not allowed to use Facebook on their phone whilst at work as part of their Supervision.	Autocratic – this is company policy and non-negotiable. I had already spoken to the member of staff about this in an informal setting but they continued to do so, so was forced to bring this up formally and in writing.

1.1c Use this table to think about your own approach to delegation and see if you can plot the qualities you adopt naturally.

October 7, 2018February 9, 2018 by Dan

Consider ‘delegation’ – a task we all need to do at regular times in our role. Use this table to think about your own approach to delegation and see if you can plot the qualities you adopt naturally. Some will have more of a leadership approach and some more managerial. Reflect on how this affected the success of the delegation activity.

Delegation task	Delegation of weekly drug stock check to a member of the team. I told the staff member it was an important responsibility that I believed they would be good at because they are meticulously good with paperwork. Rather than telling them they had to do it, I asked if they would like to do it. They said they didn’t feel very confident about doing it, so I said that I would do it with them until they felt confident enough to do it on their own. After I had helped remove some of their doubts, they agreed to do it.
Natural qualities demonstrated	Offering choice Negotiation Coaching Building confidence in others Positive reinforcement
Outcome of delegation task	I showed them how to do it the first time, then observed them do it themselves the second time. They then felt confident enough to do it by themselves but I made sure they were aware that I was available to contact if they had any difficulties.
How would a different approach have improved the outcome further?	I could have delegated the task of training the staff member in doing the drug stock check to another staff member that already knew how to do it, therefore freeing up more time for myself. I could have trained all staff members to do the drug stock check at the same time and made the task a team responsibility.

1.1b Can you recognise a particular management style that you tend to adopt?

October 7, 2018February 8, 2018 by Dan

Can you recognise a particular management style that you tend to adopt? You may find it’s a combination of some of the styles mentioned above. Think of particular decisions or management tasks you’ve been involved in and how you managed the decision making or task process.

Using different management styles
Describe a situation where you have managed a decision making or task process A team member called me because a client had angrily walked out of his house and into the community and didn’t want staff to accompany him. I advised that staff should stay at the house and await his return when he had calmed down, but to call me back if he hadn’t returned within 30 minutes.

What style(s) can you identify in this situation? Autocratic – I decided the best course of action.

Consider how using an alternative style may have affected the situation and outline the effects this may have had on the situation – both positive and negative
Alternative style:	Consultative – I could have asked the staff member what they thought the best of action would be.
Positives: Staff would be forced to think about the situation and themselves, contributing towards their development, self-confidence and motivation.

Negatives: Would have taken longer to discuss options. Inexperienced staff may have made the wrong call (e.g. following the client outside when he wanted to be alone may have increased his levels of anxiety).