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Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership
& Governance
ISSN: 2330-3131 (Print) 2330-314X (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wasw21
Developing policy and management leaders: eight
social work policy fellows share their experiences,
case studies, and recommendations for leadership
development
Lindsey Bishop, Amy Coombs, Daniel Domaguin, Nidia Hernandez, Emily
Higgs, Tisa McGhee, Allison Treviño-Hartman & Alisa West-Cahill
To cite this article: Lindsey Bishop, Amy Coombs, Daniel Domaguin, Nidia Hernandez, Emily
Higgs, Tisa McGhee, Allison Treviño-Hartman & Alisa West-Cahill (2018) Developing policy and
management leaders: eight social work policy fellows share their experiences, case studies, and
recommendations for leadership development, Human Service Organizations: Management,
Leadership & Governance, 42:3, 245-250, DOI: 10.1080/23303131.2018.1471647
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2018.1471647
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Published online: 05 Jun 2018.
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EDITORIAL
Developing policy and management leaders: eight social work
policy fellows share their experiences, case studies, and
recommendations for leadership development
As the field of social work furthers its long legacy of preparing leaders to respond to critical societal
challenges, new mechanisms are needed to address the shortage of experienced and skilled leaders
equipped to serve low-income communities amid an increasingly crowded field of degrees preparing
human service leaders (Rothman, 2013). The Network for Social Work Management’s (NSWM)
Policy Fellows Program stands out as a model for ensuring that social workers are prepared to lead
in increasingly complex contexts. Launched in 2015, the NSWM Policy Fellows Program is a 10-
month program that pairs emerging leaders in clinical and macro social work with volunteer
mentors from prominent schools of social work. The program aims to strengthen the leadership
and management competencies of emerging social work leaders, responding to the American
Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare’s call to shape the mission of social work for the 21st
century (Uehara et al., 2015). Accordingly, fellows and mentors collaborate to identify a policy or
management project for the year and interventions to accomplish intended objectives. It is the
transformative role of this program for emerging leaders that prompted eight fellows to synthesize
our experiences, management competencies gained, and recommendations for the development of
future policy and management leaders.
NSWM management competencies and case studies
In 2015, the NSWM developed the Guidebook for Human Services Professionals: Human Service
Management Competencies in response to the calls within the field for a set of management
competencies that could be used to prepare both clinical and macro social workers (Hassan &
Wimpfheimer, 2015; National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2008). In this section, case
studies from fellows’ projects explore challenges and trends in the competency domains of executive
leadership, resource management, strategic management, and community collaboration.
Executive leadership
Case study 1: promoting innovation at the intersection of education and mental health
Integrating mental health services into schools requires weaving together local, state, and federal
revenue and building bridges between traditionally fragmented systems. Although the education,
behavioral health, child welfare, and probation systems share goals around youth well-being, each
system has unique mandates, incentives, and administrative structures. Emily Higgs’ fellowship
project focused on expanding mental health services in schools by (1) raising awareness of the
issue, (2) offering successful models for consideration, (3) assisting local and state administrators in
mitigating fiscal risk, and (4) pursuing legislative avenues for change.
Many of the barriers to the success of integrated school-based mental health stem directly from the
essential relationship between innovation and the domain of executive leadership, which enhances the
ability to nurture and sustain interdisciplinary collaboration and transform existing systems. For
example, anticipated shifts in federal education and health policy present challenges to strategic planning
HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE
2018, VOL. 42, NO. 3, 245–250
https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2018.1471647
© 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
and resource management in human service organizations, thereby disincentivizing managers from
participating in innovative partnerships they may perceive as “risky.” Whole-school approaches to
mental health services represent a departure from the status quo and require strong executive leadership.
Competencies such as finding common ground among diverse stakeholders, inspiring others to move
beyond cynicism and complacency, and conceptualizing innovative partnerships allow social work
leaders to challenge historically rigid systems by generating buy-in and identifying new opportunities.
Case study 2: lobbying for administrative systems interventions
Social work policy leaders are bound to empower and advocate for victims of crimes, yet time after time
these individuals are revictimized by the governmental administrative and regulatory boards designed to
protect them from harm, provide reparations, and enact justice (NASW, 2008). The purpose of Amy
Coombs’ research is to propose and implement structural changes that minimize secondary victimization
while promoting justice, adherence to victims’ rights policies and law, administrative and governmental
accountability, and efficiency.
Creating an environment ripe for systemic change requires proficiency of the executive leadership
competency. Developing mature and professional policy leadership competencies hinges upon selfawareness and the ability to utilize critical feedback (Asman, 2017). The fellowship provides a structured
experience for emerging leaders to develop a professional identity through participatory learning, critical
self-assessment, and safe experimentation and policy innovation through mentorship. Coombs curated the
ability to analyze the pulse of public and stakeholder perceptions, resulting in appropriate and timely
messaging, while also building support and trust among decision makers, work groups, and constituents
through her self-awareness, strategic focus, and effective messaging.
Executive leadership: lessons learned and interventions utilized
The NSWM program prepares policy fellows by providing mentorship, project-based learning, enhancing
problem-solving capabilities, and increasing capacity to effectively utilize critical feedback. As the executive
leadership domain encompasses more soft skills than other competency domains, mentorship represents
an effective intervention for competency cultivation. For example, through active mentorship, Emily Higgs
engaged in dialogue with cross-sector leaders to learn from seasoned professionals, gather more nuanced
historical perspectives in analyzing current trends in education and mental health, and gain exposure to
multiple methods of building consensus for policy innovation. As a result, Higgs was able to advance
school-based mental health legislation in California, produce presentations on innovative blended-funding
strategies, and participate in state-wide discussions on emerging revenue streams for school-based services.
To mitigate challenges associated with working in the professional lobbying sector, Coombs
utilized interventions such as soliciting feedback, relationship building with stakeholders, and
strategic planning to support successful lobbying and legislative practice. These actions resulted in
Coombs’ key role in passing model legislation and creating an interim study work group to inform
2018 legislation. The process of developing a professional identity is nurtured through action, which
is a key intervention of the policy program.
Resource management
Case study 1: promoting indigenization of resource management
Even if organizations do not explicitly serve the indigenous people of the land their agencies occupy,
the indigenization of resource management is an essential theory to employ to improve resource
management by promoting transparency, accountability, and representation. Indigenizing can be
defined as the ethical inclusion of “Indigenous knowledges, voices, critiques…and materials, as well
246 EDITORIAL
as the establishment of physical and epistemic spaces so thoroughly” that they constitute an essential
element of an organization. (Sasakamoose & Peete, 2015, p. 4). This important approach is complicated when considering that human service organizations operate using colonial frameworks to
manage resources, deliver services, and gather data. Consequently, the gathering of data for indigenous peoples is often lacking, if not completely absent.
Daniel Domaguin’s project highlighted the importance of indigenizing practice in resource
management when gathering data meant to assess the needs of indigenous populations. At its
essence, indigenization requires collaboration between stakeholders, ensuring that voices and ideas
rendered silent by colonial organizational structures are not only heard, but integral and central to
the decision-making process. Without communication between human service organizations and
other data-gathering institutions, data about indigenous people may be omitted and result in
incompatible and even harmful resource distribution, services, or processes.
Case study 2: developing community capacity for resource management
Human service managers are encouraged to use data to improve social service delivery, create
innovative solutions to social problems, and to be fiscally accountable (Lewin et al., 2015; Liebman,
2013; Padgett, 2016; Sheldon, 2005). According to Head (2016), the “variation in the capacity of
public agencies to access and use expert evidence and research-based studies is wide.” It can be
argued that the data is not always accessible or communicated clearly to human service providers
or consumers. Furthermore, a majority of the community lacks the capacity to understand data or
the impact of decisions made for them.
Through her project, Dr. Tisa McGhee identified the gap of evidence-based process understanding and
aimed to build the capacity of a community group of youth. As a second-year fellow, she returned to her
previous work, “In the Face of Transformation: Overtown PhotoVoice Project” where youth gave voice to
fears about gentrification. As she finalized this work, she realized the minimal understanding among the
youth of evidence-based research and the policy-making process and how they could further advocate for
their concerns. As mentioned in Case Study 1, resource management ensures the voices of the community
are central to the decision-making process. During the second year of the fellowship more intensive support
was provided to realize this need by (1) building youth capacity to drive community change, and (2) shaping
the community’s use of data. Community youth, with increased evidence-based research and data understanding, now contribute to key project functions, including resource management, the organization’s
mission, and accountability efforts by voicing their ideas.
Resource management: lessons learned and interventions utilized
The competencies delineated under the domain of resource management list the intellectual skills that
provide a clear perspective on the organization in its environment and are essential to possessing the
capacity to think and act strategically (Hassan & Wimpfheimer, 2015). During the fellowship, Domaguin
became aware of the pervasive lack of any indigenized practices or structures in organizations. Through
mentorship, he practiced the key indigenizing concepts of collaboration and interconnectivity, including
connecting with scholars and researchers, indigenous and settler, regarding the impact of improper data
collection on indigenous communities. The course of the project revealed how the failure to indigenize
resource management practices perpetuates colonialism and continues to render indigenous people
invisible.
Social work managers have multiple competing priorities to improve social service delivery, create
innovative solutions to social problems, and be fiscally accountable while implementing programs
with fidelity. Through her fellowship project and mentorship, McGhee became aware of shifts in
funding evaluation standards, the development of evidence-based practices, and the havoc created
when human service managers do not understand these environmental forces or the proper
HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE 247
application of data. McGhee will continue to articulate the crucial role of the community and
accessibility of data in effective resource management in her future endeavors.
Strategic management
Case study 1: program design and implementation to advance collaboration and
transparency
In recent years, three inter-related frameworks have been identified to improve services: intervention
components, implementation components, and stages of implementation (Bertram, 2014). Applied
correctly, these frameworks can result in program resilience, positive client outcomes, increased
practitioner efficacy and confidence, and improved organizational culture (Bertram, 2014). Despite
these benefits, research reveals that many social workers may not have the necessary analytical and
research skills required to engage in evidence-based practice and program implementation (Bertram,
2014). For practitioners in resource-challenged, nontraditional, or interdisciplinary settings, attempting
to implement a new practice model risks generating inefficiencies and unsustainable model
adaptations.
In the experience of fellow Lindsey Bishop, the need for a new practice model to improve client
outcomes and funder relations in a refugee workforce development program was balanced against the
challenges of financial and political uncertainties. Bishop utilized her technical and adaptive leadership,
collaboration, information technology, and finance skills to codify the use of the intervention component framework to match service model to population. As a result of this exploration, the practice
model was refined to begin to better respond to the needs of the target population, outdated and costprohibitive outcome measures were eliminated or negotiated with the funder, and a structured
approach to implementation and evaluation was established.
Case study 2: strategic planning and communication for legislative change
A skillful policy leader is informed by the concept of empowerment and aware that citizens
participating in the legislative process often have deeply personal experiences motivating their efforts
(Fisher, 2009). By creating a citizen advocate work group to advance legislation, Amy Coombs
determined that strategic planning for legislative change must include attention to roles, boundaries,
communication, and goals. Effectively communicating the political realities that shape strategic
recommendations is an important intervention to avoid “goal drift.” Monitoring and redirecting
focus toward desired outcomes is key, as actions may become motivated by strong emotions at the
expense of intentional strategy. Communicating to advocates how and when to strategically harness
emotion, as well as how to tailor messaging to diverse stakeholders is vital to successful outcomes,
planning, and evaluation. During the formation of a citizen work group, testimony was needed for
the bill’s first legislative committee hearing. Coombs’ awareness of the opportunity for empowerment facilitated the members’ vital testimonies.
Strategic management: lessons learned and interventions utilized
Bishop found that interpersonal skills, stakeholder management, emotional intelligence, environmental
and systems’ analysis, and critical-thinking skills facilitated her ability to improve the program design
process and institutionalize accountability mechanisms. Progressive job responsibilities, paired with
self-reflection, allowed Bishop to deepen her understanding of the role of evidence-based practice and
the challenges of sustaining systemic focus and implementation stages to improve outcomes and
program fidelity (Bertram, 2014). As illustrated by Coombs’ example, learning by doing is one of
the primary conduits through which emerging leaders develop critical management competencies.
248 EDITORIAL
However, with increasingly competitive funding cycles, changing regulations in risk management, and
24/7 news cycles, the challenge remains for emerging leaders to find opportunities to develop these
increasingly crucial skills.
Community collaboration
Case study 1: community collaboration in healthcare
In recent years, healthcare leaders and social work managers have created innovative ways to engage
community partners. Allison Treviño-Hartman observed the creation of partnerships and sharing of
physical space for organizations within the healthcare system and medical centers. For instance, some
organizations provided space for agencies such as on-site home care agencies, hospice agencies, spiritual
leaders, or medical equipment vendors. Yet at the same time, Treviño-Hartman noted that research suggests
the pressure for cost containment often impedes social workers’ ability to cultivate such partnerships (Judd
& Sheffield, 2010; Reisch, 2012). She witnessed germane opportunities in postpartum and pediatric
healthcare where collaborations between healthcare providers, academia, and fatherhood programs could
provide helpful information to families and the community that could reduce stigma and increase positive
outcomes.
Case study 2: community partnerships to provide comprehensive immigration services
Few social service agencies have the capacity to provide the full continuum of services and resources that
many immigrants and immigrant families may need. Consequently, many community-based organizations
have partnered to leverage existing capacities to ensure comprehensive services for immigrant communities.
Nidia Hernandez identified the need for adapting evidence-based practices utilized in community mental
health agencies to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of the unaccompanied minor population in Los
Angeles County, California. Her efforts centered on her leadership with a Latino Community Resource
project to support a systems understanding of the mental health needs of unaccompanied minors and of
available resources in the community. Hernandez anticipates that her project will result in the development
and implementation of a professional development tool and community collaboration model for community mental health practitioners serving unaccompanied minors.
Community collaboration: lessons learned and interventions utilized
Working with a NSWM policy fellows mentor, Treviño-Hartman organized relevant information from
multiple projects and resources to communicate advancements to an online news platform. This
process helped identify ways to collaborate more fully with two regions and bring awareness to
organizations that demonstrate a commitment to all parents, including for nonresident fathers. At
the close of the fellowship process, Treviño-Hartman reviewed her pre- and post-competencies. The
outcome of this process has yielded a plan to secure grant funding for a future project in the Los
Angeles area, California. Treviño-Hartman hopes to encourage social work leaders in healthcare to
consider creating a seamless referral process with local fatherhood networks.
Conclusion and recommendations
Participation in the NSWM Policy Fellows Program facilitated our development as emerging policy and
management leaders and provided opportunities to fulfill our ethical commitment to ongoing service,
continuous learning, and self-improvement. By undertaking the interventions of networking, action
learning, feedback, and mentorship, our collective self-assessment scores reveal that the area of highest
impact and improvement were in the areas of developing both connections in the field and a
HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE 249
professional identity, a mastery of leadership competencies, and the implementation of policies and
laws. The structured nature of the program and its focus on accountability were key to advancing our
development as policy and management leaders. It is clear that the role of this program in promoting
leadership development during this crucial time for our field should be assessed for replication.
We suggest that future programs (1) provide more structure and accountability for mentors and
fellows in relation to expectations, anticipated outcomes, and interventions; 2) implement sustained
marketing campaigns to attract mentors and fellows; 3) record fellows’ projects online; and 4)
provide funding to support fellows’ activities, including attendance at professional conferences to
support interdisciplinary collaboration and promotion of the field. The social work field must do
more to support the development of emerging leaders across professional organizations. Now is the
time to use every available tool to promote the advancement of human dignity, social justice, and our
role as leaders in this call.
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Lindsey Bishop
Network for Social Work Management, Los Angeles, CA
[email protected]
Amy Coombs, Daniel Domaguin, Nidia Hernandez, Emily Higgs, Tisa McGhee,
Allison Treviño-Hartman and Alisa West-Cahill
Network for Social Work Management, Los Angeles, CA
250 EDITORIAL