Ncercc Leadership

Leadersh|p
|n kes|dent|a| Ch||d Care

A paper commlssloned
by Lhe naLlonal CenLre for Lxcellence
ln 8esldenLlal Chlld care

Adr|an Ward

Leadership, Final Version / A.Ward July 09
2

CONTENTS

Introduction
Leadership and management
Inside and outside
The nature of residential care
The emotional task
The context of care
Outline

1. Becoming a Leader
Leadership as a process
The Transition into Leadership
The leader as figurehead?
A leadership team

2. Definitions and Theories of Leadership
Why are leaders necessary?
What do leaders do?
Organising
Prioritising
Influencing and motivating
Change and vision
Leadership Style
Charisma
Transactional & Transformational Leadership
Leadership and followership

3 Below the surface: Unconscious Dynamics
Projection and transference
Projective identification
Working with the unconscious
Re-enactment
Unconscious motivations
Containment and holding

4. Leadership: Boundaries and Roles
The myth of the hero-leader
Authority
Boundaries
The place of leadership
Bridging role
Working with blurred boundaries
Risks in boundary management

5. Working in the everyday: The Leader and the Team
The nature of the teams work
Managing the emotional economy of the unit
Dynamics between leaders and teams
Working at ground level: opportunity led leadership.

6. Leadership in the context of values: power, prejudice and dependency.
The Values of Leadership
3

Power
Prejudice
Gender
Sexuality in teams
Dependency to Autunomy

7. The Leader as a person
The risk of isolation
Countering the risk of isolation
The leadership team
Confidence
Managing the burden of leadership
Positivity and life beyond the workplace
The need to be needed

8 Concluding comments: what makes leadership work?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
4

IN1kCDUC1ICN
1hls paper wlll offer a relaLlonshlp-based approach Lo leadershlp ln resldenLlal
chlld care, emphaslzlng Lhe human lnLeracLlons beLween Lhe leader and Lhe
oLhers, and uslng Lhls approach Lo ldenLlfy some of Lhe challenges and dlfflculLles
whlch may arlse as well as Lo suggesL whaL people on all sldes are ofLen seeklng
from leaders - and how leaders can manage Lhese expecLaLlons.

l am noL offerlng a comprehenslve revlew of Lhe llLeraLure on leadershlp: ln facL
Lhere ls very llLLle llLeraLure whlch focuses dlrecLly on leadershlp ln Lhe resldenLlal
conLexL, wlLh Lhe noLable excepLlons of 8urLon (1997) and Plcks et ol (2007).
lnsLead, l wlll look aL some of Lhe currenL ldeas abouL leadershlp and aL how Lhey
may apply ln Lhe resldenLlal conLexL, buL l wlll sLarL (ln chapLer 1) where all
leaders sLarL: wlLh Lhe experlence of becomlng a leader and dlscoverlng whaL Lhe
role means for oneself as well as for Lhe oLhers lnvolved. 1o lllusLraLe Lhe
dlscusslon l wlll draw on my own experlence ln Lhls role as well as on my work
wlLh many oLher leaders ln Lhls fleld elLher as an educaLor or a consulLanL,
alLhough l wlll sLlll draw on Lhe llLeraLure where posslble.

Llkewlse l do noL lnLend Lo promoLe any parLlcular 'model' or Lheory of
leadershlp, buL Lo draw aLLenLlon Lo a number of Lhemes and lssues whlch arlse
ln pracLlce - lllusLraLlng Lhese wlLh sulLably anonymlsed acLual examples - and Lo
lndlcaLe how a number of concepLs may be helpful ln maklng sense of Lhe
experlence and worklng ouL whaL Lo do.

1o undersLand Lhe approach adopLed ln Lhls paper, leL us lmaglne Lhe sub[ecL of
leadershlp as an area of land - uslng Lhe meLaphor of Lhe 'LerrlLory' ln whlch
leaders have Lo operaLe. My concern ln Lhls paper ls flrsLly Lo mop out Lhls
LerrlLory, dlscoverlng how exLenslve lL ls and how varled lL ls. Secondly l wanL Lo
exp/ore whaL seems Lo be golng on wlLhln Lhe LerrlLory - Lhe relaLlonshlps, Lhe
power lssues and Lhe ways ln whlch, for lnsLance, cerLaln paLLerns and roles may
5

emerge, ln oLher words 'how Lhe land lles'. 1hlrdly l also wanL Lo go 'be/ow Lhe
surface' of Lhe LerrlLory Lo look aL some of Lhe less obvlous ways ln whlch leaders
are percelved boLh by Lhemselves and oLhers, and how Lhese unconsclous
dynamlcs may affecL Lhe success or oLherwlse of Lhe whole enLerprlse. lL ls noL
my lnLenLlon Lo come up wlLh a rouLe map of Lhe whole Lerraln, sLlll less Lo
provlde a full checkllsL of whaL you may need Lo Lake wlLh you on Lhe [ourney,
buL raLher Lo reporL back from my own [ourney and reflecLlons wlLh some
Lravellers' Lales and some LhoughLs abouL whaL mlghL be learned from Lhe
experlences descrlbed.

Leadersh|p and management
lL also seems lmporLanL aL Lhe ouLseL Lo make some dlsLlncLlon beLween
managemenL and leadershlp, parLly because anoLher paper ln Lhls serles
addresses Lhe managemenL quesLlon and l wanL Lo avold unhelpful overlap. 1he
problem ls, of course, LhaL ln pracLlce Lhere ls ofLen conslderable overlap,
because managers always have Lo exerL some degree of leadershlp, alLhough Lhe
converse ls noL qulLe Lrue - noL all Lhose who offer some leadershlp are
employed as managers. lor example, aL ground level ln resldenLlal chlld care,
sLaff ofLen have Lo Lake on Lemporary leadershlp roles ln Lhe heaL of Lhe momenL
as a slLuaLlon develops. AL Llmes llke Lhls, someone needs Lo Lake conLrol and
help oLhers - boLh sLaff and young people - Lo work LogeLher Lo resolve Lhelr
dlfflculLles. 8uL havlng done Lhls Lhey are llkely Lo reverL Lo Lhelr more famlllar
role, raLher Lhan Lhereby becomlng managers.

lL ls also Lrue LhaL Lhere may be lnLermedlaLe roles of leadershlp wlLhln sLaff
Leams, wlLh Leam leaders, asslsLanL managers and oLhers holdlng responslblllLy
for leadershlp ln cerLaln areas. Powever, mosL of whaL l wlll be dlscusslng ln Lhls
paper wlll be focused on Lhe leadershlp aspecLs of Lhe formal poslLlon of manager
or 'head of home', even Lhough much of lL can also be applled Lo Lhese oLher
levels and Lypes of leadershlp.
6

1he dlsLlncLlon commonly made ls LhaL whereas managemenL ls abouL plannlng,
organlslng and overseelng, leadershlp ls abouL Lhe vlslon whlch wlll lnform all
LhaL plannlng, Lhe sense of sLraLegy Lo ensure LhaL lL acLually works, and Lhe
personal quallLles of engagemenL, lnsplraLlon and aLLenLlon Lo Leam lssues such
as morale whlch are so crlLlcal ln geLLlng Lhe work done. lL could perhaps be sald
LhaL managemenL ls ofLen Lask-based, whereas leadershlp ls besL LhoughL of as
relaLlonshlp-based.

We can now adapL Lhe 'Lerraln' meLaphor somewhaL Lo Lhlnk of Lhe Leam seLLlng
off on a [ourney: lf a group of people of varylng levels of experlence, senlorlLy and
sklll were headlng off on a challenglng hlll walk LogeLher, Lhey would probably
beneflL enormously from Lhe leadershlp of an experlenced gulde. 1hls leader wlll
noL always be walklng aL Lhe fronL nor calllng ouL orders, buL may be [usL as
effecLlve aL Llmes Lhrough walklng alongslde people, demonsLraLlng confldence ln
Lhe rouLe and enLhuslasm for Lhe enLerprlse, as well as showlng an undersLandlng
of any rlsks and challenges. 1hls leader mlghL also play Lhe role of a 'manager' ln
Lhe sense of (for example) securlng and deploylng Lhe rlghL resources Lo see Lhe
group Lhrough Lhe whole Lrlp, buL mere managemenL would noL be enough once
Lhey were up on Lhe hlllslde wlLh Lhe mlsLs closlng ln.

1o push Lhe 'Lerraln' meLaphor one sLep furLher, people would probably place
mosL value on a leader who knew Lhe ground well, who was famlllar wlLh Lhe
sorLs of slLuaLlons whlch mlghL arlse and resourceful ln Lerms of ways of handllng
any evenLuallLy - buL Lhey would also wanL someone who could remaln human
and concerned for Lhem as people raLher Lhan solely for hlm/herself or for Lhe
formal alms of Lhe pro[ecL.

1hls lasL polnL hlghllghLs one aspecL of Lhe Lenslons whlch a leader has Lo
negoLlaLe, beLween leoJloq tbe qtoop of people and leoJloq tbe tosk whlch Lhey
7

are employed Lo achleve - Lhls dlsLlncLlon ls someLlmes formulaLed as Lhe
'expresslve' versus Lhe 'lnsLrumenLal' aspecLs of leadershlp respecLlvely. ln Lhe
real world, of course, successful leadershlp brlngs Lhese elemenLs LogeLher and
promoLes confldence ln Lhe Leam so LhaL Lhey can rlghLly say 'we dld lL ourselves'
(loo 1so 1972).

Ins|de and outs|de
l wlll be focuslng on Lhe sorLs of expecLaLlons whlch Lhe Leam and Lhe leader may
have of each oLher aL varlous levels, as well as oLher Lypes of leadershlp roles
lncludlng Lhe vlLal relaLlonshlps wlLh exLernal bodles such as Lhe employlng and
regulaLory organlsaLlons and wlLh oLher professlonals as well as wlLh Lhe famllles
and Lhe nelghbourhood. 1he facL LhaL leaders consLanLly have Lo sLraddle Lhe
boundary beLween Lhe 'lnslde' and Lhe ouLslde' of Lhe unlL ls [usL one example of
Lhe many ways ln whlch Lhey have Lo dlvlde Lhelr aLLenLlons beLween dlfferenL
grouplngs and dlfferenL levels of Lhlnklng and operaLlng. Cne hazard of
consLanLly movlng beLween dlfferenL grouplngs and Lasks ls LhaL you may never
spend enough Llme ln any one of Lhem Lo become fully ldenLlfled wlLh lL, wlLh Lhe
rlsk LhaL you become lsolaLed or deLached and Lhus lneffecLlve as a leader. Agaln,
successful leaders wlll avold such hazards by lnLegraLlng Lhe lnner and Lhe ouLer
focus.

1he nature of res|dent|a| care
8ecause Lhls paper ls focused on a speclflc area of pracLlce raLher Lhan belng a
generlc dlscusslon of leadershlp, l also wanL Lo make some lnLroducLory remarks
abouL Lhe naLure of Lhe resldenLlal Lask wlLh chlldren.

1he emotiono/ tosk
A chlldren's home could be descrlbed as a small and lnLense human organlsaLlon,
provldlng care and supporL for separaLed chlldren, and focused on addresslng Lhe
paln and challenges whlch Lhey face and supporLlng Lhem Lowards some
8

resoluLlon of Lhe crlsls ln Lhelr llves. We cannoL usefully Lhlnk abouL Lhe
leadershlp of Lhese organlsaLlons wlLhouL remalnlng flrmly aware of Lhe naLure of
Lhls Lask. A chlldren's home ls plalnly noL a bureaucraLlc or lndusLrlal
underLaklng, engaged ln Lhe processlng of daLa or physlcal maLerlals, nor ls lL
prlmarlly an educaLlonal or lelsure-orlenLed organlsaLlon, focused on provldlng
emoLlonally 'neuLral' learnlng or recreaLlonal experlence. lLs cllenLele are by
deflnlLlon Lhose young people ln our socleLy who have experlenced some of Lhe
very greaLesL dlsLress and dlsrupLlon. AlLhough we musL noL overlook Lhe facL
LhaL Lhese are also '[usL chlldren' who need Lhe opporLunlLy Lo en[oy Lhe ordlnary
pleasures and achlevemenLs of everyday llfe, lL ls Lhls dlsLress and dlsrupLlon
whlch Lhey brlng wlLh Lhem lnLo Lhe very fabrlc of Lhe bulldlng and lnLo Lhe whole
sysLem of human lnLeracLlon ln Lhe place.

l am emphaslzlng Lhe dlsLress and dlsrupLlon because lL has enormous
slgnlflcance for Lhe naLure and pace of Lhe work whlch Lhe chlld care Leam has Lo
underLake wlLh Lhe young people LwenLy four hours a day, and Lherefore lL also
has lmporLanL lmpllcaLlons for Lhe klnd of supporL and leadershlp whlch Lhe Leam
wlll need.

lL ls for Lhls reason LhaL when Lhlnklng abouL leadershlp ln Lhls conLexL we musL
draw on ldeas from well beyond Lhe sLandard 'buslness leadershlp' llLeraLure, ln
whlch Lhe raw maLerlals are lnerL or neuLral and wlLh no emoLlonal slgnlflcance
for Lhe sLaff. A chlld care Leam, by conLrasL, may have Lo 'soak up' or respond Lo
some exLreme emoLlons ln Lhe course of an ordlnary day's work, and ofLen wlLh
very llLLle noLlce, and because Lhey Lhemselves are human Lhey may also be
personally and qulLe deeply affecLed by some of Lhls dlsLress and dlsLurbance -
someLlmes wlLhouL fully reallslng lL aL Lhe Llme. 1hls everyday reallLy means LhaL
Lhe chlld care sLaff wlll need Lhe supporL of very skllled leadershlp lf Lhey are Lo
be enabled Lo wlLhsLand Lhe sLress and remaln responslve and poslLlve ln Lhelr
work.
9

1he corollary of Lhls slLuaLlon ls LhaL Lhe leadershlp role can be one wlLh a hlgh
level of demand and poLenLlally a degree of lsolaLlon. Leaders ofLen flnd
Lhemselves on Lhe boundary beLween Lhe lnslde and Lhe ouLslde or medlaLlng
beLween dlfferenL groups and grouplngs, and lndeed Lo some exLenL Lhls ls where
Lhey need Lo poslLlon Lhemselves. 1he paLron salnL of leaders would probably be
!anus, Lhe 8oman god of doorways, who had Lwo faces, one looklng ln and one
looklng ouLwards, whlch sounds qulLe uncomforLable buL also perhaps famlllar Lo
anyone who has held a leadershlp role. Leaders may also someLlmes have Lo hold
confldenLlal lnformaLlon abouL change, and Lhey ofLen flnd Lhemselves aL Lhe
focus of everybody's sLrong feellngs, boLh consclous and unconsclous.

lor Lhls reason whaL ls mosL lmporLanL ls LhaL leaders Lhemselves have regular
and rellable access boLh Lo supervlslon and Lo menLorlng or consulLaLlon. l
emphaslze boLh of Lhese equally: Lhe dlsLlncLlon beLween Lhe Lwo ls LhaL
supervlslon ls usually provlded wlLhln Lhe llne-managemenL sLrucLure and
lncludes accounLlng for one's pracLlce ln Lhe organlsaLlon and reflecLlng on lL and
especlally on how lL mlghL be lmproved, consulLaLlon, on Lhe oLher hand, ls
provlded from ootslde Lhe organlsaLlon, glvlng Lhe leader access Lo a fully
lndependenL and neuLral experL or menLor who may Lherefore be ln a beLLer
poslLlon Lo help Lhe leader Lo reflecL on Lhe experlence of belng wlLhln Lhe
organlsaLlon.

lL ls Lherefore Lhe proper responslblllLy of exLernal llne managers Lo ensure LhaL
resldenLlal leaders have regular supervlslon on all aspecLs of Lhelr work, lncludlng
Lhe opporLunlLy Lo reflecL on Lhe psychologlcal and emoLlonal demands of Lhelr
work. unforLunaLely many resldenLlal leaders sLlll do noL have access Lo Lhls sorL
of supervlslon.

10

Secondly, and l Lhlnk even more rare ln pracLlce, l have always argued LhaL
resldenLlal leaders should also have access Lo lndependenL menLorlng or
consulLaLlon on Lhelr role and Lask, agaln lncludlng Lhe emoLlonal componenL.
1he polnL here ls LhaL Lhe demands of Lhe [ob requlre leaders Lo be able Lo sLand
rlghL back from Lhe whole sysLem aL Llmes, and Lo revlew and evaluaLe Lhelr own
experlence and conLrlbuLlon. Supervlslon wlLhln Lhe organlsaLlon ls lmporLanL,
buL equally so ls exLernal consulLaLlon.

1he context of care
Alongslde Lhe endurlng LruLhs abouL Lhe emoLlonal Lask of care, we also need Lo
keep ln mlnd Lhe always-changlng conLexL wlLh whlch Lhls care ls provlded. 1he
proflle of resldenLlal chlld care has changed enormously ln Lhe lasL LwenLy years,
across mosL wesLern counLrles and especlally ln Lhe uk, whlch wlll be my maln
focus ln Lhls paper. nCL8CC documenLs show LhaL, for several reasons, Lhe
number of chlldren ln chlldren's homes has dropped dramaLlcally, and Lhose ln
care now are more llkely Lo be older, more Lroubled and from a more dlverse
background Lhan before. Pomes are smaller (an average of Lhree or four young
people compared Lo LwenLy only 23 years ago) buL sLaff groups are much larger,
whlch means LhaL, for example, Lhe proporLlon of a leader's Llme whlch ls spenL
on sLafflng lssues may be much hlgher Lhan lL was ln Lhe pasL. lundlng has also
shlfLed so LhaL Lhe ma[orlLy of chlldren's homes ln Lhe uk are now ln Lhe prlvaLe
secLor, whlch has parLlcular lmpllcaLlons for Lhe sysLems of exLernal llne
managemenL and oLher supporL for Lhose ln Lhe leadershlp role, as well as
consequences for leaders havlng Lo operaLe ln a much more compeLlLlve and
expllclLly commerclal conLexL Lhan was Lhe case ln local auLhorlLy seLLlngs. 1hese
and oLher changes mean LhaL Lhe cllmaLe and conLexL wlLhln whlch resldenLlal
leadershlp ls seL lre conLlnually shlfLlng, alLhough lL can perhaps be argued LhaL
Lhe Lasks and roles of leadershlp may remaln broadly Lhe same.

Cut||ne
11

1he resL of Lhls paper ls ln several secLlons or shorL chapLers:

chopter 1 beglns wlLh some personal reflecLlons on Lhe LranslLlon lnLo a
leadershlp role before ouLllnlng some key ldeas abouL leadershlp resldenLlal chlld
care ln pracLlce - whaL lL lnvolves and how lL operaLes aL varlous levels.

chopter 2 explores Lhe naLure of leadershlp, addresslng such fundamenLal
quesLlons as 'Are leaders really necessary' and 'whaL do leaders acLually do?'.

chopter l looks aL Lhe unconsclous elemenLs ln Lhe experlence of leadershlp -
Lhe assumpLlons and psychologlcal LemplaLes whlch we may each brlng Lo our
experlence of leadershlp.

chopter 4 examlnes Lhe varleLy of ro/es whlch leaders may have Lo Lake on, and
Lhe Lenslons and challenges whlch may arlse from havlng Lo do so much 'brldglng'
beLween dlfferenL groups.

ln chopter 5 we wlll look aL Lhe deLall of leadlng Lhe teom ln parLlcular, lncludlng
Lhe lnLer-personal dynomics beLween Lhe leader and Lhe Leam members
lndlvldually and collecLlvely, and aL boLh consclous and unconsclous levels.

chopter seLs Lhe dlscusslon ln Lhe conLexL of values by examlnlng Lhe Lhemes of
'ower, re[udlce and uependency' ln pracLlce, and ln parLlcular drawlng
aLLenLlon Lo Lhe ways ln whlch lssues such as gender and sexuallLy/sexual
orlenLaLlon need Lo lnform our conslderaLlon of leadershlp ln conLemporary
pracLlce.

chopter 7 explores '1he Leader as a erson', beglnnlng wlLh Lhe rlsks of lsolaLlon
we have seen above, before reLurnlng quesLlons of auLhorlLy and confldence.

12

ln Lhe conc/usion we wlll Lhlnk abouL 'WhaL makes leadershlp work?', ln oLher
words whaL condlLlons and resources provlde Lhe besL opporLunlLles for hlgh
quallLy leadershlp ln resldenLlal care and how can oLher sysLems supporL and
conLrlbuLe Lo Lhls? 1hls ls a loL of ground Lo cover ln a relaLlvely shorL space, so l
wlll alm Lo refer readers on Lo oLher llLeraLure where posslble, so LhaL Lhese
Lhemes can be Laken furLher.

keference
Plcks, L., Clbbs, l., WeaLherly, P. and 8yford, S. (2007) Moooqloq cbllJteo's
nomes. ueveloploq ffectlve leoJetsblp lo 5moll Otqoolsotloos. London, !esslca
klngsley.

8urLon, !. (1997) Pandbook of Managlng 8esldenLlal Care. London, 8ouLledge.

Lao 1su (1972) 1oo te cbloq 1ranslaLed by Cla-fu leng and !ane Lngllsh, London,
Wlldwood Pouse.
13

1. 8LCCMING A LLADLk

1hls chapLer draws dlrecLly on my own experlence of Laklng on a leadershlp role,
whlch was noL easy, and hlghllghLs some key lssues abouL confldence, auLhorlLy
and abouL vlewlng leadershlp as a 'process' raLher Lhan slmply a LlLle or role.

Leadersh|p as a process
l began Lhls paper by saylng LhaL l wlll be Laklng a 'relaLlonshlp-based approach'
Lo Lhe leadershlp Lask, by whlch l mean an approach whlch emphaslzes Lhe reallLy
LhaL ln any 'care' organlsaLlon whaL wlll maLLer mosL of all ls Lhe quallLy of Lhe
human relaLlonshlps aL all levels, ln Lhls case Lhe relaLlonshlps beLween Lhe
leader, Lhe sLaff Leam and Lhe young people, and Lhose on Lhe ouLslde. lL ls a
prlmary responslblllLy of leadershlp Lo monlLor, lnfluence and faclllLaLe Lhese
relaLlonshlps ln supporL of Lhe Lask of Lhe organlsaLlon - ln oLher words Lo work
closely and effecLlvely wlLh people aL all levels Lo ensure LhaL Lhe work geLs done
and LhaL people remaln ln good communlcaLlon wlLh each oLher desplLe any
dlfflculLles whlch may arlse. ln Lhe conLexL of resldenLlal chlld care, ln whlch
sLrong emoLlons may be evoked on all sldes, Lhls ls by no means an easy Lask, and
lL requlres sklll, undersLandlng and Lolerance as well as a hlgh level of self-
knowledge.

WhaL goes wlLh Lhls relaLlonshlp-based approach ls also an emphasls on
leadershlp as a process, an ongolng, evolvlng and lnLeracLlve process, raLher Lhan
an evenL or a sLaLlc momenL represenLed by an organlsaLlonal charL showlng Lhe
formal hlerarchy. Leadershlp Lakes Llme - as wlLh any relaLlonshlp or seL of
relaLlonshlps, you grow lnLo lL Lhrough a LranslLlonal phase, you 'become' Lhe role
and Lhe relaLlonshlps develop and grow furLher, you use Lhese relaLlonshlps (ln
14

Lhe besL sense) Lo work as effecLlvely as you can, and Lhen evenLually you move
on.

lL ls especlally lmporLanL Lo bear ln mlnd LhaL lasL blL - Lhe movinq on. 1he
Lrulsm LhaL nobody ls lndlspensable should apply Lo leadershlp as much as Lo any
oLher role, yeL lL ls noL uncommon Lo come across apparenLly effecLlve leaders
who have soughL Lo make Lhemselves lndlspensable by playlng up Lhe charlsmaLlc
or 'LransformaLlonal' aspecLs of Lhe role, behavlng - and encouraglng oLhers Lo
behave - as lf nobody else could ever make such a good [ob of leadershlp as
Lhemselves, only Lo fulfll Lhelr own prophecy when Lhey leave and Lhe place
collapses or lmplodes, because Lhe uear Leader has acLually removed everyone
else's confldence ln Lhelr own and Lhelr shared ablllLles. lL Lherefore behoves
every leader Lo be mlndful of Lhelr own Lemporary hold on Lhe role and Lo avold
Lhe LempLaLlon Lo belleve ln Lhelr own lndlspensablllLy.

1he 1rans|t|on |nto Leadersh|p
1he oLher crlLlcal polnL ln Lhls 'process' model ls Lhe LranslLlon lnLo leadershlp, by
whlch l mean Lhe LranslLlon lnLo becomloq a leader, as dlsLlncL from slmply belng
appolnLed Lo Lhe poslLlon. 1hls ls llkely Lo be a lengLhy process lnvolvlng much
LesLlng ouL by all parLles, someLlmes dlrecLly and someLlmes qulLe lndlrecLly, and
probably some Lrlal and error on Lhe parL of Lhe leader.

new leaders have Lo esLabllsh Lhelr credlblllLy ln all parLs of Lhe organlsaLlon, and
Lo flnd Lhelr auLhorlLy aL a personal level as well as aL Lhe 'glven' level wlLhln Lhe
organlsaLlon. Slnce Lhe leader ls such a key flgure ln Lhe llfe of Lhe place, Lhey are
llkely Lo aLLracL sLrong feellngs of many sorLs, as we shall see LhroughouL Lhls
paper, buL especlally ln Lerms of wheLher Lhey wlll be seen as rellable,
LrusLworLhy, knowledgeable and respecLful

15

1hls ls a Lall order, and lL helps Lo explaln why Lhe LranslLlonal process may Lake
some Llme: alLhough lL ls cerLalnly posslble Lo make a good flrsL lmpresslon, lL
may Lake much longer ln reallLy Lo esLabllsh and develop meanlngful relaLlonshlps
LhroughouL Lhe place. Colleagues and chlldren allke wlll need Lo make up Lhelr
own mlnds boLh lndlvldually and collecLlvely abouL Lhelr new boss and perhaps
LesL Lhem ln varlous slLuaLlons ln order Lo esLabllsh Lhe necessary LrusL. 1he
lnLeresLlng Lhlng abouL Lhe group care conLexL, of course, ls LhaL so much of Lhe
work ls done ln publlc or seml-publlc: everybody sees how Lhe leader responds Lo
a chlld ln dlsLress or acLlng deflanLly, and Lhereby everybody has plenLy of
evldence on whlch Lo base Lhelr [udgemenL of Lhelr new leader. ln parLlcular Lhey
wlll be able Lo spoL any mlsmaLch beLween Lhe leader's espoused 'phllosophy of
care' and hls or her acLual behavlour. 1hls may also be helpful ln Lerms of Lhe
leader belng seen Lo have 'feeL of clay' and as havlng Lo sLruggle wlLh dlfflculL
slLuaLlons [usL as oLhers do, desplLe belng more senlor or experlenced. 1he oLher
Lhlng abouL Lhe publlc conLexL ls LhaL a new leader may someLlmes be LesLed ouL
by one person or group on behalf of anoLher, as we shall see below.

1o lllusLraLe Lhls dlscusslon abouL LranslLlon l wlll offer a very personal accounL of
my own experlence. When l began my career as a leader ln resldenLlal chlld care
lL was sLlll Lhe Llme of Lhe 20-bed chlldren's home, wlLh a small army of domesLlc
sLaff and a smaller Lroop of chlld care sLaff, some of whom llved on slLe and very
few of whom were Lralned. 1he Lralnlng slLuaLlon has noL greaLly lmproved,
alLhough oLher Lhlngs have changed slgnlflcanLly.

lor me lL was a very dlfflculL Llme geLLlng esLabllshed as a leader - l was very
young and probably nalve, alLhough l dld have soclal work Lralnlng and some
relevanL experlence. Lven Lhough l had been a depuLy elsewhere and had
prevlously spenL some dlfflculL monLhs as 'acLlng' ln charge of anoLher home,
Lhere were many Lhlngs whlch l was slmply noL ready for when l was appolnLed
as 'SuperlnLendenL', as Lhe [ob was known ln Lhe 1980s. Some of Lhe sLaff had
16

been Lhere for many years and knew Lhe chlldren lnslde ouL (lL was a long-sLay
home), and had weaLhered Lhe sLorms of a perlod of greaL change. 1he prevlous
boss and hls wlfe (Lhere were sLlll marrled couples runnlng chlldren's homes aL
LhaL Llme) had been ln posL for over Len years, and when Lhey had lefL, Lhe nexL
appolnLmenL had noL worked ouL. Some of Lhe sLaff had become care-worn,
whlch had lefL Lhem lnsufflclenLly reflecLlve of Lhelr Lask and ln need of
refocuslng whlle a few oLhers were keen Lo make a new sLarL and evenLually we
were also able Lo sLarL maklng new appolnLmenLs. 1hls gradual process of
renewal enabled me Lo flnd my feeL and esLabllsh my auLhorlLy wlLh Lhe Leam.

Cver Lhe comlng monLhs Lhlngs gradually lmproved buL l was sLlll qulLe lacklng ln
confldence. 1he chlldren were aware of Lhls and were naLurally adepL aL maklng
Lhe Lenslons very evldenL by LesLlng me ouL ln fronL of oLher 'Lougher' sLaff and
klds. lL felL llke a Lrlal of sLrengLh, ln whlch l had Lo prove LhaL l was hard enough
Lo wlLhsLand anyLhlng LhaL was Lhrown aL me - qulLe llLerally so on some
occaslons. AL Lhe same Llme whaL l wanLed Lo esLabllsh was someLhlng qulLe
dlfferenL - a form of care ln whlch poslLlve relaLlonshlps would develop beLween
sLaff and chlldren and wlLhln Lhe sLaff Leam lLself. 1hls dldn'L seem Loo much Lo
ask, as lL was supposed Lo be a 'LherapeuLlc' home for very Lroubled chlldren, and
yeL lL felL very dlfflculL and even rlsky Lo Lry and esLabllsh such an eLhos,
especlally afLer such a perlod of dlsrupLlon and loss. 1here was a parLlcular
challenge lnvolved ln Lrylng Lo lead Lhls sorL of change of eLhos, because alLhough
whaL l wanLed Lo esLabllsh was a co-operaLlve and collaboraLlve seL of
relaLlonshlps, lL felL llke l mlghL have Lo be very asserLlve and even pushy Lo
esLabllsh lL, whlch seemed paradoxlcal. erhaps l was dlscoverlng how dlfflculL lL
was Lo esLabllsh an eLhos or organlsaLlonal culLure, when so many Lhlngs seemed
Lo be sLandlng ln Lhe way.

Meanwhlle Lhe domesLlc sLaff had Lhelr own vlews and had seen lL all before.
Many of Lhem were old enough Lo be my moLher, and one or Lwo Lhem even
17

perhaps my grandmoLher, so Lhey were noL usually pleased Lo be asked Lo do
Lhlngs by me, and greaLly preferred runnlng Lhelr own reglme and schedules as
Lhey had always done, however lnefflclenL and someLlmes lrrelevanL Lhls mlghL
seem Lo me. Where posslble l delegaLed Lhe managemenL of Lhe domesLlc sLaff
Lo a female colleague, whlch l now Lhlnk was probably a resulL of boLh cowardlce
and sexlsm on my parL, alLhough lL was also Lhe sLarL of my undersLandlng LhaL
dlfferenL Lasks can be achleved by dlfferenL people and LhaL Lhls needs Lo be
Laken lnLo accounL ln any delegaLlng.

1wo parLlcular lncldenLs of Lhe LesLlng and challenglng whlch l endured sLlck ouL
ln my mlnd. 1here came a Llme when l felL LhaL ln order Lo esLabllsh myself more
confldenLly l would need my own offlce, as unLll Lhen l had had Lo share Lhe
general offlce wlLh Lhe secreLary, wlLh sLaff escaplng for a coffee or clgareLLe, and
someLlmes wlLh a wayward chlld hauled ouL of Lrouble Lo be spoken wlLh. 1here
was no space for guaranLeed prlvacy or for Lhe sorL of lndlvldual and Leam
tblokloq whlch needed Lo happen. AlLhough lL was a large and rambllng bulldlng,
Lhere was noL much avallable room for an offlce anywhere near Lhe hearL of Lhe
acLlon where l felL l needed Lo be (raLher Lhan Lucked away aL Lhe end of a
corrldor). Cne space whlch l had my eye on was Lhe 'sewlng room', where Lhe
chlldren's cloLhes were lroned, folded and mended (noL washed, Lhls was done
elsewhere). lL was a pleasanL enough llLLle room whose only drawbacks were LhaL
lL had bars on Lhe wlndow, perhaps lefL over from Lhe Llme when Lhe safe may
have been kepL ln Lhere, and LhaL lL was occupled by one or Lwo of Lhe domesLlc
sLaff. neverLheless l felL lL was Lhe besL opLlon and l explalned Lhls Lo Lhe
domesLlcs, found Lhem anoLher space, and seL ouL abouL renovaLlng and re-
decoraLlng lL - and removlng Lhe bars! 1o have had a councll decoraLor do Lhe [ob
would probably have Laken some years Lo organlse and budgeL, so l would have
Lo do lL myself. AfLer a few days, when l was ln Lhere up a ladder wlLh a
palnLbrush, Lhe smallesL and frallesL of Lhe domesLlc sLaff, Mollle, puL her head
round Lhe door ln an apparenLly frlendly manner, saylng Coh LhaL's nlce dear -
18

you're a palnLer are you?". Cnly ln my spare Llme" l replled. very nlce, dear"
came Lhe reply, Lhen a pause, followed by: PlLler was a palnLer, you know", and
she lefL, leLLlng Lhe door shuL sllenLly behlnd her.

Lven aL LhaL Lender age, l recelved Lhe message qulLe clearly - my search for
lebeostoom was noL welcome, and would be reslsLed. lL was my lnLroducLlon Lo
Lhe amblvalence whlch people felL Lowards leadershlp, especlally when lL had
prevlously been mlsslng or problemaLlc: everybody knew lL was necessary for
everyone else, buL Lhey dld noL really wanL lL Lo lmplnge dlrecLly on Lhemselves.
lL was also a remlnder LhaL belng Lhe leader meanL belng a leader Lo everyone ln
Lhe place, noL [usL Lo Lhe chlldren and Lhe chlld care sLaff.

1he second lncldenL was more palnful and even humlllaLlng. erhaps Lhree
monLhs lnLo Lhe posL l was sLlll Lrylng Lo esLabllsh real auLhorlLy wlLh Lhe chlldren,
especlally Lhe ones who had been Lhere before me. 1helr llves had been
dreadfully dlsrupLed noL only by Lhelr orlglnal famlly Lraumas buL also by Lhe
upheavals ln Lhe chlldren's home. l knew all Lhls and felL l undersLood lL and
LhoughL l undersLood why Lhey needed Lo 'Lake lL ouL' on Lhe sLaff and especlally
on me ln my role as Lhe new flgurehead.

Cne wlnLer's evenlng Lhere was a power-cuL, whlch led rapldly Lo pandemonlum.
1he chlldren were frlghLened, especlally when one of Lhe older boys grabbed one
of Lhe candles whlch we were uslng for llghLlng and Lrled Lo seL llghL Lo Lhe
curLalns. ln an aLmosphere of panlc and conLaglous anxleLy, we declded Lo 'dlvlde
and rule' by Laklng Lhe chlldren ln small groups Lo dlfferenL parLs of Lhe house.

l Look on Lhe [ob of Lrylng Lo conLaln a small group of young chlldren ln compleLe
panlc, and broughL Lhem lnLo a small 'quleL room' upsLalrs and Lrled Lo encourage
Lhem Lo slL down and calm down. lnsLead Lhey Look Lhls opporLunlLy Lo venL all
Lhelr paln and fear by aLLacklng me, flrsL verbally and Lhen physlcally by Lhrowlng
19

books aL me. l felL lL was besL noL Lo reLallaLe or Lo make Lhlngs worse by loslng
my Lemper wlLh Lhem (Lhough wlLh hlndslghL Lo have lald down some very
asserLlve boundarles mlghL have been Lhe mosL approprlaLe Lhlng Lo do), and l
Lrled Lo sLand my ground as Lhey LaunLed me. 8uL l Loo was scared by now, and
overwhelmed wlLh Lhe whole slLuaLlon, and Lhe Lears sLarLed Lo appear on my
face Loo: l dldn'L break down ln Lears buL my dlsLress and unhapplness was clearly
showlng.

As Lhe llghLs came back on, one of Lhe boys noLlced Lhls, and polnLed lL ouL ln
apparenL Lrlumph aL flrsL - alLhough Lhls soon Lurned Lo anxleLy and perhaps
gullL, as he called ouL Lo Lhe oLhers LhaL Lhere were Lears on my face. lor Lhem
Lhere was someLhlng boLh appalllng buL also fasclnaLlng abouL Lhe facL LhaL Lhey
had 'made me cry'. 1hls only made me feel worse, of course, buL lL also meanL
someLhlng lmporLanL because lL was as lf we had all reached 'rock boLLom'
LogeLher, and could only come back from here LogeLher. 1he nexL mornlng ln a
sLaLe of despalr l rang an older and wlser frlend (a prevlous boss of mlne), who
reassured me LhaL one day l would be able Lo reflecL back on all Lhe learnlng
whlch l had achleved LhaL nlghL, whlch sounded falrly hollow aL Lhe Llme.

1he |eader as f|gurehead?
WhaL l learned from lncldenLs such as Lhese was LhaL whaL really maLLered ln my
role as leader was noL my quallflcaLlon or unlverslLy educaLlon, or Lhe books LhaL l
had read, buL Lhe lmmedlaLe reallLy LhaL l was ln Lhe cenLre of a seL of powerful
human re|at|onsh|ps ln whlch my own responses and acLlons would be 'read' by
oLhers, scruLlnlzed for boLh lmmedlaLe and symbollc slgnlflcance, and LhaL Lhese
relaLlonshlps were experlenced noL only aL Lhe pracLlcal and raLlonal level, buL
also aL Lhe emoLlonal levels of oLher lmporLanL and lnLense human relaLlonshlps
such as we normally experlence only ln our famlly or personal llfe. l was
somehow becomlng Lhe human flgurehead, expecLed Lo lead and Lake all Lhe
20

knocks, Lo lnsplre and moLlvaLe oLher people, even (or perhaps especlally) when l
was feellng anxlous or depressed myself.

1he noLlon of a f|gurehead ls lnLeresLlng - Lhe leader does have Lo play Lhls role
aL Llmes alLhough lL can be an lsolaLlng and rlsky one, and aL Llmes qulLe
lnapproprlaLe. ln Lhe 'valhalla' museum ln Lhe 1resco Abbey Cardens on Lhe lsles
of Scllly Lhere ls an lmpresslve collecLlon of shlps' flgureheads - Lhese have
largely been salvaged from shlps wrecked on Lhe Lreacherous rocks around Lhose
lslands. 1he flgureheads have been resLored and repalnLed buL Lhey sLlll show
slgns of Lhe damage and baLLerlng whlch Lhey rouLlnely encounLer rlghL up aL Lhe
fronL of Lhe shlp on Lhe rocklesL of voyages. Powever, Lhe facL LhaL Lhese
flgureheads from wrecked shlps have evenLually found Lhemselves Lhus resLored
and dlsplayed Lells lLs own sLory - havlng a flgurehead Lo Lake all Lhe punlshmenL
ls no guaranLee of safe passage, elLher for Lhe crew, Lhe cargo or Lhe flgurehead.
Lven Lhough Lhere may be some romanLlc appeal ln Lhe noLlon of belng a
'flgurehead' leader, lL may be beLLer for new and asplrlng leaders Lo avold Lhe
self-deluslon whlch may accompany such an lmage. lL may also be beLLer for Lhe
organlsaLlon LhaL Lhe leader ls able Lo work Lhrough oLhers Lo read slgns of
danger ln advance and Lo help sLeer clear of Lhem, raLher Lhan blunderlng on lnLo
Lhem! l have seen more Lhan one excellenL resldenLlal unlL crash herolcally on Lo
Lhe rocks parLly because Lhey had noL spoLLed Lhe rocks or reallsed how
hazardous Lhey were.

lor mosL leaders, a more approprlaLe lmage Lhan belng a flgurehead would
probably be one of placlng yourself aL Lhe heart of the system, ready and able Lo
engage wlLh people aL whaLever level ls approprlaLe, wheLher wlLh Lhe chlldren
Lhemselves, wlLh Lhelr parenLs or oLher carers, or wlLh Lhe sLaff, as well as wlLh
Lhe exLernal conLacLs such as llne managemenL and oLher professlonals. As a
managemenL sysLem evolves around you, many of Lhese conLacLs can be worked
wlLh and developed by oLhers on your behalf as Lasks and duLles are delegaLed,
21

buL you are sLlll accounLable for Lhem, and LhaL ls whaL l was noL fully prepared
for when l Look on Lhe role. erhaps you cannoL be prepared for LhaL ln advance
- you have Lo experlence lL aL flrsL hand, and dlscover whaL lL feels llke for
yourself.

A |eadersh|p team
lor me lL all came LogeLher once l flnally had a depuLy wlLh whom l could work ln
a genulne parLnershlp of respecL and LrusL, so LhaL l was able Lo rely on hlm boLh
ln whaL he sald Lo me abouL Lhe sLaff Leam and also ln whaL he sald Lo Lhem
abouL me - noL LhaL he would always 'Loe Lhe llne', buL LhaL hls communlcaLlons
could be LrusLed and respecLed on all sldes.

lL ls probably lnevlLable LhaL some of whaL a leader needs Lo do wlll be
unpopular: asklng people Lo face unpalaLable LruLhs abouL Lhe fuLure or Lo reflecL
on where Lhelr work may have gone wrong, or perhaps Lrylng Lo lnLroduce a
change whlch people nelLher undersLand nor wanL. ln Lhese slLuaLlons Lhe
relaLlonshlp of respecL and LrusL beLween leader and Leam can become sLralned
as people may become resenLful or undermlnlng, or may reLallaLe wlLh
unLhlnklng responses. WhaL ls needed ls ofLen a go-beLween, someone who ls
prepared Lo fosLer good wlll on boLh sldes and Lo promoLe beLLer communlcaLlon
when lL ls aL rlsk of breaklng down. 1hls ls where a good depuLy ls lnvaluable, Lo
carry Lhe Lorch of good communlcaLlon beLween all sldes and Lo foresLall Lhe
posslblllLles of mlsLrusL and recrlmlnaLlon. ln facL a depuLy ls also a leader and
uses many leadershlp skllls alLhough ln dlfferenL ways from Lhe appolnLed leader.

Powever, even a good depuLy ls noL enough - Lhese days alLhough Lhe number of
resldenLs ln each home ls smaller, Lhe number of sLaff ls generally much larger,
and Lhere ls generally Lhe need for a leadershlp Leam wlLhln a home: Lhe head,
Lhe depuLy, and a number of Leam leaders or oLher senlor sLaff. 1he role of Lhe
leader wlLhln Lhls Leam wlll also be one of leadershlp - group leadershlp, whlch
22

requlres anoLher seL of skllls, lncludlng Lhe ablllLy Lo 'brlng on' some people and
Lo hold some back lf Lhey are Lreadlng on oLhers' Loes. l know of one large
organlsaLlon, a resldenLlal school, ln whlch Lhe leadershlp Leam meeLs every
mornlng aL 9 o'clock afLer Lhe chlldren are ln class, and anoLher ln whlch Lhe
heads of several small unlLs on Lhe same slLe come LogeLher every day Lo confer
and compare noLes, under Lhe leadershlp of Lhe head of Lhe whole organlsaLlon.
Smaller homes may noL have Lhe resources for such meeLlngs, buL Lhe value ls
clear - lL promoLes whaL ls known as 'dlsLrlbuLed leadershlp' ln whlch power ls
shared raLher Lhan excesslvely cenLrallsed on a slngle leader. We wlll see oLher
examples of Lhls approach ln operaLlon laLer ln Lhls paper: lLs value ls LhaL lL
spreads Lhe responslblllLles of leadershlp amongsL a senlor Leam, alLhough lL ln
no way lessens Lhe plvoLal role of Lhe formal leader.

Summary
1hrough looklng aL Lhe LranslLlon lnLo a leadershlp role, Lhe message of Lhls flrsL
chapLer has been LhaL whaL a leader needs Lo do ls Lo esLabllsh and develop a
culLure ln whlch people can work LogeLher Lo geL Lhe work done, and ln whlch
Lhey are clear abouL whaL Lhelr Lask ls. (lor a shorL lnLroducLlon Lo Lhls Lhlnklng
see Clough eL al, 2000). l have shown how dlfflculL Lhls may be, and even Lhough
Lhls paper ls focused on lndlvldual leadershlp, l have emphaslzed Lhe value of
esLabllshlng a leadershlp Leam raLher Lhan aLLempLlng Lo be a flgurehead leader.

keferences and further read|ng:
Ward, A. (2003) 8ulldlng a 1eam. ln: 5oclol cote Moooqemeot lo ltoctlce, edlLed
by !aneL Seden and !lll 8eynolds. 8ucklngham, Cpen unlverslLy ress

8urLon, !. (1997) nooJbook of Moooqloq keslJeotlol cote. London, 8ouLledge.

8olllnson, 8. WhaL a long sLrange Lrlp lL's been. ln: Ward, A., kaslnskl, k., ooley,
!. and WorLhlngLon, A. (ed) (2003) 1betopeotlc commooltles fot cbllJteo ooJ
oooq leople. London, !esslca klngsley.

23

Clough 8, 8ullock 8, Ward A, (2000) wbot wotks lo keslJeotlol cbllJ cote
hLLp://www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc/ncercc20pracLlce20documenLs/whaLworkslnrc
csummary_ncbhlghllghL.pdf

24

2. DLIINI1ICNS AND 1nLCkILS CI LLADLkSnI

Pavlng begun by looklng aL Lhe LranslLlon lnLo leadershlp we wlll now back-Lrack
Lo look aL whaL leaders acLually do, and Lo conslder some lnfluenLlal ldeas abouL
leadershlp. 1hls wlll noL be a comprehenslve accounL, slmply an lnLroducLlon Lo
some of Lhe maln lssues and ldeas whlch we wlll be uslng ln Lhe followlng
chapLers. Some of Lhls may be famlllar ground - we wlll look aL ldeas abouL
'lnfluence and moLlvaLlon' and aL change and vlslon, Lhen examlne Lhe
conLroverslal ldea of charlsmaLlc leadershlp and lLs rlsks, seLLlng Lhls ln Lhe
conLexL of oLher common ldeas abouL leadershlp 'sLyle'. We wlll also look aL Lhe
dlsLlncLlon made beLween 'LransacLlonal' and 'LransformaLlonal' leadershlp.

Why are |eaders necessary?
Several research papers (e.g. Slnclalr & Clbbs 1998) and lnspecLlon reporLs
lndlcaLe clearly LhaL good leadershlp ls essenLlal for successful resldenLlal care,
whlch make sense aL an lnLulLlve level - buL why should lL be so? WhaL ls lL LhaL
good leaders do whlch makes such a crlLlcal dlfference?

We can perhaps answer Lhls more easlly by flrsL Lhlnklng abouL whaL may happen
ln Lhe obseoce of leadershlp - lf a chlldren's home had no ldenLlflable leader.
Whlle Lhere mlghL be some novelLy Lo Lhls slLuaLlon aL flrsL, we could expecL LhaL
Lhlngs would soon become dlsorganlsed and even chaoLlc. ln Lhls scenarlo
everybody mlghL have Lhelr own ldea abouL how Lhlngs should be done buL Lhey
would noL necessarlly co-ordlnaLe Lhelr efforLs wlLh each oLher, people who dld
noL conform wlLh group norms or esLabllshed pracLlce mlghL be nelLher
challenged nor broughL Lo accounL, or lf so Lhls mlghL happen ln an lnformal or
unauLhorlsed way. eople mlghL flounder ln an absence of a sense of dlrecLlon
and purpose ln Lhelr work and Lhey mlghL experlence exLra sLress because Lhey
25

were lacklng ln supporL and guldance, and flnally people's moLlvaLlon and loyalLy
mlghL weaken because Lhey felL less personally Lled-ln Lo Lhe organlsaLlon.

ln such clrcumsLances Lhe organlsaLlon would noL hold LogeLher effecLlvely for
long, alLhough lL mlghL soon happen LhaL unofflclal leaders would emerge, whlch
mlghL be no soluLlon aL all, because Lhelr auLhorlLy would noL be sancLloned or
conLrolled from above. 1he consequences for Lhe young people mlghL be serlous,
lf Lhey felL sLaff were noL lnLeresLed ln Lhem or engaged ln helplng Lhem - and
Lhey mlghL express Lhelr feellngs Lhrough a varleLy of dlfflculL and challenglng
behavlour. ln a sense Lhe lmplled challenge would be Lo Lhe sLaff, as lf Lhe young
people were saylng Lo Lhem: 'uon'L forgeL abouL us, we're lmporLanL and we
need looklng afLer'.

WhaL ls perhaps mosL noLlceable abouL Lhe scenarlo [usL descrlbed ls LhaL lL ls of
course all abouL Lhe people lnvolved and how Lhey all affecL each oLher, and Lhe
lmporLance of Lhe place belng held LogeLher Lhrough good communlcaLlon. 1hls
hlghllghLs Lhe key role of leadershlp ln worklng wlLh people Lo geL Lhlngs done
and Lhe need Lo know when lL ls rlghL Lo lead from Lhe fronL, alongslde and from
behlnd. Learnlng from slLuaLlonal leadershlp we know LhaL Lhe sklll of leadershlp
lnvolves knowlng when Lo dlrecL, coach, menLor and faclllLaLe. Leadershlp ls a
relaLlonal sklll.

ln facL lL ls surprlslngly common for Leams Lo flnd Lhemselves elLher wlLhouL a
leader or wlLh some lack of clarlLy as Lo who Lhe leader ls or how much of a
leader Lhey are. AparL from Lhose Lemporary slLuaLlons ln whlch a depuLy or
oLher senlor person may flnd Lhemselves 'acLlng up' lnLo Lhe role, Lhere are oLher
Llmes when a leader of one place ls asked Lo sLand ln Lemporarlly ln anoLher, or
when a sub-Leam ls expecLed Lo be 'led' by a Lemporary leader. AL anoLher level
we do someLlmes flnd leaders who are vlrLually absenL because Lhey are elLher
lneffecLlve or Lhey carry llLLle or no auLhorlLy - ln pollLlcs Lhe phrase used ls: 'ln
26

offlce buL noL ln power'. 1hls ls a rlsky slLuaLlon because of Lhe dangers of Lhe
scenarlo descrlbed above.

WhaL Lhls dlscusslon hlghllghLs ls LhaL a leaderless organlsaLlon ls noL vlable for
long, and LhaL leaders Lherefore do play a crlLlcal role ln holdlng organlsaLlons
LogeLher, and especlally holdlng people LogeLher - and Lhls ls [usL as Lrue of
chlldren's homes as lL ls of banks, fooLball Leams and any oLher organlsaLlon. We
wlll reLurn laLer Lo Lhls cenLral Lheme of 'holdlng'.

What do |eaders do?
lf we sLay for a momenL wlLh Lhe lmage of Lhe leaderless organlsaLlon buL we
now lmaglne a new leader walklng ln and Laklng on Lhe leadershlp role - whaL
would we expecL Lhem Lo acLually do? Cne meLaphor whlch ls someLlmes used ls
of Lhe leader 'Laklng up Lhe relns', as lf Lhe organlsaLlon was a Leam of horses
who are Lo be harnessed LogeLher Lo pull Lhe organlsaLlon along, waLched, gulded
and sLeered by Lhe leader. 1hls ls noL alLogeLher unhelpful as an lmage, desplLe
lLs obvlous llmlLaLlons, because lL does suggesL LhaL leadershlp lnvolves
encouragemenL, knowlng Lhe Lerraln, one's dlrecLlon and chooslng Lhe besL
rouLe, as well as harnesslng Lhe naLural energles of Lhe Leam. Cn Lhe oLher hand
Lhls lmage does noL really allow for Lhe consLanL human lnLeracLlon lnvolved -
Lhe besL Leam of horses slmply follows orders as a group, whereas Lhe mosL
effecLlve Leam of people wlll lnLeracL amongsL Lhemselves and wlLh Lhe leader
and Lhese lnLeracLlons wlll conLrlbuLe very slgnlflcanLly Lo Lhe effecLlveness of Lhe
whole Leam.

Orqonisinq
1he language whlch ls usually used for Lhe leadershlp role focuses on Lasks such
as lnfluenclng, moLlvaLlng and organlslng. Cf Lhese acLlvlLles lL ls easlesL Lo speclfy
Lhe 'organlslng' Lasks whlch leaders ln chlldren's homes acLually carry ouL,
lncludlng for example:
27

- brlnglng people LogeLher ln meeLlngs Lo dlscuss and agree upon whaL needs
dolng and how Lhlngs are Lo be done,
- meeLlng wlLh lndlvlduals and small groups of sLaff Lo supervlse Lhelr work,
- meeLlng wlLh young people and Lhelr famllles as parL of Lhelr ongolng
casework
LssenLlal Lhough Lhese planned meeLlngs are, however, Lhey only Lell parL of Lhe
sLory. Cn Lhe one hand leaders also do a greaL deal of admlnlsLraLlve work ln
supporL of Lhe professlonal Lask, and some leaders become so preoccupled wlLh
Lhls aspecL of Lhe work LhaL Lhey may neglecL Lhe professlonal Lask. Cn Lhe oLher
hand leaders also need Lo be vlslble and 'presenL' ln Lhe unlL, playlng a slgnlflcanL
role ln Lhe everyday llfe of Lhe home, so LhaL Lhey remaln 'real' Lo Lhe young
people and sLaff aL all levels, raLher Lhan belng seen as a dlsLanL auLhorlLy flgure.
llnally leaders also do a loL of work exLernally Lo Lhe unlL, meeLlng wlLh senlor
managers and oLher professlonals, ofLen focuslng on longer Lerm pollcy and
sLraLegy. Some of Lhls work wlll focus on fuLure change and adapLaLlon or re-
conslderlng Lhe Lask and dlrecLlon of Lhe unlL.

Prioritisinq
ln Lhe llghL of all Lhese posslble areas of work, an essenLlal requlremenL of
leaders ls Lhe ablllLy Lo assess and prlorlLlse Lhelr responslblllLles, ensurlng LhaL
Lhey keep a reasonable balance beLween Lhe varlous elemenLs. Some Lasks can
be delegaLed, Lhough none of Lhem can safely be dlsmlssed from Lhe leader's
mlnd. 1he leader Lherefore has Lo develop Lhe capaclLy Lo keep all Lhese areas of
responslblllLy ln mlnd and Lo conLlnually revlew Lhelr own prlorlLles and areas of
focus.
xomp/e
lt wos o bosy Joy lo tbe oJolesceot oolt. ooe of tbe yoooq people boJ
oot qooe to scbool becoose be wos otteoJloq bls cose tevlew lo tbe
oolt tbot motoloq. ne wos feelloq vety teose ooJ opptebeoslve oboot
tbls meetloq, ooJ boJ boJ o ttoobleJ olqbt keeploq some of tbe
28

otbet yoooq people owoke by sbootloq obsceoltles oboot bls step-
fotbet. 1bete wete beotloq eoqloeets lo tbe bollJloq setvlcloq tbe
ceottol beotloq system ooJ mokloq o lot of oolse. Meoowblle o
seolot stoff meetloq to Jebote tbe lmplemeototloo of o oew pollcy
oo pbyslcol testtolot wos lotettopteJ wltb tbe oews tbot tbe cook
boJ beeo tokeo lll ooJ tbe oqeocy teplocemeot woolJ oot ottlve ootll
lote motoloq. 1be stoff wete oosettleJ ooJ tbe leoJet wos wotkloq
oot wblcb woy to toto. .

1hls ls noL an unLyplcal day ln Lhe llfe of a resldenLlal unlL, and even Lhough Lhere
are no especlally dramaLlc lncldenLs, Lhlngs are happenlng aL many levels and lL ls
noL only Lhe sLaff buL also Lhe leader who has Lo conslder Lhelr prlorlLles, maklng
declslons as Lo whaL ls mosL urgenL, or mosL feaslble. 1he leader's dlsLlncLlve role
ls Lo Lake a 'readlng' of Lhe unfoldlng slLuaLlon, lncludlng perhaps compeLlng or
confllcLlng ldeas abouL where Lhe prlorlLy should lle, and Lo help Lhe Leam Lo
declde and acL on Lhese prlorlLles. lL requlres sLraLeglc and LacLlcal Lhlnklng and
acLlon of Lhe long, medlum and shorL Lerm wlLh an appreclaLlon LhaL Lhe
'llfespace' for a leader ls deeper, broader and longer and wlLh a mulLlpllclLy of
meanlngs surpasslng Lhose usually experlenced ln oLher roles.

lnf/uencinq ond motivotinq
1he acLlvlLles of organlslng and prlorlLlslng are relaLlvely easy Lo speclfy
compared Lo Lhe acLlvlLles lnvolved ln lnfluenclng and moLlvaLlng people. Pere
our focus changes from wbot leaders do Lo bow Lhey do lL. Some of Lhe
lnfluenclng role wlll be achleved Lhrough Lhe process of modelllng - ln whlch Lhe
leader's effecL ls felL Lhrough an ofLen-unspoken funcLlon of acLlng or speaklng ln
a way whlch wlll be experlenced by Lhe sLaff as a model for Lhelr own pracLlce
xomp/e
lo tbe exomple obove, ooe of tbe stoff become oqltoteJ oboot tbe
ctlsls lo tbe kltcbeo ooJ ptoposeJ tbot tbe pollcy meetloq sboolJ be
29

obooJooeJ so tbot tbe stoff coolJ osslst lo ptepotloq loocb. 1be
leoJet felt tbot tbls wos oo oooecessoty Jlstoptloo wblcb woolJ
lotetfete wltb esseotlol ptoqtess oo tbe testtolot lssoe, ooJ foooJ
oootbet solotloo to tbe mlssloq cook by cootoctloq o fotmet
employee wbo wos wlllloq to stooJ lo ot sbott ootlce to belp oot. lo
tokloq tbls cootse of octloo, tbe leoJet wos tbos moJellloq oot ooly o
spltlt of oJoptoblllty ooJ tesootcefoloess bot olso tbe lmpottooce of
stlckloq to tosk totbet tboo beloq blowo off cootse by evety oew
cbolleoqe.

1he lssues of lnfluence and moLlvaLlon are closely llnked, and Lhey are boLh
affecLed by Lhe degree and level aL whlch Lhe leader can engage wlLh people. lL ls
anoLher Lrulsm LhaL you won'L lnfluence people unless you demonsLraLe LhaL you
are open Lo belng lnfluenced by Lhem, and effecLlve leaders are genulnely
lnLeresLed ln hearlng and uslng oLhers' ldeas, even lf Lhese are noL always ln full
accord wlLh Lhelr own. AnoLher lmporLanL anclenL lesson ln Lhe power of
lnfluence comes from Lhe parable of Lhe sun and Lhe wlnd compeLlng Lo geL Lhe
coaL off a man's back. 1he wlnd howls and roars wlLh rage, uslng some 'heavy-
end' lnfluence Lechnlques, buL Lo no avall - Lhe man [usL cllngs on Lo hls coaL all
Lhe more. Meanwhlle Lhe sun slmply beams wlLh such warmLh LhaL Lhe man
dlscovers hls own moLlvaLlon Lo ad[usL hls experlence - and wllllngly removes Lhe
coaL. 1hls may sound a slmpllsLlc approach, buL lL ls surprlslng how ofLen some
real and genulne warmLh and encouragemenL can moLlvaLe people - buL also
how some leaders never seem Lo Lhlnk of Lrylng Lhls approach.

chonqe ond vision
As we have already seen, an lmporLanL componenL ln leadershlp ls Lhe ablllLy Lo
envlsage chonqe and lmprovemenL, and Lo promoLe ways of achlevlng such
change.

30

ln organlsaLlons Lhere ls always change: for example, new people, new evenLs,
new pollcles, and ln resldenLlal care organlsaLlons Lhere wlll be new referrals and
admlsslons, deparLures, unexpecLed evenLs and crlses, as well as Lhe changes ln
Lhe exLernal world whlch may affecL Lhe type of new referral, or Lhe woy ln whlch
referrals wlll come or need Lo be handled. AL anoLher level Lhere may be changes
whlch may even affecL Lhe conLlnued exlsLence of Lhe unlL because of pollLlcal or
economlc shlfLs whlch affecL pollcy. Change ls noL only exLernally-drlven,
however: lL also comes from wlLhln, and mosL leaders wlll wanL Lo lnLroduce Lhelr
own changes aL varlous levels, perhaps Lo lmprove Lhe servlce or develop some
aspecL of pracLlce, or Lhey may wanL Lo encourage colleagues Lo propose and
lnlLlaLe change.

Slnce all Lhls change ls llkely Lo lmpacL upon Lhe Leam and lLs work ln many ways,
Lhe role of Lhe leader wlll be Lo promoLe Lhe besL ouLcome of change, whlch wlll
ofLen depend on anLlclpaLlng and preparlng for change, and ad[usLlng lLs
demands Lo co-ordlnaLe wlLh currenL pracLlce and concerns. lL wlll also lnvolve
supporLlng people Lhrough Lhe process of change, whlch does noL always run
smooLhly and whlch ofLen requlres lndlvlduals Lo ad[usL Lhelr pracLlce and
someLlmes Lhelr dearly-held bellefs. Worklng wlLh change lnvolves focuslng on
Lhe fuLure wlLhouL lgnorlng elLher currenL reallLles or lessons from Lhe pasL.

1hls focus on Lhe fuLure ls someLlmes referred Lo ln Lhe leadershlp llLeraLure as
'vlslon', alLhough Lhls ls noL necessarlly a helpful meLaphor lf lL ls Laken Lo lmply
LhaL lL ls ooly Lhe leader who needs vlslon. When Lhe llLeraLure Lalks abouL
'vlslon' ln leadershlp Lhe lmpresslon ls someLlmes creaLed LhaL Lhls vlslon wlll
somehow emanaLe almosL mysLlcally from Lhe leader and LhaL ln a bllndlng flash
Lhe vells of lgnorance or confuslon wlll be llfLed from everyone's eyes.

noLhlng could be furLher from Lhe LruLh. WhaL 'vlslon' really lnvolves ln Lhls
conLexL ls Lhe ablllLy Lo help otbet people see whaL needs dolng and why, and Lo
31

'envlsage' Lhe fuLure. 1hls lnvolves casLlng Lhe collecLlve organlsaLlonal mlnd
forward Lo lmaglne how Lhe organlsaLlon or unlL needs Lo develop, or where lL
needs Lo change and adapL, whlle slmulLaneously worklng wlLh oLhers Lo check
ouL LhaL vlslon, as well as consulLlng oLher people for Lhelr vlslon and someLlmes
worklng LogeLher Lowards a workable compromlse on whaLever approach seems
mosL llkely Lo work. lf lL ls only Lhe leader who has Lhe vlslon, everyone else may
be bllnded or prevenLed from seelng - somehow Lhe leader needs Lo work wlLh
Lhe Leam lnslde and ouL Lo share and develop Lhe vlslon.
xomp/e
lo o looq-stoy oolt fot oJolesceots, o ptoposol wos pot fotwotJ ftom
beoJ offlce to locteose tbe occopoocy by two beJs, wblcb woolJ
lovolve cooslJetoble bollJloq wotk ooJ oo locteose lo stoffloq levels.
At fltst tbls ptoposol met wltb teslstooce ftom botb stoff ooJ tbe
exlstloq teslJeots, wbo felt tbot tbe Jlstoptloo lovolveJ woolJ be
Jesttoctlve of wbot boJ come to feel llke o sofe ooJ sbelteteJ
eovltoomeot. 1be leoJet loltlolly wotkeJ wltb botb qtoops
sepototely, stoff ooJ teslJeots, feelloq tbot tbe ooxletles of tbe two
qtoops wete becomloq coofloteJ ooJ olmost feeJloq off eocb otbet.
As eocb qtoop beqoo to tecoqolse tbe posslblllty of posltlve
ootcomes ftom tbe cbooqe, bowevet, tbey stotteJ wotkloq mote
coosttoctlvely towotJs tbe cbooqe wblcb tbey coolJ oow eovlsoqe os
posltlve.
Leaders Lherefore need Lo be confldenL and consLrucLlve wlLh change, nelLher
reslsLlng lL because lL upseLs a smooLh operaLlon nor always looklng for furLher
change ln a resLless quesLlon for 'lmprovemenL'. lL requlres an appreclaLlon of Lhe
need for boLh equlllbrlum and dynamlsm. SomeLlmes sLandlng sLlll ls a prlorlLy ln
lLs own rlghL, and one whlch requlres conslderable efforL and deLermlnaLlon.

32

Leadersh|p Sty|e
Much has been wrlLLen abouL leadershlp sLyle, ofLen wlLh Lhe lmpllcaLlon LhaL lf a
leader can [usL come up wlLh Lhe 'rlghL' sLyle, all wlll be well. ln facL Lhls
assumpLlon ls now largely dlscredlLed, mosLly because of Lhe huge range of
varlables ln any organlsaLlon - Lhe dlverse personallLles ln any Leam, Lhe broader
soclal and organlsaLlonal conLexL ln whlch Lhe Leam ls locaLed, and so on. AL Lhe
same Llme lL ls clear LhaL aL Lhe far ends of Lhe specLrum Lhere are 'wrong' sLyles
- sLralghL arrogance ls never approprlaLe, and an exLreme lalsser-falre approach
rapldly degeneraLes lnLo Lhe 'lneffecLlve leader' paLLern we saw above.

Common sense also Lells us LhaL Lhe same leader may noL be equally effecLlve ln
dlfferenL seLLlngs - we only have Lo look aL Lhe varlable forLunes of fooLball
managers Lo learn LhaL lesson. 1he hearLy or bombasLlc approach whlch worked
ln one Leam ln a lower dlvlslon may Lurn ouL Lo be compleLely lneffecLlve wlLh a
Leam of arroganL supersLars ln a hlgh dlvlslon, and Lhe 'lnsplraLlonal' leader who
brlngs ouL Lhe besL ln a close-knlL successful Leam may sLruggle Lo con[ure Lhe
same effecL ln a dlvlded or depressed Leam whlch has been Lhrough a sLrlng of
losses.

AL Lhe same Llme lL ls undenlable LhaL personallLy or leadershlp sLyle ls ooe of Lhe
resources whlch a leader has Lo deploy. WhaL effecLlve leaders do ls Lo maLch
Lhelr sLyle Lo Lhe slLuaLlon as lL evolves: ldenLlfylng, for example, when Lhe Leam
mlghL beneflL from an asserLlve or even confronLaLlonal approach and when lL
may be beLLer Lo sLand back a blL, LoleraLlng dlfference and walLlng for consensus
or undersLandlng Lo emerge. 1o work ln Lhls way requlres genulne confldence
and maLurlLy, and depends upon Lhe leader noL only readlng Lhe slLuaLlon well,
buL also knowlng hlm- or herself well enough Lo be able Lo ad[usL Lhelr approach
as necessary. 1hls ls slmllar Lo Lhe ldea of Lhe 'use of self' ln professlonal pracLlce,
whlch lnvolves knowlng your sLrengLhs and weaknesses and belng able Lo draw
upon Lhose aspecLs of your personallLy whlch maLch whaL Lhe slLuaLlon demands.
33

lL ls also lmporLanL LhaL Lhe leader should noL be allowed Lo develop an over-
powerful self-bellef, and LhaL reallLy-checks should always be bullL ln. Some of
Lhls can be achleved Lhrough a llne-managemenL sysLem, buL because LhaL ls all
parL of Lhe same sLrucLure Lhere ls a rlsk LhaL lL wlll noL be sufflclenLly ob[ecLlve,
Lhe leader should Lherefore also have regular consu|tat|on wlLh an exLernal
person who can provlde a foll and check agalnsL whaLever deluslons Lhey may
sLarL Lo evolve. We wlll reLurn Lo Lhls Lheme ln a laLer chapLer.

chorismo
ln Lhe conLexL of leadershlp sLyles, Lhe llLeraLure also Lalks of chorismo ln
leadershlp, and Lhls can be seen as boLh an essenLlal and a hlghly rlsky elemenL ln
Lhe role. lf by charlsma we mean Lhe personal quallLles needed Lo lnsplre and
encourage people, Lo lead by example and provlde moLlvaLlonal leadershlp, Lhen
some elemenL of lL ls essenLlal, because wlLhouL lL Lhe personal bonds beLween
members and leaders wlll noL be formed. A leader who cannoL lnsplre or even
really encourage people wlll noL geL far, as we have seen, and Lhe quallLy of Lhe
work wlll remaln dull and unresponslve. 8uL lf charlsma Llps over lnLo arrogance,
or lnLo overweenlng self-bellef and Lhe arblLrary and self-[usLlfylng exerclse of
personal power, Lhen of course lL ls dangerous (Plnshelwood). Some of Lhe mosL
problemaLlc slLuaLlons ln resldenLlal seLLlngs, [usL as ln oLher organlsaLlons, have
sLemmed from Lhe effecLs of Lhe unchecked power of a charlsmaLlc leader.

Charlsma ls an eluslve concepL Lo pln down, and Lurns ouL Lo have pollLlcal and
culLural 'baggage', as l learned durlng a consulLancy vlslL Lo 8ussla ln Lhe early
1990s when we had greaL dlfflculLy ln flndlng an agreed LranslaLlon of Lhls Lerm
when dlscusslng leadershlp sLyles ln resldenLlal servlces. lrom our WesLern
perspecLlve our reference polnL for a charlsmaLlc pollLlcal leader was Mlkhall
Corbachev, whom we percelved from Lhe WesL as hlghly charlsmaLlc ln Lhe sense
of havlng charm, drlve and Lhe ablllLy Lo lnsplre people, alLhough lL Lurned ouL
34

LhaL desplLe Lhese quallLles, whlch Lhey vlewed as superflclal or hypocrlLlcal, he
was desplsed by mosL ordlnary 8usslans. CharlsmaLlc flgures ln uk pollLlcs are
slmllar, adored by some and loaLhed by oLhers, hugely forceful personallLles who
can exerclse enormous power, even on Lhose who oppose Lhelr vlews.
Charlsma, Lhen, ls noL a sLralghLforward or 'ob[ecLlve' quallLy - lL may refer more
Lo a behavlour paLLern drlven by personal moLlves Lhan Lo a consclously adopLed
'leadershlp sLyle'.
xomp/e
lo ooe teslJeotlol oolt tbe leoJet, Coty, wos omolpteseot,
ftepoeotly wotkloq ooexpecteJ extto boots oo oo eveoloq sblft ooJ
ot weekeoJs. ne wos ooJoobteJly qlfteJ lo commoolcotloo wltb
yoooq people, ooJ lf tbete wos ttooble btewloq lo o qtoop be wos
ofteo oble to cojole tbem losteoJ loto o qome of soooket ot slmply
o cbot ovet coffee. nowevet, tbls wos oot olwoys belpfol fot tbe
otbet stoff, wbo sometlmes felt by-posseJ by Coty ooJ eveo
JeskllleJ os bls eosy-qoloq cbotm JlJ oot tesolve teosloos so mocb
os postpooe tbem ootll oftet be boJ left tbe bollJloq (epoolly
oopteJlctobly), wbeteopoo ooy sobmetqeJ Jlfflcoltles betweeo tbe
yoooq people woolJ te-sotfoce, petbops lote lo tbe eveoloq wbeo
evetyooe wos tlteJ ooJ tbe coofllcts mlqbt be botJet to tesolve.

ln Lhe example above, Cary's personal sLyle rlsked undermlnlng oLher Leam
members and maklng Lhelr work ln some respecLs harder. eople found lL hard Lo
challenge Cary because hls persona was so much bullL around belng 'Lhe nlce
guy', and 'everybody's frlend'. lL was only afLer a laLe-nlghL lncldenL ln whlch a
young person became vlolenL Lo anoLher sLaff member LhaL people felL more able
Lo challenge Cary's leadershlp sLyle. AfLer some subsequenL developmenLal work
faclllLaLed by an exLernal Lralner Lhe dynamlcs shlfLed very poslLlvely. Cary now
began Lo focus hls efforLs more on supporLlng and developlng Lhe sLaff lnsLead of
feellng he needed Lo work dlrecLly wlLh Lhe young people so much. lL Lurned ouL
35

(as ls ofLen Lhe case) LhaL underlylng Cary's apparenL 'charlsma' was a greaLer
anxleLy Lhan anyone reallsed abouL leadlng Lhe Leam and developlng Lhelr
ablllLles. 1hls had led hlm Lo prefer whaL felL llke Lhe 'safer ground' of dlrecL work
wlLh Lhe young people, perhaps ln Lhe hope LhaL hls colleagues would plck up
some of hls undenlable ablllLy ln LhaL fleld.

1ronsoctiono/ & 1ronsformotiono/ Leodership
A more recenL concepL and one whlch has become qulLe lnfluenLlal ls Lhe
dlsLlncLlon beLween Lwo sLyles of leadershlp characLerlsed as Lhe LransacLlonal
and Lhe LransformaLlonal. 1hese Lwo are someLlmes plLLed agalnsL each oLher,
wlLh Lhe message LhaL Lhe laLLer ls Lhe preferred model, alLhough lL ls clear LhaL
any organlsaLlon needs boLh. 1ransacLlonal leadershlp ls usually seen as more
concerned wlLh sLrucLures, LargeLs and sysLems - lndeed Lawler (2006) equaLes lL
wlLh Lhe more LradlLlonal concerns of 'managemenL' compared wlLh Lhe more
person-focused concerns of LransformaLlonal leadershlp.

1ransformaLlonal leadershlp, orlglnaLlng ln Lhe works of uS wrlLers !ames 8urns
and laLer 8ernard 8ass emphaslzes Lhe moral elemenL of leadershlp by movlng
beyond slmply geLLlng people Lo do whaL you wanL Lhem Lo do ln Lhe way you
wanL Lhem Lo do lL, and Lranscendlng everyday needs and expecLaLlons by almlng
aL hlgher or deeper goals. lL's qulLe close Lo whaL used Lo be called Lhe 'vlslon
Lhlng', and lL does draw aLLenLlon Lo Lhe leadershlp role of lnsplrlng people Lo
Lhlnk and plan beyond Lhe lmmedlaLe and Lhe everyday, and Lo Lhe Lechnlques of
personal lnfluence and moLlvaLlon ofLen based on consclously acqulred aspecLs of
'leadershlp sLyle'.

Whlle Lhere ls clearly a loL Lo be sald for Lhe moLlvaLlonal and lnsplraLlonal
elemenLs of leadershlp whlch Lhe LransformaLlonal model promoLes, on furLher
reflecLlon we may flnd LhaL slmllar hazards may aLLend Lhe LransformaLlonal
leader LhaL we saw ln Lhe case of charlsmaLlc leadershlp. 1hese mlghL lnclude
36

excesslve self-lmporLance and self-bellef of Lhe leader and Lhe bulldlng of a
personal emplre ln whlch sLaff are (perhaps unwlLLlngly) encouraged Lo become
overly dependenL on Lhe personal approach of Lhe leader.

ln Lhe case of charlsmaLlc or LransformaLlonal leadershlp, Lhen, whaL ls needed ls
a vlLal exLra elemenL of self-monlLorlng and self-awareness, so LhaL Lhe leader wlll
reallse Lhe rlsks as well as Lhe beneflLs of any glven leadershlp sLyle. 1he leader
Lherefore needs Lhe ablllLy Lo selecL approprlaLely from wlLhln a range of sLyles
and approaches and Lo Lallor Lhem Lo Lhe evolvlng slLuaLlon.

Leadersh|p and 'fo||owersh|p'
We have already seen LhaL Lhe relaLlonshlp-based approach used ln Lhls paper
emphaslses Lhe lnLeracLlonal aspecLs of Lhe role of leadershlp, and promoLes an
awareness on Lhe parL of leaders of Lhe quallLy of communlcaLlon whlch Lhey can
esLabllsh beLween Lhemselves and Lhelr Leams. Some of Lhe llLeraLure focuses
dlrecLly on whaL are seen as Lhe complemenLary roles of leader and follower, and
conslders Lhe lmpllcaLlons for Lhe laLLer, lncludlng dlscusslons of whaL consLlLuLes
good 'followershlp'. . 1here ls a cerLaln value Lo Lhls approach, whlch may cause
us Lo re-examlne Lhe very Lerm 'leadershlp': afLer all lf someone ls Lhe 'leader'
Lhen oLhers musL be Lhe 'led' or Lhe 'followers'.

1here ls perhaps also an lmpllcaLlon LhaL leaders need Lo evoke ln Lhelr sLaff a
wllllngness Lo be led, Lo LrusL enough Lo follow, and LrusL ls cerLalnly an essenLlal
lngredlenL. Powever, 'followershlp' ls a sLrange concepL: l am noL convlnced LhaL
many of us would llke Lo Lhlnk of ourselves as belng 'good followers', and lL
would noL normally be Laken as a complemenL Lo be sald Lo be 'good followershlp
maLerlal' ln Lhe sense LhaL belng 'good leadershlp maLerlal' deflnlLely has a
poslLlve rlng. We llke Lo Lhlnk of ourselves as auLonomous adulLs, even Lhough
we wlll agree where necessary Lo work wlLh Lhe consensus and collaboraLe wlLh
oLhers Lo achleve shared goals, usually under Lhe leadershlp of a key lndlvldual.
37

1haL ls whaL Leamwork ls all abouL, buL 'followershlp' may have connoLaLlons of
unquesLlonlng compllance wlLh a leader's wlshes, whlch cannoL be an
approprlaLe model. erhaps a more poslLlve consLrucLlon would be Lo Lhlnk ln
Lerms of belng LhoughL a 'good Leam player' and Lo have Leam membershlp skllls
(Colllns & 8ruce 1984).

Summary
ln Lhls chapLer we have explored some of Lhe baslc ldeas abouL leadershlp - why
leaders are necessary, whaL Lhey acLually do, and how Lhey do lL. We have
consldered Lhe quesLlon of leadershlp sLyle and ln parLlcular we have debaLed Lhe
merlLs of 'charlsmaLlc' and 'LransformaLlonal' leadershlp sLyles.

1he maln message from Lhls chapLer ls LhaL leadershlp ls a complex and
demandlng Lask, whlch requlres Lhe ablllLy Lo operaLe aL many levels, as well as
Lhe ablllLy Lo move beLween Lhese levels as prlorlLles shlfL and clrcumsLances
unfold, and Lo ad[usL one's way of worklng accordlngly. ln Lhe nexL chapLer we
wlll add Lo all Lhls a dlscusslon of whaL goes on beneaLh Lhe surface of leadershlp,
ln Lhe unconsclous lnLeracLlons beLween leaders and Leams.

Slnclalr, l. and Clbbs, l. (1998) cbllJteo's bomes. o stoJy lo Jlvetslty.
ChlchesLer, Wlley.

klngsley.

Colllns, 1. and 8ruce, 1. (1984) 5toff 5oppott ooJ 5toff 1tololoq London, 1avlsLock.

Plnshelwood, 8.u. (1990) wbot boppeos lo qtoops. lsycboooolysls, tbe loJlvlJool
ooJ tbe commoolty. London, lree AssoclaLlon 8ooks

38

3 8LLCW 1nL SUkIACL: UNCCNSCICUS DNAMICS

1hls chapLer covers Lhe ooconsclous dynamlcs of leadershlp - Lhe Lhlngs whlch go
on beLween leaders and oLhers below Lhe surface buL whlch may neverLheless
have a ma[or lmpacL on how leadershlp (and Lherefore Lhe whole organlsaLlon)
operaLes. 1he chapLer descrlbes and explalns some of Lhese phenomena and
shows how some of Lhe key concepLs can help leaders Lo undersLand Lhelr role
and achleve Lhe more dlfflculL aspecLs of Lhelr Lask. ln dolng so lL lnLroduces a
number of key concepLs from Lhe llLeraLure whlch examlnes organlsaLlons from a
psychodynamlc and sysLems perspecLlve.

ro[ect|on and transference
1he dlscusslon ln Lhe prevlous chapLers has proceeded as lf Lhe relaLlonshlps
beLween leaders, Leams and young people were all conducLed and experlenced
aL a purely raLlonal level, lnvolvlng sLralghLforward dlscusslon, declslon-maklng
and dlrecL communlcaLlon. lf Lhls were Lhe case, Lhen llfe would be a loL slmpler
Lhan lL ofLen Lurns ouL Lo be ln Lhe real world - where people mlsread each
oLher's lnLenLlons, over-reacL Lo cerLaln personallLy Lypes or cerLaln klnds of
lssue, or behave 'oddly', lrraLlonally or unpredlcLably. ln facL Lhere are all sorLs of
Lhlngs golng on 'below Lhe surface' beLween leaders and Leams ln every
organlsaLlon, and resldenLlal homes are no excepLlon. As a leader lL can be very
frusLraLlng Lo be frequenLly grappllng wlLh behavlour and evenLs whlch feel
unpredlcLable or beyond your lnfluence, and Lhe psychodynamlc approach Lo
organlsaLlons seeks Lo explaln and lnLerpreL some of Lhese behavlours and
evenLs.

39

ro[ect|on, transference and counter-transference
Cne way ln whlch Lhe unconsclous may be aL work ls Lhrough Lhe mechanlsm of
pro[ecLlon. ro[ecLlon ls where we mlghL aLLrlbuLe Lo Lhe oLher person some
parLlcular seL of feellngs whlch we lmaglne Lhey may be feellng, alLhough ln facL lL
may be our own feellngs whlch we are 'readlng' onLo Lhem. 8ecause all Lhls ls
happenlng aL an unconsclous level we are noL usually aware of lL, and yeL lL may
play a very slgnlflcanL parL ln our worklng relaLlonshlps.

1he llLeraLure suggesLs LhaL Lhere are some very powerful LemplaLes half-hldden
ln Lhe background ln mosL people's relaLlonshlps wlLh leaders, wheLher Lhese are
models of parenLal or oLher relaLlonshlps. 1hus for example we may perhaps
lnsLlncLlvely rebel agalnsL a leader who remlnds us of our faLher or feel proLecLlve
Lo one who remlnds us of our moLher - or vlce vetso, dependlng on our own
earller relaLlonshlp wlLh our parenLs. 1hls ls one reason why Lhe dynamlcs of
leadershlp may become so compllcaLed and unpredlcLable, because we each
unwlLLlngly brlng our own consLellaLlon of prlor relaLlonshlps Lo bear upon our
currenL neLworks, and Lhen 'read' and reacL Lo people accordlngly.

xomp/e
uovlJ, o teslJeotlol moooqet, spoke wotmly wltb bls colleoqoe Aooette
oboot Clotlo, o seolot moooqet wbom l boJ foooJ pottlcolotly
soppottlve ooJ eooblloq - ooly to floJ tbot Aooette JlsmlsseJ bet
ooqtlly os Momsy (meooloq pottoolsloq ooJ seotlmeotol)! lot
Aooette, bovloq o leoJet wltb o steteotyplcol motetool petsooo wos
olwoys qoloq to leoJ to ttooble, wbeteos fot uovlJ lt wos floe.

No Joobt Clotlo petcelveJ eocb of tbese loJlvlJools lo toto os tbe Jotlfol
soo ooJ tbe tebellloos Jooqbtet - bot wos sbe oo effectlve leoJet? lo
mooy woys sbe wos polte effectlve, oltbooqb sbe wos petbops oot polte
lo coottol of tbe messoqes sbe wos qlvloq oot - petbops sbe boJ bet
40

owo teosoos to ploy op bet petsooo os o oottotloq motetool flqote, ooJ
boJ foooJ tbls effectlve lo some cltcomstooces, bot wos oot oble to
moJlfy lt lo tbose cootexts (ot wltb tbose loJlvlJools) wbete lt wos less
belpfol. lt so boppeoeJ tbot tbete wos o qooJ flt betweeo Clotlo ooJ
uovlJ lo tbot tbey tespooJeJ to eocb otbet lo lotqely posltlve tetms,
wbeteos tbloqs wete mocb less posltlve betweeo bet ooJ Aooette, wbo
wos oevettbeless oo exttemely effectlve wotket betself, Jesplte feelloq
polte pottoolseJ ooJ olleooteJ by tbls moooqet. Meoowblle tbete wos
oootbet femole seolot moooqet wbo wos mocb mote posby ooJ
JemooJloq, ooJ wbom uovlJ foooJ mocb mote Jlfflcolt to cope wltb,
bot wbom Aooette ptobobly foooJ mocb eoslet!

ro[ecLlon ls one parL of Lhe processes of tronsference and counter-tronsference
ln relaLlonshlps - ln Lhls conLexL, Lhese Lerms refer Lo Lhe seL of assumpLlons
whlch we all unwlLLlngly brlng Lo our lnLeracLlons wlLh oLher people, and
especlally whlch leaders and Leam members brlng Lo Lhelr lnLeracLlons wlLh each
oLher, perhaps experlenclng one of Lhem as more lrrlLaLlng or aLLracLlve Lhan
anoLher, because of Lhelr own personal hlsLory. 1ransference refers Lo Lhe way ln
whlch we may 'Lransfer' our feellngs abouL key flgures ln our personal pasL on Lo
Lhe acLual lndlvlduals we encounLer ln everyday llfe - respondlng Lo our manager
as lf Lhey were our parenL, ln Lhe example above.

coootet-Lransference, meanwhlle, refers Lo Lhe reclprocal process by whlch Lhe
leader may elLher reacL (unconsclously) Lo Lhe oLher person's Lransference -
LreaLlng a challenglng Leam member as a Llresome chlld, for example - or where
Lhe leader may brlng her own assumpLlons lnLo Lhe frame, perhaps LreaLlng oll
Leam members as lf Lhey were chlldren. When one person's LemplaLe sparks off
anoLher's ln a 'perfecL flL' Lhlngs can geL very dlfflculL!

41

1he LemplaLes whlch we all brlng Lo bear ln Lhese slLuaLlons are noL all Lhe same,
of course, and Lhey do noL all relaLe Lo parenL-chlld relaLlonshlps, buL someLlmes
Lo Lhe compeLlLlve feellngs beLween slbllngs, or Lhe aLLracLlons beLween fllrLlng
lovers, or Lhe anxleLles abouL separaLlon and loss whlch may permeaLe many
relaLlonshlps, Lo choose [usL a few powerful examples. ln our personal llves we
wlll all have experlenced some verslon of mosL of Lhese powerful feellngs.

AL a raLlonal level Lhere ls no loglcal reason why such Lhe unconsclous feellngs l
have been descrlblng should seep lnLo Lhe supposedly less lnLense world of work-
relaLlonshlps. And yeL Lhe reallLy ls LhaL Lhey ofLen do, especlally ln 8esldenLlal
Chlld Care where Lhe use of 'self' and 'relaLlonshlps' are Lhe everyday 'Lools' of
pracLlce, and where work relaLlonshlps Lhemselves can be very lnLense, long-
lasLlng and slgnlflcanL ln many ways and may have someLhlng of Lhe 'flavour' of
personal relaLlonshlps. sychodynamlc Lheory suggesLs LhaL where parLlcular
Lypes of relaLlonshlp ln our personal experlence have been lefL unresolved, or
where we have reLalned especlally sLrong feellngs around a cerLaln Lheme, Lhese
feellngs may conLlnue Lo replay ln our mlnds and LhaL we may even unconsclously
seek Lo re-enacL Lhe relaLlonshlps ln order Lo Lry Lo resolve Lhe feellngs. We wlll
flnd scenarlos and seLLlngs Lo 'play ouL' Lhese unresolved parLs of ourselves and
Lhls can happen aL work as well as ouLslde work.

1hls mlghL all sLarL Lo sound raLher remoLe from Lhe pracLlcal demands of
leadershlp, especlally as so much of lL may be golng on aL an unconsclous level of
whlch nelLher slde ls fully aware. And yeL lL ofLen Lurns ouL Lo underpln some of
Lhe more lnLracLable problems whlch arlse ln leadershlp, because lf unrecognlzed
lL may (for example) conLrlbuLe Lo a leader unconsclously wlLhholdlng key
lnformaLlon from a sLaff member who has 'goL under her skln' ln a negaLlve way
or perhaps Lo her 'Lurnlng a bllnd eye' Lo lnapproprlaLe behavlour on Lhe parL of
anoLher worker whom she may unconsclously favour or LoleraLe lnapproprlaLely
(see example ln ChapLer 3). ln elLher of Lhese slLuaLlons, her [udgemenL and
42

acLlons as a leader may become dlsLorLed ln ways whlch could have serlous
consequences for Lhe quallLy of Lhe servlce offered.

ro[ect|ve |dent|f|cat|on
AnoLher way ln whlch unconsclous feellngs may affecL our work as leaders ls
Lhrough pro[ecLlve ldenLlflcaLlon: Lhls refers Lo Lhe way ln whlch we may
unconsclously 'plck up' otbet people's powerful feellngs and experlence Lhem as
lf Lhey were our own feellngs. 1hls may happen because Lhe person Lo whom Lhe
feellngs orlglnally belonged found Lhem Loo hard Lo handle hlm- or herself, and
perhaps denled Lhe feellngs, alLhough sLlll somehow managlng Lo convey Lhem Lo
us 'under our radar' wlLh Lhe resulL LhaL we may experlence Lhe feellngs fot Lhem.
1he consequence ls LhaL we may flnd we are lefL feellng unaccounLably sLrong
feellngs, whlch can someLlmes be felL bodlly as well as emoLlonally, and Lhe
orlglns of whlch we cannoL easlly Lrace even Lhough Lhey sLlll feel very powerful -
and whlch agaln may affecL or dlsLorL our [udgemenL. 1hls may sound llke an odd
ldea, buL agaln lL can help Lo explaln some of Lhe Lhlngs whlch may oLherwlse feel
puzzllng, Lroubllng or [usL lnexpllcable.

xomp/e
Moty wos Jtlvloq bome oftet o Joys wotk os leoJet of o cbllJteos
bome. lt boJ beeo o JemooJloq Joy os osool, mostly speot lo
sopetvlsloq oew stoff, bot sbe felt sotlsfleJ wltb bet lopot ooJ wos
lookloq fotwotJ to o slmple teloxloq eveoloq.

As sbe ottlveJ bome ooJ opeoeJ bet ftoot Joot, Moty ootlceJ tbot
bet booJ wos sbokloq, os lf wltb feot ot ooqet. 5be wos oot sote wby
tbls sboolJ be so, bot os sbe weot loto tbe boose ooJ sot Jowo sbe
foooJ tbot sbe wos beqlooloq to sboke mote powetfolly. net mloJ
wos olso oqltoteJ, ooJ sbe foooJ betself ttockloq bock tbtooqb tbe
Joys wotk, os lf seotcbloq fot oo exploootloo of bet stote of mloJ.
43

5be coolJot lJeotlfy ooytbloq lo pottlcolot, bot sbe foooJ betself
teployloq lo bet mloJ o momeot lo bet sopetvlsloo of Iosle, ooe of bet
oewet ooJ yoooqet stoff.

Iosle boJ btlefly meotlooeJ (lo o flot tooe of volce) oo loclJeot tbe
olqbt befote wbeo o yoooq petsoo, 5botoo, boJ JesctlbeJ sometlmes
feelloq ot tlsk pbyslcolly wbeo ot bome wltb bet fotbet. As Iosle boJ
beeo tolkloq wltb Moty, sbe boJ oppeoteJ to be oot of bet Jeptb lo
tbls wotk, bot sbe boJ posseJ polckly ovet tbe Jetolls of bet
coovetsotloo wltb 5botoo wltboot teolly teqlstetloq bet cooceto fot
tbe yoooq petsoos welfote.

wbot Moty oow teollzeJ wos tbot sbe, too, boJ ooJet-ployeJ bet
owo tespoose ooJ boJ oeltbet teolly tecoqolzeJ 5botoos owo feot
oot belpeJ Iosle wltb leotoloq bow to booJle socb sttooq feelloqs. lt
wos ooly oow os sbe sot ot bome tbot Moty beqoo to tecoqolze wbot
bet oqltoteJ boJy ooJ ttoobleJ mloJ wete tellloq bet - tbot sbe wos
oow expetleocloq tbe feot fot 5botoos welfote tbot Iosle wos too
ooxloos to tecoqolze lo betself, os well os 5botoos owo feot. Iosle
boJ oowlttloqly cooveyeJ bet feot Jesplte bet llfeless occooot of tbe
coovetsotloo ooJ Moty boJ plckeJ lt op wltboot teollsloq, ooly fot lt
to emetqe wbeo tbe otbet ptessotes of tbe Joy wete off.

ln Lhls scenarlo Mary was experlenced enough Lo recognlze LhaL lf someLhlng dld
noL feel rlghL, Lhere was probably a good reason for lL. very ofLen Lhese
reallsaLlons come abouL because we flnd ourselves lefL wlLh a feellng whlch we
cannoL really explaln, or whose lnLenslLy doesn'L appear Lo 'flL' wlLh Lhe
clrcumsLances. 1he clue whlch Mary had noLlced buL noL acLed on was Lhe odd
flaLness of !osle's accounL of Lhe conversaLlon wlLh Sharon, a flaLness whlch
conLrasLed wlLh Lhe drama hlnLed aL ln Lhe conLenL. lL was only much laLer ln Lhe
44

day when she noLlced her own physlcal sympLom of her shaklng hand LhaL she
began Lo reallse LhaL someLhlng was noL rlghL. ln facL Lhe flaLness had been a
hlnL, a communlcaLlon ln lLs own rlghL, buL one whose meanlng needed Lo be
unlocked.

1o make sense of a slLuaLlon ln whlch ro[ecLlve ldenLlflcaLlon has played a role
we may Lhen need Lo ask ourselves quesLlons such as
- Where does Lhls sLrengLh of feellng come from?
or as 8obln ShoheL puL lL, ln an excellenL chapLer,
- Whose feellngs am l feellng?"
lf we can use Lhls sorL of quesLlon Lo unravel puzzllng feellngs, we may flnd LhaL
pro[ecLlve ldenLlflcaLlon can help us Lo make sense of some of Lhe mosL dlfflculL
slLuaLlons and work ouL approprlaLe responses Lo Lhem. ln order Lo do so, leaders
need an ablllLy Lo use Lhelr own 'reflecLlve space' llke an lnLernal supervlsor, as
well as uslng an extetool supervlsor Lo help Lhem explore Lhelr own emoLlonal/
psychologlcal sLaLe.

Work|ng w|th the unconsc|ous
So whaL ls Lhe answer Lo deallng wlLh forces whlch may be operaLlng
unconsclously llke Lhls? 1he responslblllLy of Lhe leader ls Lo become sufflclenLly
lnslghLful and self-aware Lo be more mlndful of Lhese sorLs of dynamlcs, and Lo
promoLe a worklng culLure ln whlch lL ls Ck Lo acknowledge Lhelr exlsLence. WhaL
ls unconsclous generally Lends Lo temolo unconsclous, alLhough lL ofLen manages
Lo flnd expresslon Lhrough lndlrecL means whlch may offer us clues lf we are able
Lo 'Lune ln' Lo Lhem - as ln Lhe case of Lhe flaL Lone of volce ln Lhe example
above. 1hus wlLh sufflclenL help and lnslghL we can become more aware of Lhe
effecLs of Lhe unconsclous, perhaps Lraclng lL back Lo lLs rooLs, and learnlng Lo
manage lL beLLer wlLhln ourselves.

45

ln my own case, for example, l had Lo learn Lo acknowledge my mlxed feellngs
abouL my expresslve and affecLlonaLe moLher and my more remoLe and lnhlblLed
faLher, and Lhe legacy of Lhe Lensely compeLlLlve peer-relaLlonshlps whlch l grew
up wlLh among my four broLhers, before l could work ouL how Lhese dynamlcs
mlghL be affecLlng boLh my leadershlp sLyle and my ablllLy or oLherwlse Lo work
alongslde colleagues and superlors. CeLLlng help ln undersLandlng myself Lhrough
psychoLherapy was of greaL beneflL Lo me ln Lhls respecL, as lL helped me learn
how Lo dlsLlngulsh beLween my own 'lssues' and oLher people's behavlour and
expecLaLlons. Whlle noL everyone may look for psychoLherapy, lL ls undoubLedly
helpful Lo have some experlence of experlenclng Lhe psychodynamlc approach
and applylng lL Lo one's own undersLandlng of self-ln-relaLlonshlp before Lrylng Lo
use lL Lo explaln otbet people's behavlour and relaLlonshlps.

ke-enoctment
ln Lhe resldenLlal chlld care conLexL Lhese unconsclous dynamlcs may have a
parLlcular power Lo Lhem because - as we have seen - Lhere are already such
sLrong feellngs flylng around amongsL Lhe young people abouL Lhelr own
relaLlonshlps wlLh Lhelr parenLs and oLher key flgures. ln addlLlon Lhere are ofLen
sLrong feellngs presenL ln Lhe sLaff abouL Lhe chlldren and Lhelr famllles, as well
as abouL Lhelr own famllles of orlgln. Some people, for example, may feel qulLe
angry and even punlLlve abouL parenLs who mlghL be seen as havlng 'falled' Lhelr
chlldren. 8ecause feellngs such as Lhese may feel 'unaccepLable' Lhey may be
denled and noL consclously known abouL, alLhough Lhey wlll be none Lhe less
real, and may flnd lndlrecL expresslon as people unconsclously 'enacL' Lhe feellngs
ln Lhelr deallngs wlLh Lhe parenLs or ln declslon-maklng meeLlngs.

1he concepL of re-enacLmenL ls parLlcularly helpful as lL suggesLs LhaL 'LhaL whlch
we fall Lo undersLand we ln some manner enacL' (uanbury and Wallbrldge 1989)
- ln oLher words lf we experlence dlsLress, anxleLy or panlc whlch ls noL easy Lo
make sense of or even acknowledge, perhaps because lL relaLes Lo dlfflculL
46

maLerlal such as parenLal confllcL, Lhese feellngs are llkely Lo remaln
underground. Such feellngs wlll Lhen be held on Lo buL noL expressed because
Lhey feel Loo LhreaLenlng or powerful, and Lhey may Lhen flnd expresslon Lhrough
lndlrecL means, perhaps Lhrough symbollc acLlon or [usL endlessly re-playlng
Lhem ln oLher slmllar slLuaLlons. 1hls concepL helps Lo explaln how unresolved or
unmanaged confllcL ln one group (e.g. adolescenLs ln a care home) may geL
replayed among anoLher parallel group (Lhe sLaff Leam), leadlng Lo 'acLlng ouL' ln
whlch Leam members may unwlLLlngly Lake on Lhe role of cerLaln adolescenLs.
1hls ls someLlmes also known as 'parallel process' (Mlller 2004):

xomp/e
A fotloos tow btoke oot betweeo lottlck ooJ Mltlom, stoff membets
lo o bome fot oJolesceots, ttlqqeteJ by o mloot loclJeot lo wblcb tbe
kltcbeo boJ beeo left lo oo ootlJy stote by lottlck. 1bese wotkets
wete ootmolly qooJ ftleoJs ooJ colleoqoes ooJ botb wete sotptlseJ
ooJ bott by tbe loteoslty of tbelt otqomeot. 5obsepoeot Jlscossloos
lo tbe stoff meetloqs teveoleJ tbot tbey boJ botb beeo owote of oo
oocomfottoble ooJ ooexploloeJ otqomeot o few Joys befote
betweeo o mole ooJ o femole teslJeot lo wblcb tbete boJ beeo
vetbol tbteots of vloleoce ooJ tetollotloo oo botb slJes - oqolo tbls
wos lo tbe cootext of o ptevloosly close ftleoJsblp.

As tbe stoty oofolJeJ lt become cleot tbot oltbooqb tbe stoff boJ
beeo owote of tbe otqomeot betweeo tbe teslJeots tbey boJ oot
lotetveoeJ ot eveo commeoteJ, becoose of otbet ooxletles, wblcb
meoot tbot lt boJ beeo left booqloq lo tbe olt. lottlck ooJ Mltlom
wete eocb ptlvotely ttoobleJ by tbls teosloo bot boJ oot foooJ tbe
occosloo to sbote tbese feelloqs ooJ boJ eoJeJ op oocooscloosly
teployloq tbe coofllct becoose tbey wete botb stlll ooxloos ooJ
pozzleJ. Ooce tbe potollel wos tecoqolseJ, tbelt owo ftleoJsblp
47

sooo ovet-toJe tbe teosloo ooJ tbey oqteeJ to qo bock to tbe yoooq
people ooJ oJJtess tbe eotllet coofllct ooJ especlolly tbe tbteots of
vloleoce.
ln Lhls slLuaLlon lL was relaLlvely easy Lo ldenLlfy Lhe componenLs ln Lhe parallel
process, buL lL ls noL always so sLralghLforward. When Lhere ls an ouLbreak of
unexplalned feellngs or acLlons, lL ls always worLh searchlng around ln Lhe
emoLlonal 'undergrowLh' of Lhe unlL Lo flnd parallels, because Lhese wlll usually
emerge sooner or laLer. ln order Lo unravel and make sense of slLuaLlons and
feellngs such as Lhese lL can be very helpful for Lhe sLaff Leam (lncludlng Lhe
leader) Lo parLlclpaLe ln a regular group meeLlng - led by an ouLslde advlser - Lo
focus on Lhe feellngs wlLhln Lhe sLaff Leam and beLween Leam members and
oLhers.

An lmporLanL role of leadershlp wlll be Lo waLch for unconsclous dynamlcs such
as Lhese, and Lo flnd ways of addresslng Lhem where Lhey do arlse and helplng
people Lo acknowledge such facLors. And as far as posslble Lo avold geLLlng drawn
lnLo Lhese dynamlcs!

Unconsc|ous mot|vat|ons
lf we look aL people's moLlvaLlon for comlng lnLo chlld care - and especlally for
stoyloq ln lL - Lhere are very ofLen connecLlons wlLh aspecLs of Lhelr own
chlldhood and Lhelr experlence of feellng 'looked afLer' or oLherwlse. 1hey may
have qulLe sLrong feellngs, some of Lhem unconsclous, drlvlng a need Lo (for
example) seek Lo repalr Lhelr own dlfflculL chlldhood by provldlng a 'beLLer' one
for oLhers, or more compllcaLedly, Lrylng Lo punlsh Lhelr own 'bad' parenLs by
removlng or 'resculng' oLher chlldren from Lhelr supposedly bad parenLs. ln facL,
lf we are honesL mosL of us can flnd some Lrace of Lhese sorLs of feellngs lurklng
wlLhln us, and lL ls probably beLLer Lo acknowledge and address Lhem where
posslble raLher Lhan Lo be unwlLLlngly drlven by Lhem. Some of Lhese moLlvaLlons
48

may appear problemaLlc and 'unworLhy', oLhers are noL so lnapproprlaLe so long
as we are aware of Lhem and ln conLrol of Lhem.

1hls comes lnLo Lhe leadershlp role Loo, because leaders have Lo LoleraLe and
work wlLh all sorLs of feellngs pro[ecLed onLo Lhem by boLh sLaff and chlldren.
Leaders may flnd Lhemselves seen as faLhers or moLhers or as older broLhers, as
remoLe auLhorlLy flgures, LhreaLenlng slbllngs or 'perfecL' ldols. 1o some exLenL
Lhey [usL have Lo experlence and llve wlLh Lhese feellngs and noL feel Loo
LhreaLened or uncomforLable wlLh Lhem. 1he blgger challenge wlll arlse lf Lhere ls
a parLlcularly sLrong 'maLch' or clash beLween Lhe expecLaLlons on each slde.

xomp/e
lool wos tbe leoJet of o smoll oolt wotkloq wltb yoooq people ot
tlsk of bomelessoess ooJ sobstooce obose. nls owo blstoty os o
teeooqet boJ locloJeJ beloq tempototlly tbtowo oot of bls fomlly
bome ot 16 wbeo bls motbet took o oew pottoet, oltbooqb tbete
boJ lotet beeo o tecooclllotloo. Oo tbe bosls of tbls blstoty, be felt o
powetfol lJeotlflcotloo wltb some of tbe yoooq people lo tbe oolt,
ooJ ot tlmes wooteJ to flqbt oll tbelt bottles fot tbem, tokloq tbelt
slJe oopoestlooloqly lo tbelt coofllcts wltb poteots ooJ ootbotltles,
sometlmes lo o coootet-ptoJoctlve woy wblcb woolJ olso leove blm
emotlooolly exboosteJ. wltb tbe belp of bls sopetvlsot, bowevet, be
wos oble to moooqe bls owo powetfol feelloqs ooJ cboooel tbem
loto soppottloq tbe teom lo toooloq oo excelleot foclllty totbet tboo
ttyloq to toke oo evetytbloq ooJ evetyooe blmself.

Conta|nment and ho|d|ng
Much of Lhe work whlch leaders have Lo do wlLh Lhelr Leams ln Lhe resldenLlal
chlld care conLexL ls abouL worklng wlLh anxleLy - Lhe anxleLy whlch sLaff may
feel ln relaLlon Lo Lhelr work wlLh Lhe young people, Lhe anxleLy whlch Lhe young
49

people and Lhelr famllles experlence ln Lhelr llves Lhrough whaLever dlfflculLles
have broughL Lhem Lo Lhe place, and Lhe anxleLy of oLhers abouL Lhe place and
how lL works. When we acknowledge LhaL leadershlp ln Lhls seLLlng ls sLressful we
are llkely Lo be Lhlnklng of all Lhls anxleLy, and how Lhe leader may feel he or she
has Lo 'soak lL all up' ln order Lo keep Lhe place runnlng. ln facL Lhls 'soaklng up'
meLaphor ls noL a healLhy one, because lL suggesLs LhaL Lhe leader has Lo slmply
keep on absorblng more and more of Lhe anxleLy - whlch would noL be good for
anyone. Lqually lL wlll noL be helpful for Lhe leader Lo lgnore Lhe anxleLy and
place Lhemselves aL a dlsLanL poslLlon from lL, perhaps by denylng lL and
consLanLly elLher '[ollylng' people along, or slmply glvlng mechanlcal orders and
only deallng wlLh Lhe pragmaLlc elemenLs ln Lhe [ob. eople ln Lhe Leam and Lhe
young people Lhemselves wanL Lo feel llsLened Lo and undersLood - and lf Lhey
don'L feel undersLood Lhey are llkely Lo express Lhelr feellngs ln more and more
dramaLlc (Lhough someLlmes lndlrecL) ways.

So lf Lhe leader should nelLher absorb all Lhe anxleLy nor deny or lgnore lL, whaL
should Lhey do? 1he meLaphors used ln Lhe psychodynamlc approach are Lhose
of 'holdlng' and 'conLalnmenL', and Lhey boLh orlglnaLe ln sllghLly dlfferenL vlews
of Lhe experlence of bables and young chlldren. ln Lhe vlew of Wllfred 8lon
(whlch l have greaLly slmpllfled here), Lhe parenL (usually Lhough noL necessarlly
Lhe moLher) responds Lo Lhe chlld's naLural dlsLress and anxleLy by 'conLalnlng' lL
- belng wllllng Lo experlence Lhe fears and Lerrors of lnsecurlLy on behalf of Lhe
chlld by Lemporarlly 'looklng afLer' Lhe sLrong feellngs and gradually handlng
Lhem back Lo Lhe chlld ln a manageable form, so LhaL Lhe baby feels 'conLalned'.
1he LemplaLe whlch Lhls lmage provldes ls of Lhe leader as a parenLal flgure
'conLalnlng' Lhe anxleLy whlch he or she plcks up ln Lhe place - buL noL Lo absorb
and hold on Lo lL, raLher Lo Lhlnk abouL lL, acknowledge and reflecL lL back ln
manageable forms.

50

xomp/e
Iockle wos tbe moooqet of oo otJlooty cbllJteos bome fot o
mlxtote of yoooq people, some of wbom boJ llveJ tbete fot sevetol
yeots. Aftet o vety settleJ petloJ wltb few cbooqes, two of tbe looq-
stooJloq teslJeots left ooJ wltblo o sbott spoce two oew mocb
yoooqet cbllJteo (o btotbet ooJ slstet of 12 ooJ 10 tespectlvely)
wete oJmltteJ. 1be boose toplJly become cbootlc os tbe boy lo
pottlcolot - letet - too o petsoool tlot otoooJ tbe ploce, ofteo
becomloq wllJly ooqty ooJ sometlmes bteokloq tbloqs ooJ losbloq
oot ot people. 1be sltootloo JetetlototeJ os tbe test of tbe yoooq
people, ooJ some of tbe stoff, become teseotfol ot tbe level of
Jlstoptloo. Iockle boJ to wotk wltb closely tbe stoff teom to eooble
tbem to cootolo botb letet blmself - by ollocotloq blm o key
wotket ooJ bock op wbo betweeo tbem woolJ focos closely oo
meetloq bls evetyJoy oeeJs ooJ feelloqs - ooJ tbe test of tbe qtoop.
1bey oseJ tbe teqolot boose meetloqs oot ooly to ollow tbe
ftosttotloos to be exptesseJ bot olso to ptomote some
ooJetstooJloq of letets oeeJs, temloJloq tbe otbet yoooq people
of tbelt owo feots ooJ ooxletles wbeo tbey boJ fltst ottlveJ.
veotoolly tbe wbole qtoop coolJ ploy o pott lo eooblloq letet to
feel sofet ooJ mote occepteJ.

As Lhls example shows, Lhe sense of conLalnmenL does noL all need Lo be
provlded personally by Lhe leader, and lndeed lL should noL - LhaL would be Lo
cenLre and focus Loo much dependency on a slngle flgure. A well funcLlonlng
managemenL sysLem wlll mean LhaL mosL of Lhe dlsLress and anxleLy of Lhe young
people wlll be 'conLalned' by Lhe sLaff ln mosL dally conLacL wlLh Lhem, whlle
mosL of Lhe anxleLy of Lhose sLaff wlll be conLalned by Lhelr supervlsors and Leam
leaders, wlLh Lhe unlL manager provldlng an overall sense of Lhe whole Lhlng
belng conLalned.
51

1he oLher key concepL here ls of Lhe 'holdlng envlronmenL': Lhls Lerms comes
from WlnnlcoLL's accounL of Lhe same process of lnfanL care. Pe vlews Lhe
anxleLles of a baby as relaLlng Lo fears such as falllng aparL, falllng forever, eLc. Pe
wrlLes of Lhe parenL(s) provldlng for Lhe chlld a 'holdlng envlronmenL' by whlch
he means a secure sense of belng undersLood, wanLed and loved, and of
behavlour and emoLlon belng Lolerable and meanlngful. 1hls agaln ls a useful
meLaphor for Lhe way ln whlch a leader can provlde an overall 'holdlng
envlronmenL' for Lhe young people by ensurlng LhaL Lhe 'cllmaLe' of Lhe place
remalns accepLlng, glvlng and poslLlve, desplLe Lhe challenges and dlfflculLles
whlch Lhe young people may presenL. As we have [usL seen, a Lrue holdlng
envlronmenL wlll also lnclude Lhe supporLlng role whlch Lhe young people may be
able Lo provlde for each oLher.

1hls wlll mean provldlng an envlronmenL and relaLlonshlps LhaL meeLs Lhe
emoLlonal sLage of Lhe young person as well as Lhe chronologlcal age. lL wlll mean
an adapLed envlronmenL for each young person. lL challenges Lhe grown ups Lo
be creaLlve Lo meeL needs raLher Lhan challenge Lhe young people Lo conform Lo
whaL ls belng provlded as a 'programme'.

Summary
1hls chapLer has offered an lnLroducLlon Lo some key concepLs ln Lhe
psychodynamlc approach Lo leadershlp and applled Lhem Lo Lhe resldenLlal chlld
care conLexL. 1he message ls LhaL whaL happens 'below Lhe surface' may
someLlmes be aL leasL as lmporLanL as Lhe more raLlonal approaches ln helplng us
Lo make sense of some of Lhe powerful and challenglng slLuaLlons ln Lhls work. l
am noL advocaLlng LhaL Lhls ls Lhe only approach Lo draw upon, nor LhaL lL wlll
always provlde Lhe 'rlghL answer', buL LhaL when Laken wlLh Lhe oLher
approaches ln Lhls paper, lL can add slgnlflcanLly Lo our undersLandlng.

52

uanbury, P. and Wallbrldge, u. (1989) ulrecLlve Leachlng and guL learnlng: 1he
semlnar Lechnlque and lLs use ln vldeo-based role-play learnlng. Iootool of 5oclol
wotk ltoctlce, May, 33-67.

Cbholzer, A and 8oberLs, v.Z. (eds) (1994) 1be uocooscloos ot wotk. loJlvlJool
ooJ Otqoolzotloool 5ttess lo tbe nomoo 5etvlces. London, 8ouLledge.

Menzles-LyLh, l (1988) ConLalnlng anxleLy ln lnsLlLuLlons. SelecLed essays, vol.1.
London, lree AssoclaLlon 8ooks.

Mlller, S. (2004) WhaL's golng on? arallel process and reflecLlve pracLlce ln
Leachlng. keflectlve ltoctlce 3 (3) 383-393)

ShoheL, 8 (1999) Whose leellngs am l feellng? uslng Lhe concepL of pro[ecLlve
ldenLlflcaLlon. ln Pardwlck, A. & Woodhead, !. (ed.) (1999) lovloq notloq ooJ
5otvlvol. A nooJbook fot oll wbo wotk wltb ttoobleJ cbllJteo ooJ yoooq people.
AldershoL: AshgaLe

Shaplro, L.8. and Carr, W. (1991) lost lo fomlllot ploces. cteotloq oew
coooectloos betweeo tbe loJlvlJool ooJ soclety new Paven, London: ?ale
unlverslLy ress.

53

4. LLADLkSnI: 8CUNDAkILS AND kCLLS

ln Lhls chapLer we move back from Lhlnklng abouL Lhe unconsclous Lo examlne
more of Lhe acLlvlLles of Lhe leader, especlally ln relaLlon Lo Lhe roles whlch he or
she plays and Lhe boundarles whlch Lhe leader has Lo consLanLly monlLor and
negoLlaLe. We wlll look aL how Lhe leader needs Lo place hlm or herself ln relaLlon
Lo Lhese boundarles. 8y 'boundarles' l mean Lhe dlsLlncLlons beLween people's
roles: boLh Lhelr own clarlLy abouL whaL Lhey should be dolng or noL, and Lhelr
clarlLy abouL oLhers' roles. ln Lhe fluldlLy and 'melee' of everyday llfe ln resldenLlal
care Lhere are many ways ln whlch Lhese roles and responslblllLles can become
blurred or muddled, and Lhe leader's role ls Lo enable all sLaff Lo keep a sharp eye
on Lhese dlsLlncLlons, buL wlLhouL golng Lo Lhe opposlLe exLreme and creaLlng a
rlgld and lnflexlble sysLem.

1he myth of the hero-|eader
WhaL ls a leader and how would you spoL one lf you saw Lhem ln Lhe sLreeL? Cne
popular lmage of Lhe leader ls perhaps of a Lall, dynamlc flgure up aL Lhe fronL of
a baLLle llne, leadlng Lhe charge, lssulng orders and never looklng back. 1hls ls
whaL ls someLlmes known as Lhe 'hero-leader', someone who ls aL Lhe cenLre of
everyLhlng and who probably has a flnger ln every ple, a vlew on every problem
and a soluLlon Lo every challenge, and who - ln exLreme cases - probably has
someLhlng Lo say on Lhe deLalls of every smallesL parL of Lhe organlsaLlon and lLs
work. lL ls an lmage whlch appeals Lo Lhe popular lmaglnaLlon, perhaps because lL
plays lnLo seml-myLhlcal lmages such as warLlme leaders and eplc heroes as well
as Lo Lhe psychologlcal model of Lhe ldeallsed parenLal flgure, and especlally Lhe
sLereoLyplcal faLher flgure, as we saw ln Lhe lasL chapLer.

1hls ls ln one sense a comforLlng lmage, con[urlng up Lhe noLlon LhaL Lhere wlll be
someone ln every organlsaLlon who wlll know everyLhlng and be able Lo resolve
every dlfflculLy, buL who wlll also acLlvely 'lead' Lhe people lnLo Lhe fuLure,
54

perhaps even wlLh Lhe blbllcal connoLaLlons of 'leadlng Lhem Lo Lhe promlsed
land'. AL Lhe same Llme, however, lL ls an unreallsLlc and ouLdaLed lmage, and
one whlch can only lead Lo frusLraLlon and dlsappolnLmenL lf followed Loo closely.
nowadays Lhe lmage of an omnlpoLenL, omnlsclenL leader has uncomforLable
echoes of LoLallLarlan sysLems, and yeL lL ls never far from Lhe corporaLe or publlc
lmaglnaLlons, as we have seen ln Lhe uk ln recenL years wlLh Lelevlslon
programmes glorlfylng Lhe role of powerful buslness leaders. ln mosL
conLemporary wesLern organlsaLlons Lhen, a leader who seeks or clalms Lo know
everyLhlng and have all Lhe answers wlll probably noL lasL long.

We are now much more famlllar wlLh a model ln whlch Lhe leader ls noL only a
dlrecLor of operaLlons buL also a faclllLaLor of oLhers, and especlally one who alms
Lo work wltb ooJ tbtooqb otbets ln order Lo geL Lhlngs done and Lo achleve Lhe
organlsaLlon's goals.

As we have already seen, any 'human servlce' organlsaLlon such as a chlldren's
home lnvolves a complex lnLerplay beLween many lndlvlduals, groups and
grouplngs, beLween Lhose on Lhe 'lnslde' of Lhe organlsaLlon and Lhose on Lhe
ouLslde, l.e. boLh Lhose for whom Lhe organlsaLlon provldes a servlce (Lhe young
people, Lhelr famllles) and Lhose on whose behalf lL does so (Lhe agency and Lhe
auLhorlLles whlch sancLlon lLs operaLlon, and ulLlmaLely socleLy as a whole). 1he
role of Lhe leader wlll be Lo work LogeLher wlLh all Lhese groups and Lo enable
Lhem Lo work wlLh each oLher, so LhaL Lhe alms can be achleved.

WhaL Lhe leader needs Lo know and work wlLh, Lherefore, ls noL so much Lhe
deLalls of every far-flung parL of Lhe operaLlon (Lhough Lhere are Llmes when
leaders do need Lhls deLalled lnformaLlon), buL Lhe slze, shape and concerns of
each of Lhe grouplngs, and how Lhey all relaLe wlLh each oLher as well as wlLh Lhe
'whole'.

55

ln Lhls model of Lhe organlsaLlon as a collecLlon of lnLer-relaLed groups, Lhe
leadershlp role ls no longer one of commandlng Lhe Lroops and enforclng Lhe law
buL of arLlculaLlng Lhe connecLlons and faclllLaLlng Lhe relaLlonshlps beLween Lhe
varlous grouplngs.

xomp/e
lo o cbllJteos bome wltb oo eJocotloo oolt ottocbeJ, teosloos
otose betweeo tbe teslJeotlol stoff ooJ tbe teocbloq stoff os to
wbose metboJs of booJlloq Jlfflcolt bebovloot lo tbe cbllJteo wete
tlqbt. uesplte cleot pollcles ooJ qolJelloes, tbe teosloo betweeo
tbe two stoff qtoops locteoseJ os cbllJteo beqoo to explolt tbe
locooslsteocles wblcb tbey seoseJ. 1bloqs ooly beqoo to lmptove
oftet tbe beoJ of tbe bome set op o setles of teqolot meetloqs
betweeo tbe two qtoops, wbete people coolJ olt tbelt Jlffeteoces,
tecoqolse tbelt sboteJ olms ooJ floJ bettet woys of collobototloq.

ln Lhe above example, as ln mosL of Lhe examples ln Lhls paper, Lhe way forward
from dlfflculLy was for Lhe leader Lo ldenLlfy Lhe besL way Lo promoLe and
faclllLaLe good communlcaLlon and muLual undersLandlng, and Lo brlng people
LogeLher Lo work on LhaL way forward. 1hls wlll noL always be easy, of course,
and my alm ln offerlng Lhese examples ls noL Lo suggesL LhaL qulck soluLlons Lo
confllcL can always be found, buL Lo suggesL LhaL Lhe leader's Lask ls ofLen one of
enabllng oLher people Lo work LogeLher Lo resolve Lhe dlfflculLles whlch Lhey flnd
Lhemselves ln, raLher Lhan one of 'solvlng' problems hlm- or herself. 1hls ls noL Lo
suggesL LhaL leaders do noL have Lo be declslve and auLhorlLaLlve aL Llmes, buL Lo
conflrm LhaL Lhe besL sLarLlng polnL ls ofLen Lo enable oLhers Lo arLlculaLe Lhelr
own poslLlons and Lo use Lhelr own auLhorlLy.

lL ls open and clear communlcaLlon LhaL ls Lhe hallmark of good leadershlp and
Lhls LranslaLes lnLo pracLlce LhroughouL Lhe organlsaLlon. lf Lhere ls confllcL, Lhe
56

flrsL prlorlLy ls usually Lo aLLend Lo dlsLorLed or blocked communlcaLlon so LhaL
oLhers can deal wlLh Lhe Lhlngs whlch Lhey have personal knowledge of raLher
Lhan for Lhe leader Lo Lry and flx someLhlng of whlch Lhey may have no dlrecL
knowledge.

Author|ty
AuLhorlLy operaLes aL more Lhan one level - Lhere ls Lhe auLhorlLy glven by Lhe
formal role and whlch we exerclse on behalf of Lhe organlsaLlon, and Lhere ls Lhe
personal auLhorlLy ln role whlch we achleve by means of Lhe process of
relaLlonshlp and negoLlaLlon whlch ls Lhe sub[ecL of Lhls paper. lL ls perfecLly
posslble Lo have one wlLhouL Lhe oLher - Lo hold Lhe formal role wlLhouL Lhe
personal effecLlveness, or vlce vetso Lo rlse above Lhe consLralnLs of a muddled
organlsaLlon and neverLheless offer genulne leadershlp. 1he besL poslLlon, of
course, ls Lo comblne Lhe auLhorlLy of Lhe role wlLh Lhe ablllLy Lo lead Lhrough
relaLlonshlp, wlLhouL over-relylng on elLher aspecL.

Lqually Lhe use of auLhorlLy ls someLhlng of a sober responslblllLy - leaders would
do well Lo remember LhaL Lhelr very poslLlon glves Lhem auLhorlLy and LhaL as we
have seen elsewhere Lhey wlll be seen and experlenced as havlng power aL many
levels. 1hey do noL generally need Lo add Lo Lhls slLuaLlon by aLLempLlng Lo
remlnd people of Lhelr power or Lo lnslsL on Lhelr 'rlghL Lo manage', or on Lhelr
rlghL Lo shown respecL. 1he paradox of leadershlp ls LhaL lL may ofLen be beLLer
achleved by noL lnslsLlng on lL:
l leotoeJ vety eotly oo lo my teslJeotlol coteet tbot yoo coot moke
ooyboJy Jo ooytbloq. oo coo petsooJe, eocootoqe, cojole, losplte ot
lmplote, bot yoo coot octoolly moke lt boppeo - wbetbet lt ls o
teloctoot teeooqet cottollloq tbelt bebovloot ot o teslstoot stoff
membet wbo Joesot woot to wotk lo o pottlcolot woy. oo coo loslst
opoo compllooce, bot tbot ls oot tbe polot, ooJ ofteo tbe mote tbot
yoo Jo so, tbe less compllooce yoo wlll evoke - os l leotoeJ to my
57

embottossmeot wbeo l wos oo vety yoooq octloq offlcet-lo-cbotqe
ooJ l otJeteJ ooe of tbe joolot stoff to teflll o coffee pot. 8efote looq,
ooJ to tbe omosemeot of tbe otbet stoff, l wos tolJ wbete tbe coffee
pot coolJ be pot, ooJ lt woolJ oot bove beeo o comfottoble
expetleoce.

8oundar|es
ln order boLh Lo exerL personal auLhorlLy and Lo faclllLaLe oLhers' problem-solvlng
ablllLles, leaders need Lo glve careful LhoughL Lo Lhelr poslLlon wlLh regard Lo
oLhers. ln Lhls respecL a useful way of Lhlnklng abouL Lhe leadershlp role ls Lo
focus on Lhe concepL of boundarles, because lL ls across Lhe boundarles beLween
all Lhe varlous lndlvlduals and grouplngs LhaL Lhe connecLlons and relaLlonshlps
have Lo be managed.

lrom Lhls perspecLlve, leadershlp can now be seen as a role lnvolvlng conLlnual
aLLenLlon Lo boundarles - noL only Lhe llLeral boundarles beLween Lhe resldenLlal
unlL and Lhe nelghbourhood, buL also Lhe meLaphorlcal boundarles beLween Lhe
unlL and Lhe resL of Lhe organlsaLlon Lo whlch lL belongs, as well as Lhe
boundarles beLween all Lhe dlfferenL groups of people lnvolved - Lhe sLaff Leam,
Lhe managemenL Leam, Lhe young people and unlL as a whole, and Lhe famllles as
well as Lhe oLher professlonals. 1he leader ls conLlnually monlLorlng Lhe 'Lrafflc'
across Lhese boundarles: where are Lhe Lenslons, and whaL are Lhe percepLlons
whlch each group holds boLh of Lhe oLhers and of Lhe leader?

xomp/e
Ooe olqbt tbete wos o mloot Jlstotbooce ootslJe o smoll teslJeotlol bome
fot oJolesceots wblcb leJ to tbe pollce beloq colleJ, oltbooqb oo Jomoqe
wos Jooe ooJ lt totoeJ oot tbot tbe yoooq people lo tbe bome wete oot
lovolveJ. Nevettbeless tbe oext motoloq tbe moooqet petsooolly vlslteJ
some of tbe oelqbboots to meoJ feoces wblcb boJ oot octoolly beeo
58

btokeo, oltbooqb oot sotptlsloqly tbe yoooq people lo tbe bome boJ come
ooJet sosplcloo of coosloq ot ptovokloq tbe loclJeot.

ln facL Lhe leader ofLen has Lo sLep ln and ouL of role ln Lhese dlfferenL groups,
and Lo represenL one group Lo anoLher, someLlmes over apparenLly Lrlvlal lssues,
aL oLher Llmes over much more crlLlcal maLLers. 1hls requlres flexlblllLy and Lhe
ablllLy Lo negoLlaLe and medlaLe. lL ls noL only a quesLlon of negoLlaLlon, Lhough,
buL also of belng seen as havlng power and auLhorlLy by Lhe varlous groups and
worklng approprlaLely wlLh Lhe feellngs whlch Lhls may lead Lo, as well as
someLlmes brlnglng groups LogeLher Lo do Lhelr own negoLlaLlng. ln Lhe above
example, lf Lhe dlsLurbance boJ been caused by Lhe young people ln Lhe home,
Lhere may well have needed Lo be a serles of meeLlngs boLh wlLhln Lhe home and
beLween nelghbours, sLaff and young people, ln an efforL Lo resLore relaLlonshlps
Lo a workable level, perhaps playlng a 'brldglng' or medlaLlng role as descrlbed
below

CfLen Lhe leader wlll also need Lo represenL Lhe place beyond Lhese boundarles
and ouLslde Lhe agency, or Lo defend lLs Lask and lLs boundarles, ensurlng LhaL
Lhese are deflned ln such a way as Lo flL well and maLch Lhe supply and demand
chaln. 1hls wlll someLlmes lnvolve remlndlng Lhe ouLslde world of Lhe exlsLence
and needs of Lhe unlL, and promoLlng lLs lmage lf necessary.

xomp/e
AJom wos moooqet of o locol ootbotlty cbllJteos bome wblcb wos
comloq ooJet ptessote becoose of o foll-off lo tefettols. wbeo be
beotJ tbot tbe fotote of tbe bome wos to be JlscosseJ ot o seolot
moooqemeot meetloq be tepoesteJ oo loJlvlJool meetloq wltb ooe
of tbe moooqets, ooJ ptoposeJ tbot tbls meetloq sboolJ be belJ oo
tbe ptemlses, to temloJ bet of tbe poteotlol ooJ tbe ptevloos
effectlve wotk lo tbe ploce, ooJ boploq tbeteby to lofloeoce bet loto
59

becomloq mote of oo oJvocote fot tbe ploce. 5be come ot tbe eoJ of
offlce boots ooe Joy, wbeo tbe yoooq people wete lo tbe bollJloq
ooJ mokloq o votlety of JemooJs wblcb tbe stoff wete sttoqqlloq to
meet, ooJ sbe wos lmptesseJ ot tbe stoffs oblllty to tespooJ
posltlvely to wbot wete sometlmes vety cbolleoqloq JemooJs. 1bete
wos oo tooqlble ootcome ftom tbls meetloq bot oo effectlve toppott
wos estobllsbeJ wltb tbls moooqet wblcb moy bove ployeJ o osefol
tole lo tbe sobsepoeot Jlscossloos of tbe bome ooJ lts poteotlol.

1he p/oce of |eadersh|p
lf leaders do have Lo pay conLlnual aLLenLlon Lo Lhese boundarles, Lhe quesLlon
arlses as Lo where Lhey should seek Lo poslLlon Lhemselves ln relaLlon Lo all Lhese
varlous groups - perhaps as a go-beLween or channel of communlcaLlon, or
maybe as a flgurehead for Lhem Lo alm aL?

lL has been argued ln parLlcular LhaL Lhe role of Lhe leader ls Lo sLay on Lhe
boundary beLween Lhe lnslde and ouLslde of Lhe unlL, holdlng and 'conLalnlng'
whaL ls wlLhln buL also waLchlng carefully whaL ls golng on exLernally - Lhls ls
where Lhe flgure of !anus, Lhe 8oman Lwo-headed god of doorways, comes ln. As
we saw earller, Lhls may be an uncomforLable poslLlon, because lL may leave Lhe
leader ln an exposed and even lsolaLed poslLlon because lf you spend oll your
Llme on Lhe boundary Lhere ls an lmpllcaLlon LhaL you do noL really belong elLher
on Lhe lnslde or Lhe ouLslde. We have all seen leaders who are ouL of Louch wlLh
Lhelr Leam and command llLLle respecL, and who can Lherefore effecL llLLle
change. 1hls may happen lf Lhey are Loo closely ldenLlfled wlLh a 'head offlce'
perspecLlve, buL equally lL may happen lf Lhey [usL feel Loo anxlous ln Lhe role,
and reLreaL lnLo a personal comforL zone - or lnLo a slngle role, such as enforclng
regulaLlons or perhaps belng a klndly parenLal flgure - whlch keeps Lhem
proLecLed from Lhe complexlLy of Lhe demands and buffered from Lhe lmpacL of
dally evenLs ln Lhe unlL.
60

8r|dg|ng ro|e
When leaders alm Lo poslLlon Lhemselves on Lhe boundary, Lhey Lherefore need
Lo be careful noL Lo use Lhls poslLlon as a defence agalnsL lnvolvemenL wlLh elLher
slde. 8elng on Lhe boundary ln Lhls case may mean playlng a 'brldglng role',
helplng people on each slde Lo appreclaLe each oLher's poslLlon, or Lo clarlfy Lhelr
own poslLlon, buL wlLh flrmly rooLed connecLlons Lo boLh banks of Lhe rlver.

1hey need also Lo be aware of Lhe rlsk ln Lhls poslLlon of belng unwlLLlngly 'seL up'
for confllcL. lf Lhere are Lenslons beLween lnslde and ouLslde, or beLween sLaff
and young people, Lhen puLLlng yourself ln Lhe mlddle of lL all may be Lhe
LoughesL poslLlon of all, 'beLween a rock and a hard place', as Lhe saylng goes. An
effecLlve leader can have conslderable lmpacL ln Lhls role, especlally lf Lhey are
genulnely senslLlve Lo Lhe feellngs on all sldes, buL lL may be a sLressful poslLlon
Lo lnhablL, where all Lhe Lenslons ln Lhe sysLem are felL mosL powerfully. As a
leader Lhls may be where your LalenLs are besL used buL lL may also be where
your paln ls mosL felL, elLher because you have a personal 'resonance' for a
parLlcular Lype of emoLlon, or because you feel mosL aL home wlLh cerLaln
paLLerns of lnLeracLlon. Some people appear Lo flnd saLlsfacLlon ln a leadershlp
role [usL because lL enables Lhem Lo remaln unaLLached - and Lhls ls noL
necessarlly a healLhy slLuaLlon. Cnce agaln Lhe key ls Lo develop awareness aL
many levels, lncludlng self-awareness.

Work|ng w|th b|urred boundar|es
Cne of Lhe mosL lmporLanL quallLles of effecLlve leadershlp ls Lherefore Lhe ablllLy
Lo esLabllsh and malnLaln clear boundarles - belng exacLly clear as Lo who should
be dolng whaL and why, who ls leoJloq whaL, and belng clear abouL Lhe naLure
and quallLy of Lhese relaLlonshlps. arL of whaL leaders are requlred Lo do ls Lo
help everyone else be clear abouL Lhelr roles, lncludlng noL only whaL Lhey are
supposed Lo do buL also whaL Lhey are oot expecLed Lo do, Lhelr 'cuL-off polnLs'.
61

1hls ls noL always as sLralghLforward as lL sounds: Lhere are many pressures Lo
blur Lhe boundarles, and lndeed some occaslons when over-rlgld boundarles are
noL helpful. 1hese pressures may be subLle as well as overL, and Lhey are usually
connecLed wlLh anxleLy, whlch ls whaL leaders Lhen have Lo address.

xomp/e
Aooe wos coocetoeJ tbot Mlke, o oew membet of bet stoff, wos qlvloq
mlxeJ messoqes to tbe yoooq people by beloq too cbommy wltb
tbem ot tlmes bot tbeo sometlmes bovloq to soJJeoly swltcb toles
ooJ come oo vety sttooq wbeo tbey wete qettloq oot of booJ. Aooe
felt tbot Mlkes ovet-fomlllot petsooo, os lf wete oll teeooqets
toqetbet, wos Jooe to moke blmself feel mote comfottoble, oltbooqb
lt octoolly moJe tbe yoooq people less comfottoble becoose tbey
JlJot koow wbete tbey stooJ wltb blm. nowevet, Aooe llkeJ Mlke
(oftet oll, sbe llkeJ teeooqets!) ooJ felt be wos o ptomlsloq ptospect
fot ptomotloo, so sbe JlJot Jlscootoqe bls ovettotes to tbe yoooq
people, wblcb sbe ptefetteJ to vlew os slmply bls oblllty to estobllsb
posltlve telotloosblps. lo effect sbe wos colloJloq wltb blm, becoose
sbe JlJot feel comfottoble betself lo Jtowloq tbls pottlcolot
boooJoty. 1bos oo lmpottoot blt of leoJetsblp wos mlssloq, ooJ tbete
wos some potollel ptocess (see cboptet J) lo tbot Aoole wos
tepeotloq lo bet booJlloq of Mlke tbe some lock of clotlty wblcb be
wos Jlsployloq lo bls telotloosblps wltb tbe yoooq people . ooJ sbe
koew tbot soooet ot lotet sbe woolJ bove to coll blm to otJet,
oltbooqb wbeo cbolleoqeJ lo sopetvlsloo to Jo so sbe wos stlll
teloctoot!

WhaL Lhls slLuaLlon conflrmed was LhaL colluslon and Lhe blurrlng of boundarles ls
unhelpful noL only ln everyday pracLlce buL also ln leadershlp. Colluslon can
become corroslve, Laklng us off-Lask or even anLl-Lask. 1here ls a sLyle of
62

leadershlp whlch mlghL be called 'Arm round Lhe shoulder' ln whlch Lhe leader
may lmply LhaL we're all pals LogeLher", buL whlch ls unreallsLlc because lL
denles and seeks Lo blur Lhe necessary power and auLhorlLy lssues ln Lhe
relaLlonshlp. When Lhe power flnally has Lo be re-asserLed, Lhe denlal ls revealed
and everyone may feel shocked by Lhe sudden reverslon Lo whaL should have
been ln place orlglnally. 1hls ls noL Lo say, of course, LhaL leaders should never
relax and relaLe more lnformally wlLh Lhelr sLaff, buL LhaL Lhey wlll sLlll need Lo
remaln consclous of Lhelr role and responslblllLles, and Lo remlnd oLhers
occaslonally of Lhese. ln facL ln mosL organlsaLlons Lhe preLence on anyone's parL
LhaL 'Lveryone ls equal' ln power or sLaLus ls an unreal and confuslng message.

lf we are Lo apply a 'relaLlonshlp-based' approach Lo leadershlp, we wlll have Lo
pay aLLenLlon Lo Lhe currency and means of conducL for Lhese relaLlonshlps - Lhe
personal quallLles of Lhe leader, Lhelr levels of self-awareness and Lhelr ablllLy Lo
monlLor and deploy Lhe self aL all levels of pracLlce. 1hls relaLes Lo whaL ls
someLlmes called emoLlonal lnLelllgence (Powe 2008), and lL requlres
conslderable sklll and awareness whlch wlll usually beneflL from Lralnlng and
ongolng supervlslon. lL lnvolves learnlng ln depLh abouL Lhe ways ln whlch
emoLlons may 'fly around' ln organlsaLlons, someLlmes leadlng Lo people
experlenclng unaccounLably sLrong reacLlons Lo each oLher and noL knowlng how
Lo even begln Lo address Lhese. 1he leader, Loo, rlsks geLLlng caughL up ln Lhls
poLenLlal maelsLrom, and Lhls ls where Lhe addlLlonal help of an exLernal sLaff
consulLanL can be vlLal.

xomp/e
l wos sopetvlsloq kote, o tbetoplst wbo wos octloq os stoff qtoop
coosoltoot to o foclllty fot o lotqe qtoop of yoooq offeoJets. Oo ooe
occosloo sbe tolJ me tbot tbe stoff boJ tolJ bet lo possloq tbot lo tbe
eveoloqs o blloJ eye wos beloq totoeJ to tbe foct tbot some of tbe
yoooq people wete loJolqloq lo bollyloq bebovloot ooJ JemooJloq
63

mooey ftom yoooqet teslJeots. 1bls wos o sltootloo wblcb coolJ
cleotly pot some of tbe mote voloetoble teslJeots ot tlsk of beloq
explolteJ by otbets, ooJ yet somebow lt boJ evolveJ loto o ptoctlce
sltootloo wblcb ooboJy cbolleoqeJ. kote tepotteJ tbls to me lo
possloq wblle telotloq some otbet loclJeot ooJ l teqlsteteJ some
sotptlse bot oqolo somebow posseJ lt by. lt wos ooly wbeo l wos
meotlooloq tbls Jetoll to my owo sopetvlsot tbot tbe bock floolly
stoppeJ ooJ we tecoqolseJ toqetbet tbot tbete wos collosloo qoloq
oo, ooJ tbot tbls sltootloo oeeJeJ to be bolteJ ooJ cbolleoqeJ.

ln Lhls slLuaLlon an underlylng anxleLy abouL Lhe effecLs of Lhe bullylng had bullL
up and spread (perhaps unconsclously) LhroughouL Lhe sLaff Leam, buL nobody
had been able Lo break Lhe cycle of denlal and colluslon unLll lL evenLually
reached an exLernal person who called a halL. Cnce Lhls was done, lL was
relaLlvely sLralghLforward Lo Lake lL back lnLo Lhe organlsaLlon and address Lhe
lssue dlrecLly, brlnglng a sense of rellef aL every level LhaL Lhe slLuaLlon was back
under conLrol.

k|sks |n boundary management
!usL as we approached Lhe role of leadershlp by lmaglnlng an organlsaLlon
wlLhouL a leader, we can perhaps appreclaLe Lhe need for boundarles more
clearly lf we explore some of Lhe ways ln whlch boundarles may be mlsmanaged
- and Lhe consequences. ln Lhe case of Anne and Mlke, above, Lhere was a sorL
of colluslon beLween Lhe leader and a sLaff member whlch perpeLuaLed unhelpful
pracLlce. 1here may also be colluslon ln Lhe oLher dlrecLlon, beLween Lhe leader
and senlor managers, so LhaL Lhe leader becomes over-ldenLlfled wlLh Lhe more
exLernal poslLlon of overseelng and perhaps conLrolllng Lhe place, raLher Lhan
sLaylng on Lhe boundary and medlaLlng beLween Lhe exLernal and lnLernal.

64

xomp/e
1be leoJet of o oolt ptepotloq cbllJteo fot fostet cote wos lovlteJ to
jolo o seolot ploooloq teom ptoject qtoop explotloq fotote pollcy lo tbe
oqeocy. 5be foooJ tbls tole stlmolotloq ooJ somewbot mote
comfottoble tboo evetyJoy llfe lo tbe oolt ooJ oftet tbe ptoject qtoop
flolsbeJ sbe cootlooeJ vlsltloq neoJpoottets oo ftepoeot occosloos
ooJ become less pteseot lo tbe bome ooJ eveotoolly wos petcelveJ by
tbe cote stoff os oo obseotee looJlotJ. 5be boJ steppeJ too fot
ootslJe tbe extetool boooJoty ooJ wos oo looqet oo effectlve leoJet
wltblo tbe oolt ltself.

Lqually some organlsaLlons creaLe Lhelr own boundary dlfflculLles by Lhe
organlsaLlonal sLrucLures whlch Lhey devlse. Cne chlld care charlLy esLabllshed a
chlldren's home wlLh a Lop-heavy sLrucLure of Lhree depuLy heads and four Leam
leaders ln a relaLlvely small sLaff Leam. 1oo many people were compeLlng Lo lead
Lhe Leam, wlLh Lhe resulL LhaL lL was llke an over-crowded llfL - no-one could Lurn
around or even sLand comforLably ln Lhelr own place. lL became over-heaLed and
Lhere was conLlnual argumenL as Lo who was ln charge of whaL - much of whlch
could have been prevenLed by havlng fewer people ln charge ln Lhe flrsL place. l
became lnvolved as sLaff Leam consulLanL and spenL some Llme unLangllng Lhe
compllcaLed Lenslons whlch Lhls arrangemenL had fed before helplng Lhe senlor
managers Lo devlse a slmpler sllmmed-down sLrucLure ln people could be clearer
abouL Lhelr own and each oLhers' responslblllLles. 1he whole Leam valued Lhe
new arrangemenLs as people now knew who Lo Lurn Lo.

Summary
1hls chapLer has lnLroduce Lhe lmporLanL concepL of boundarles and has explored
why and how boundarles may someLlmes become blurred or may even be
denled. We have also looked aL Lhe role of Lhe leader wlLh respecL Lo boundarles
and Lhe ldea of Lhe leader performlng a 'brldglng' role beLween dlfferenL
65

grouplngs, and belng able Lo work oo Lhe boundary raLher Lhan belng pulled Lo
one slde or anoLher.


Powe, u. (2008) 1he LmoLlonally lnLelllgenL Soclal Worker. 8aslngsLoke, algrave
Macmlllan.


Mlller, L. !. (Lrlc !ohn) ltom JepeoJeocy to ootooomy . stoJles lo otqoolzotloo
ooJ cbooqe / London : lree AssoclaLlon, 1993

66

S. WCkkING IN 1nL LVLkDA: 1nL LLADLk AND 1nL 1LAM

Pavlng looked aL Lhe role of leadershlp and aL some of Lhe lssues around
boundarles, we wlll now look aL Lhe lnLeracLlons beLween Lhe leader and Lhe
Leam, especlally bearlng ln mlnd Lhe naLure of Lhe Leam's work wlLh Lhe paln of
Lhe young people.

1he nature of the team's work
l wanL Lo reLurn Lo my commenLs ln Lhe lnLroducLlon Lo Lhls paper (p.3):
'A chlldren's home could be descrlbed as a small and lnLense human
organlsaLlon, provldlng care and supporL for separaLed chlldren, and
focused on addresslng Lhe paln and challenges whlch Lhey face and
supporLlng Lhem Lowards some resoluLlon of Lhe crlsls ln Lhelr llves.'
lL ls essenLlal Lo keep Lhls reallLy ln mlnd, especlally because Lhere ls someLlmes
an elemenL of 'defenslve' Lhlnklng whlch creeps ln Lo pollcy and pracLlce wlLh
chlldren ln resldenLlal care. 1hls someLlmes Lakes Lhe form of argulng LhaL 'all
Lhese chlldren need ls good ordlnary care' raLher Lhan any speclflcally
'LherapeuLlc' help. Whlle nobody would argue agalnsL good ordlnary care, we
musL remember LhaL Lhe exLreme Lurmoll and dlsrupLlon whlch mosL of Lhese
young people have experlenced earller ln Lhelr llves ls llkely Lo have lefL Lhem
wlLh many Lroubled feellngs and confllcLlng emoLlons, and we do know LhaL Lhere
ls clear and sLarLllng evldence abouL Lhe levels of menLal healLh dlfflculLles faced
by many of Lhese young people 8ef). 1hese Lroubled feellngs wlll noL go away or
even necessarlly dlmlnlsh unless speclflc help ls offered, so lL ls surely beLLer Lo
plan - and lead - resldenLlal care on Lhe basls LhaL lL musL offer Lhe young people
senslLlve and engaged supporL from a Leam of dedlcaLed sLaff. We do of course
have Lo be concerned noL Lo sLlgmaLlse or 'paLhologlse' young people ln care, buL
67

aL Lhe same Llme we should noL sell Lhem shorL by Lurnlng a bllnd eye Lo Lhelr
emoLlonal paln (Anglln 2002).

1he compllcaLlon, of course, ls LhaL ln Lhe everyday conLexL of resldenLlal llfe, Lhe
paln and dlsLress ls much more llkely Lo be 'enacLed' Lhrough challenglng
behavlour and verbal ouLbursLs Lhan Lo be arLlculaLed ln Lhe form of dlrecL calls
for undersLandlng and supporL. AddlLlonally, for many of Lhe young people, Lhe
causes of Lhe paln are noL only ln Lhe pasL buL also very much ln Lhe presenL, as
Lhey Lry Lo cope wlLh Lhe sLress of, for example, ongolng confllcLs wlLh Lhelr
parenLs or oLher famlly members. 1hls means LhaL Lhe resldenLlal Leam ls llkely
Lo be faced wlLh many slLuaLlons ln whlch young people's undersLandable
dlsLress wlll 'splll over' lnLo everyday (and every nlghL!) Lenslons. 1he advanLage
of a well-run resldenLlal conLexL, however, ls LhaL Lhese slLuaLlons can offer many
momenLs ln whlch skllled workers can selze Lhe chance Lo offer whaL l have called
'opporLunlLy-led work' - on Lhe spoL supporL, lnformal counselllng and oLher
ways of helplng Lhe young people Lo feel heard, undersLood and helped. Such
work - whlch someLlmes comprlses a large proporLlon of a day's work - requlres
parLlcular skllls and lLself needs Lhe supporL of skllled leadershlp.

xomp/e
1be eveoloq sblft wos Jtowloq towotJs o close ot mlJolqbt oo o ltlJoy
olqbt. 1be boose wos telotlvely polet, wltb two of tbe yoooq people lo tbelt
tooms wltb moslc ployloq, ooe lo tbe kltcbeo mokloq toost ooJ tbe otbet
tbtee oot wltb ftleoJs. 1be tbtee stoff oo Joty wete tlteJ bot polte teloxeJ,
ooJ tbe teom leoJet, locy, wos wtltloq op ootes oboot oo eotllet polot lo tbe
Joy wbeo Ieooy, ooe of tbe yoooq people, boJ tecelveJ o Jlfflcolt vlslt ftom
bet motbet, wbo boJ otqoeJ wltb bet Jooqbtet oboot oo loclJeot ot bome o
few Joys ptevloosly. Ieooy boJ stotmeJ oot of tbe bollJloq, leovloq bet
motbet, wbo betself boJ eveotoolly left, motoooeJ ooJ ooqty. Notbloq boJ
beeo tesolveJ, oltbooqb Ieooy boJ tetotoeJ sooo oftetwotJs, oftet bet
68

motbet boJ qooe, ooJ boJ tetteoteJ to bet toom. Ooe of tbe stoff, Allce,
boJ sot ootslJe Ieooys toom fot o wblle, to let bet koow sbe wos tbete to
offet soppott, ooJ boJ moooqeJ to excbooqe o few wotJs, oltbooqb ot tbls
stoqe Ieooy wos JetetmloeJ to lsolote betself.

lote lo tbe eveoloq Allce tetotoeJ to Ieooys toom ooJ foooJ tbot sbe wos
vomltloq oo tbe floot oftet tokloq oo ovetJose of poloklllets. 1bls wos oot of
cbotoctet fot Ieooy, ooJ tbe stoff ooJ otbet yoooq people wete vety sbockeJ
ooJ coocetoeJ fot bet well-beloq. Allce oow took Ieooy to tbe A&
Jepottmeot of tbe locol bospltol wblle locy soppotteJ tbe otbet yoooq
people ooJ stoff toqetbet lo tbe kltcbeo. 5be wos jost testotloq o seose of
colm ooJ ooJetstooJloq wbeo oootbet of tbe yoooq people tetotoeJ ftom
bet olqbt oot, Jtook ooJ looJ ooJ occompooleJ by two Jtook ftleoJs. 1be
olqbt wos oot ovet yet .

ln Lhls scenarlo Lucy, Lhe Leam leader, ls effecLlvely holdlng Lhe place LogeLher by
remalnlng ln Louch and responslve aL several levels, communlcaLlng wlLh
colleagues, conLalnlng Lhe anxleLy of sLaff and supporLlng Allce as well as
managlng her own lnLernal resources - afLer all Lhere may be furLher dlfflculLles
when !enny and Allce reLurn from Lhe hosplLal and Lucy wlll need Lo pace herself
so LhaL she can remaln responslve for some Llme yeL. She also knows, however,
LhaL Lhe nexL mornlng she wlll be able Lo dlscuss Lhe nlghL's evenLs wlLh her
colleagues and lf necessary Lelephone Lhe unlL leader for some lnformal supporL
aL any polnL.

Manag|ng the emot|ona| economy of the un|t
8ecause of Lhe hlgh levels of felL and expressed emoLlon ln Lhe place, a chlldren's
home can feel llke an envlronmenL whlch can rapldly over-heaL, as people 'flare
up', someLlmes over apparenLly Lrlvlal lncldenLs. A flare-up mlghL mean a sudden
ouLbreak of verbal abuse beLween resldenLs or dlrecLed aL sLaff, or a flghL
69

beLween resldenLs, or (harder Lo deLecL) coverL emoLlonal or sexual bullylng. Any
parLlcular flare-up ln lLself mlghL noL be Loo rlsky, lf lL ls conLalned well by Lhe
sLaff, and lf nobody ls Loo panlcked by lL, buL lf Lhe aLmosphere ls already volaLlle,
and sLaff are Llred or Lense, Lhlngs can geL ouL of hand very qulckly. As we have
[usL seen, a quleL evenlng can easlly be Llpped over lnLo a perlod of escalaLlng
dlfflculLy, whlch wlll puL conslderable sLraln on sLaff paLlence, reslllence and
resourcefulness.

1he role of Lhe sLaff, and especlally of Lhe leader, ls noL only Lo handle such
lncldenLs as Lhey arlse, buL also Lo develop a collecLlve ablllLy ln Lhe Leam Lo read
slLuaLlons and Lo monlLor Lhe aLmosphere, so LhaL dlfflculLles can be predlcLed
and where posslble prevenLed, and so LhaL sLaff can respond poslLlvely Lo
lncldenLs whlch do arlse. 8eLurnlng Lo Lhe lmage of an overheaLlng envlronmenL,
an lnLervenLlon mlghL be needed whlch wlll 'Lurn down Lhe emoLlonal
LhermosLaL' ln Lhe place, perhaps Lhrough 'modelllng' by glvlng a calm response
Lo a panlcky lndlvldual, or by walklng quleLly Lhrough a space ln whlch Lenslon ls
belng expressed, and lf necessary engaglng wlLh a key lndlvldual or sub-group.
Some such lnLervenLlons mlghL be Laken by Lhe chlld care sLaff ln Lhelr dlrecL
work wlLh Lhe young people, whlle oLhers mlghL be applled Lo Lhe sLaff by Lhe
leader, Lo reassure Lhe sLaff LhaL collecLlvely Lhey have Lhe capaclLy and reslllence
Lo handle dlfflculL slLuaLlons. ln parallel wlLh whaL ls someLlmes called Lhe 'chaln
of command' Lhere wlll also need Lo be a 'chaln of supporL' and of modelllng and
lnfluence whlch helps Lo susLaln and develop Lhe emoLlonal aLmosphere ln Lhe
place.

lor such work Lo be wlLhln Lhe remlL of Lhe leader requlres LhaL Lhe leader ls
sufflclenLly ln conLacL wlLh Lhe everyday llfe of Lhe unlL Lo monlLor lLs
LemperaLure and Lo lnLervene, lf lL ls over-heaLlng, Lo ln[ecL some emoLlonal
caplLal or Lo cool Lhlngs down, ad[usLlng Lhe LhermosLaL.

70

Dynam|cs between |eaders and teams
1he dlscusslon has proceeded so far as lf leadershlp was malnly a maLLer of
amlcable dlrecLlon and LrusLed supporL - however we know LhaL Lhls ls noL
always Lhe case. !usL as ln any oLher work seLLlng, Lhere may be Lenslons and
unresolved confllcLs beLween Leams and Lhelr leaders.

Some members of Lhe Leam may feel LhaL Lhe leader ls elLher Loo 'hands-on' and
lnLerferlng ln Lhe deLall of Lhelr work, or 'hands-off' and unlnLeresLed or
lndlfferenL Lo Lhem and Lhelr work. ln Lhe example above, Lucy slmply enabled
Lhe sLaff member Lo Lake !enny Lo Lhe hosplLal, whereas lf she had brusquely
ordered her Lo do so, or perhaps helghLened Lhe anxleLy and drama by sendlng
for an ambulance whlch was noL really needed, or appeared Lo allocaLe an
unpopular Lask Lo one of Lhe sLaff and kepL an 'easy' opLlon for herself, Lhe whole
Lhlng mlghL have Lurned ouL very dlfferenLly.

Lqually Lhe leader may vlew one of Lhe Leam as 'dlfflculL', erraLlc or unrellable ln
Lhelr work wlLh Lhe young people and may flnd lL hard Lo offer effecLlve
leadershlp Lo Lhls person.

xomp/e
lo o sbott-stoy cbllJteos bome o ptoblem JevelopeJ wltb o yoooq
btotbet ooJ slstet of 11 ooJ 12 wbo weot tbtooqb of pbose of Joloq
o toooet toqetbet oftet beJtlme. Ooe olqbt wbeo tbey wete
btooqbt bock lote lo tbe eveoloq by tbe pollce, ooe of tbe stoff, tlco,
oobelpfolly JtomotlseJ tbe sltootloo fottbet by cbooqloq loto bet
olqbt-clotbes (sbe wos Joe to Jo tbe sleeploq-lo Joty). 5be oppeoteJ
lo tbe boll lookloq wottleJ ooJ ookempt, ployloq wbot sbe loteoJeJ
to be tbe tole of oo ooxloos ooJ sleepless poteot - tbooqb mocb to
tbe pozzlemeot botb of colleoqoes ooJ yoooq people, wbo posslbly
sow bet totbet os loJy Mocbetb. 1bls lotetveotloo coolJ olso bove
71

beeo seeo os oo ooJecloteJ blJ fot leoJetsblp, lo tbot tlco felt tbot
tbe test of tbe teom wete too occeptloq ot petbops teslqoeJ to tbls
potteto of obscooJloq. 5be moy bove beeo tlqbt, bot tbe ploce to
sott oot socb Jlffeteoce of opptoocb wos sotely o stoff meetloq
totbet tboo tbe omoteot Jtomotlcs. NeeJless to soy, sbe wos oot
qloJ to bove tbls poloteJ oot to bet, ooJ lo foct felt polte ptooJ of
bet petfotmooce!

ln Lhls slLuaLlon Lhe unlL leader felL lrrlLaLed aL belng dlsLracLed from Lhe maln
Lask of flndlng a way of helplng Lhese Lwo Lroubled chlldren Lo feel more secure
ln Lhe home, because she had Lo deal wlLh whaL felL llke Lhe eccenLrlc behavlour
of one of Lhe sLaff. ln facL Lrlca herself was flndlng Lhe work dlsLresslng and hard
Lo make sense of, especlally as she was sLlll llvlng nearby ln a Lense relaLlonshlp
wlLh her own parenLs. 1he young people aL Llmes became almosL proLecLlve
Lowards Lrlca, whose vulnerablllLy Lhey could deLecL, alLhough when Lhey were
feellng more Lroubled, Lhey could make her llfe exLremely dlfflculL. LvenLually
Lrlca moved away from her famlly home and Lransferred lnLo a more
admlnlsLraLlve posL ln whlch she had no dlrecL conLacL wlLh Lroubled young
people, and she began Lo en[oy her work much more. ln Lhe leadershlp role Lhe
manager reallsed LhaL ln order Lo be able Lo help Lhose young people more
effecLlvely she would have Lo enable Lhe unlL Lo work more approprlaLely and ln
Lhls case LhaL lnvolved worklng wlLh Lrlca Lowards her move lnLo dlfferenL work.

Work|ng at ground |eve|: opportun|ty |ed |eadersh|p.
Leadershlp, as we have seen ln many of Lhe examples ln Lhls paper, does noL
always lnvolve Lhe chalrlng of meeLlngs or Lhe drawlng up of pollcles. Much of lL
happens aL 'ground level' ln Lhe everyday lnLeracLlons ln Lhe unlL, ln encounLers
wlLh lndlvlduals and groups of young people, or worklng alongslde oLher sLaff
who are engaged wlLh Lhe young people. lL ls lmporLanL LhaL Lhe leader spends
sufflclenL Llme worklng aL 'ground level', and ofLen Lo do so ln a quleL or
72

unassumlng way. lL may noL be necessary for Lhe leader Lo be especlally
demonsLraLlve ln Lhelr sLyle: everyone ls llkely Lo be aware of Lhelr role and Lhelr
auLhorlLy, and very ofLen lL may be beLLer Lo underplay Lhe role raLher Lhan over-
play lL.

lor example, belng wllllng Lo spend Llme alongslde [unlor sLaff ln humdrum Lasks,
or relaxlng wlLh colleagues over coffee aL Lhe end of a shlfL, may be [usL as useful
ln bulldlng Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween leader and Leam as any of Lhe more formal
Lasks. 1he concepL of 'moooqemeot by wolkloq oboot (cf Puczynskl 1993)
became popular ln Lhe 1990s and was someLlmes parodled wlLh lmpllcaLlons LhaL
Lhls was all LhaL managers ever dld or needed Lo do, buL ln Lhe resldenLlal seLLlng
Lhere ls real value ln Lhe leader belng seen Lo be lnvolved and engaged aL varlous
levels, and concerned noL [usL wlLh Lhe 'Lask' buL wlLh Lhe people dolng Lhe Lask.
Agaln Lhls may become clearer lf we plcLure a leader who ls oevet seen aL 'ground
level' and who ls Lhen llkely Lo be experlenced as remoLe and uncarlng.

AnoLher aspecL of valulng Lhe everyday work of leadershlp ls LhaL, [usL as ln
pracLlce much of Lhe mosL effecLlve work wlLh young people happens ln Lhe
unplanned ln-beLween momenLs when an opporLunlLy may arlse for useful
communlcaLlon (Ward 2006), so Lhe same wlll ofLen happen ln Lhe leader's work
wlLh Lhe Leam. 1he Lask of Lhe leader wlll be Lo spoL Lhe opporLunlLy and flnd an
approprlaLe way Lo respond.

xomp/e
Ctoce wos tbe beoJ of o foyet (bostel) lo o ptovloclol clty. 5be boJ
become coocetoeJ ot tbe woy lo wblcb some stoff oppeoteJ to be
Jlstoocloq tbemselves ftom tbe yoooq people, ftepoeotly tetteotloq
to tbe offlce wbeo oo Joty ooJ eveo sbottloq tbe Joot so tbot tbey
seemeJ polte ooovolloble to tbe yoooq people. 5toff jostlfleJ tbls
posltloo oo tbe qtoooJs tbot tbey boJ so mocb popetwotk to Jo ooJ
73

tbot lo ooy cose tbe yoooq people boJ to leoto to be loJepeoJeot
bot to Ctoce tbls oll seemeJ to bove beeo tokeo too fot.

Ooe Joy os sbe wolkeJ post tbe offlce Joot Ctoce sow neleoo, ooe of
tbe yoooq people, stooJloq ootslJe by tbe Joot lookloq oetvoos.
Ctoce beqoo tolkloq wltb neleoo, ooJ meoowblle sbe olso poletly
opeoeJ tbe offlce Joot ooJ leJ neleoo lo by tbe booJ, sot Jowo wltb
bet ooJ belJ o coovetsotloo wltb bet, qtoJoolly Jtowloq lo tbe otbet
stoff ooJ lovolvloq tbem lo tbe coovetsotloo wblcb become mote
teloxeJ ooJ eveo oolmoteJ. As oootbet yoooq petsoo come to tbe
Joot Ctoce beckooeJ to blm to come lo, too. lotet lo tbe Joy ot tbe
booJovet meetloq ooe of tbe stoff exptesseJ ooooyooce tbot Ctoce
boJ btooqbt tbe yoooq people loto tbe offlce, bot Ctoce steeteJ tbls
loto o Jlscossloo oboot tbe yoooq peoples qeooloe oeeJ fot oJvlce
ooJ beftleoJloq. lo tbe looq too tbe offlce tetotoeJ to lts stoff ooly
stotos, bot tbe stoff beqoo to emetqe ooJ eoqoqe wltb tbe yoooq
people mocb mote ftepoeotly.

ln Lhls example, Crace Look advanLage of Lhe momenL whlch presenLed lLself ln
an unplanned way by slmply dolng whaL she would have llked Lhe sLaff Lo do, and
she rlsked causlng some confuslon and lrrlLaLlon by breaklng Lhelr convenLlons. lL
pald off ln Lhe long run as sLaff began Lo recognlse LhaL havlng more conLacL wlLh
Lhe young people was noL only valued by Lhe young people, buL also broughL
more saLlsfacLlon and fulfllmenL Lo Lhe sLaff Lhemselves, as Lhey became more
confldenL ln Lhelr own ablllLy Lo offer real supporL and advlce.

lf leaders are Lo Lake advanLage of Lhe opporLunlLles for useful communlcaLlon
whlch arlse lnformally ln everyday work, Lhey need Lo become adepL noL only aL
monlLorlng whaL ls happenlng ln Lhe place, buL also aL spoLLlng and uslng Lhe
74

opporLunlLles when Lhey arlse: Lhe skllls are very slmllar Lo Lhose needed for
opporLunlLy led work wlLh young people.

SomeLlmes whaL arlses ls Lhe opporLunlLy noL [usL for a leadershlp lnLervenLlon
buL also for a 'Lralnlng and developmenL' one, as Collle has descrlbed. 1here are
also many good opporLunlLles for supervlslon, or whaL ayne and ScoLL called
'llve supervlslon':

xomp/e
AbmeJ boJ speot tbe lost fotty mlootes ttyloq to cootolo 1om, o
yoooq boy wbo boJ flowo loto o toqe wltb oootbet boy ooJ boJ boJ
to be temoveJ to bls owo toom so tbot be coolJ oot botm otbets.
1om wos oo looqet beloq pbyslcolly vloleot bot be wos stlll vety
ooqty, ooJ AbmeJ wos ttyloq to qet tbtooqb tbe toqe ooJ wos
beqlooloq to belp 1om to tecoqolse wbot wos teolly ttooblloq blm,
wblcb seemeJ to stem ftom bls feelloq of tejectloo by bls motbet
oftet o teceot weekeoJ ot bome tbot weot boJly wtooq.

1be oolt moooqet, 5elloo, sot oo tbe floot ootslJe 1oms beJtoom,
wltb tbe Joot sllqbtly ojot so tbot botb AbmeJ ooJ 1om koew sbe
wos tbete, bot oot Jltectly lotetveoloq. Occoslooolly eltbet 1om ot
AbmeJ woolJ coll oot to bet ot osk bet o poestloo, ooJ ot ooe polot
sbe btooqbt lo o coffee ooJ blscolt fot eocb of tbem. 5be coolJ tell
tbot tbls wos totoloq loto oo lmpottoot tlme fot 1om to oobotJeo
blmself tbtooqb tolkloq wltb AbmeJ, bot epoolly sbe wos owote of
tbe sttolo oo AbmeJ, wbo wos JtoloeJ oftet sevetol Joys oo sblft
wltboot o Jeceot bteok. Aftet tbe sltootloo wos eveotoolly btooqbt
to oo eoJ, 5elloo wos lo o qooJ posltloo to belp AbmeJ Je-btlef ooJ
leoto ftom tbe wbole loclJeot. lt wos olso lmpottoot to 1om tbot
75

AbmeJ boJ beeo oble to stoy wltb blm tbtooqboot bls ooqet ooJ
Jlsttess.

Cf course, supporL of Lhls sorL can be offered beLween any Lwo colleagues on
shlfL LogeLher, buL lL ls especlally valuable lf Lhe unlL leader ls also lnvolved aL Lhls
level - parLly so LhaL she remalns ln close conLacL wlLh Lhe currenL concerns of
Lhe young people buL also so LhaL she can use Lhls medlum Lo relnforce whaLever
models of everyday work she ls promoLlng, Lhough modelllng. lor example, she
may have wlshed Lo promoLe Lhe use of Lhls sorL of 'llve supervlslon' as a means
of muLual supporL wlLhln Lhe Leam, and on Lhls occaslon she was able Lo
demonsLraLe lLs value boLh Lo sLaff and Lo young people.

Summary
1hls chapLer has focused on Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe leader and Lhe Leam,
especlally wlLh regard Lo helplng Lhe Leam Lo handle Lhelr emoLlonal Lask wlLh
Lhe young people. We have looked noL only aL Lhe overall relaLlonshlp beLween
leader and Leam, buL also aL Lhe ldeas of 'ground-level' work and 'opporLunlLy led
leadershlp'.

Anglln, !. (2002) lolo, Notmollty ooJ tbe 5ttoqqle fot cooqtoeoce. kelotetptetloq
keslJeotlol cote fot cbllJteo ooJ ootb. PaworLh ress, new ?ork.

Collle, A. (2002) CpporLunlsLlc SLaff uevelopmenL SLraLegles ln 1herapeuLlc
CommunlLles. 1betopeotlc commooltles 23 (2) 123-132

Puczynskl, A. (1993) Lxplalnlng Lhe successlon of managemenL fads. 1be
lotetootloool Iootool of nomoo kesootce Moooqemeot. 4 (2) 443 - 463

Ward, A. (2006) wotkloq lo Ctoop cote. 5oclol wotk ooJ 5oclol cote lo keslJeotlol
ooJ uoy cote 5ettloqs. 5ecooJ Jltloo. 8rlsLol, ollcy ress.
76

6. LLADLkSnI IN 1nL CCN1Lk1 CI VALULS: CWLk, kLIUDICL AND
DLLNDLNC.

ln Lhls chapLer we explore anoLher dlmenslon of leadershlp, focuslng on values
and Lhe powerful ways ln whlch Lhese values can underpln some of Lhe dllemmas
whlch arlse ln everyday pracLlce ln resldenLlal chlld care, especlally ln Lhe
relaLlonshlps beLween Lhe leader and Lhe Leam and young people.

1he Va|ues of Leadersh|p
Leadershlp ls someLlmes dlscussed as lf lL was a sclence, ln whlch - so long as Lhe
necessary componenLs are puL ln place and Lhe rlghL connecLlons properly wlred
up - everyLhlng should run llke clockwork. CLhers, meanwhlle descrlbe lL as lf lL
were one of Lhe arLs, requlrlng personal quallLles and lnvenLlveness, lncludlng
sklll ln 'conducLlng' Lhe whole ensemble of Lhe organlsaLlon as lf lL was an
orchesLra, and l confess Lo leanlng ln Lhls dlrecLlon. A more balanced vlew would
surely lncorporaLe boLh of Lhese elemenLs - Lhe Lechnlcal and Lhe expresslve -
buL Lhere would sLlll be someLhlng mlsslng lf Lhe leadershlp role was noL
underplnned by a clear seL of values.

ln all forms of soclal care Lhere needs Lo be an underlylng awareness of Lhe
values of Lhe servlce, and Lhese are ofLen underplnned by formal sLaLemenLs such
as Lhe CSCC Code of LLhlcs.

1here ls an addlLlonal responslblllLy on leadershlp Lo embody and promoLe Lhe
values of Lhe servlce: lf Lhe leader doesn'L acLlvely promoLe Lhese values lL wlll be
much harder for anyone else Lo do so wlLh much effecLlveness. Among Lhe values
whlch we mlghL lnclude would be:

77

- A fundamenLal respecL for oLher people aL all levels and whaLever Lhelr role
as elLher servlce provlder or servlce user
- A commlLmenL Lo respecL people's confldenLlallLy
- An acLlve concern Lo promoLe Lhe well-belng of Lhe resldenLs and Lo harness
Lhe work of Lhe place Lo supporL Lhls alm
- A wllllngness Lo llsLen Lo and lncorporaLe oLhers' vlews wlLhln Lhe worklng
meLhods and Lhe organlsaLlonal culLure of Lhe place
- A commlLmenL Lo promoLe an approach based on undersLandlng, Lolerance
and lncluslveness
- An acLlve commenL Lo valulng dlfference and dlverslLy

Slnce so much does cenLre upon Lhe leader's way of worklng, lL ls falr Lo assume
LhaL hls or her acLlons and sLaLemenLs wlll be conLlnually 'read' for Lhe message
whlch he/she conveys abouL how people should deal wlLh each oLher. Leaders
Lherefore have Lo noL only speak clearly abouL values buL also embody Lhem ln
Lhelr acLlons and alm Lo model value-led pracLlce. ln facL wheLher or noL Lhey
alm Lo do so, Lhelr acLlons wlll sLlll be scruLlnlzed and people wlll 'Lake Lhelr lead'
from Lhe leader, [usLlfylng Lhemselves on Lhe basls of how Lhey lnLerpreL whaL
Lhey see. 1hls means LhaL leadershlp ls also a moral acLlvlLy, ln whlch pracLlslng
as you preach wlll be essenLlal.

WlLhln Lhls framework of values l wanL Lo use Lhe resL of Lhls chapLer Lo develop
Lhe Lhemes of power, pre[udlce and dependency, whlch l have argued elsewhere
(Ward 2006) Lo be cenLral Lo all group care pracLlce, and Lhls ls cerLalnly Lrue of
leadershlp ln Lhe resldenLlal chlld care conLexL. Cf course, all leaders operaLe
wlLhln a conLexL of Lhe dynamlcs of power and dependency, and have Lo address
lssues of pre[udlce aL many levels. ln addlLlon Lhese lssues arlse and lnLeracL
crlLlcally ln Lhe llves of Lhe young people Lhemselves, and Lherefore affecL Lhe
ways ln whlch all relaLlonshlps beLween young people, sLaff and leaders operaLe.

78

ower
1he lssue of power ls cenLral Lo Lhe experlence of young people ln resldenLlal
care, because Lhey have very ofLen been on Lhe recelvlng end of oLher people's
power and ofLen of oLhers' abuse of power. 1hey may have been aLLacked,
lgnored or abused ln Lhelr own homes, excluded from school or oLher socleLal
lnsLlLuLlons, and Lhey ofLen have been moved from one place Lo anoLher wlLh
llLLle consulLaLlon or warnlng. 1hese experlences may leave Lhem wlLh confused,
uncerLaln or dlsLorLed expecLaLlons of adulLs, and especlally of adulLs ln power
such as care sLaff and managers, and as we know Lhey may express Lhese feellngs
of Lurmoll by Laklng Lhem ouL on Lhe sLaff and especlally Lhe leader. We know
LhaL Lroubled adolescenLs ln parLlcular may Lhemselves be percelved as powerful
because Lhey can acL ln LhreaLenlng or aggresslve ways, even Lhough Lhe reallLy ls
LhaL lL ls ofLen Lhey who are Lerrlfled wlLhln, and cannoL easlly admlL Lhls Lo
anyone, leasL of all Lo Lhemselves. 1hey may also flnd lL very dlfflculL Lo LrusL or
respecL whaL Lhe manager may say, and may reacL ln such a way as Lo make Lhe
leader feel qulLe 'goL aL'.

All of Lhls means LhaL leaders have Lo operaLe wlLh greaL senslLlvlLy Lo Lhe ways ln
whlch Lhelr use of power may be percelved. lL wlll be essenLlal aL Llmes Lo be very
flrm and asserLlve ln seLLlng down rules or expecLaLlons, buL lf LhaL ls oll Lhe
leader does, Lhey are unllkely Lo galn much respecL or Lo brlng abouL much
change ln Lhe young people, even Lhough Lhey may enforce a superflclal
compllance. ower Lherefore needs Lo be used and negoLlaLed ln Lhe conLexL of
relaLlonshlp, and Lhe flrsL responslblllLy of Lhe leader ls Lo work aL promoLlng Lhe
besL quallLy of relaLlonshlps beLween all concerned. WlLh young people ln care
Lhls wlll mean palnsLaklng work wlLh each lndlvldual and wlLh Lhe group as a
whole Lo creaLe a cllmaLe ln whlch people wlll be able Lo express Lhelr LhoughLs
and feellngs Lo and abouL each oLher.

79

Cne effecLlve way of dolng Lhls ls Lo hold regular group meeLlngs for all sLaff and
resldenLs aL whlch Lhere ls an open agenda for Lhe young people Lo ralse and
debaLe any lssues whlch are of lmporLance Lo Lhem. 1he alm of such a sysLem ls
parLly Lo enable such lssues Lo be addressed and resolved, and parLly Lo creaLe a
cllmaLe of open and less defended communlcaLlon so LhaL confllcLs and Lenslons
can hopefully be handled producLlvely aL oLher Llmes as well, ln oLher words Lo
lower some of Lhe anxleLy abouL lssues of power whlch can lead Lo panlcky
reacLlons and someLlmes vlolenL confllcLs. 1hls sorL of sysLem ls noL easy Lo
esLabllsh or malnLaln (Ward 1993), buL once esLabllshed lL can become cenLral Lo
Lhe whole enLerprlse.

lo o bome belploq to ptepote yoooq oJolesceots fot fostet plocemeots,
tbe noose Meetloq beqoo os o teqolot lofotmol tolk otoooJ tbe soppet
toble oo o MooJoy olqbt, wbeo most of tbe yoooq people boJ oo otbet
commltmeots. 1be yoooq people tbemselves JeclJeJ tbot tbey wooteJ
to estobllsb tbe qtoop os o mote fotmol meetloq, becoose tbey felt tbot
otbetwlse ooy Jlscossloos ot Jeclsloos wete less llkely to be followeJ
tbtooqb by tbe stoff ot tespecteJ by tbe wbole boose. At fltst eocb of
tbe yoooq people took lt lo toto to cbolt tbe weekly meetloqs, bot tbey
sooo JeclJeJ tbot lt wos bettet fot ooe petsoo to 'bolJ' tbe cbolt fot o
few weeks befote booJloq lt ovet, oqolo lo tbe bellef tbot cooslsteocy
woolJ leoJ to qteotet cooflJeoce ooJ tbos bettet meetloqs. As tbe
meetloqs qoloeJ momeotom, mote stoff woolJ moke tbe effott to
otteoJ, ooJ tbe stotos of tbe meetloqs JevelopeJ fottbet os tbe yoooq
people qoloeJ tbe cooflJeoce to exptess tbelt vlews mote Jltectly to
otbets, occoslooolly lovltloq locol soclol wotkets ot teocbets to jolo
tbem. 1be meetloq wos cleotly coottlbotloq to tbe yoooq people's
qtowloq mototlty ooJ tbos to tbelt teoJloess fot fostet plocemeot, ooJ
lt qove tbem volooble lessoos fot llfe lo tbe expetleoce of Jlscovetloq
ooJ ossettloq tbelt owo collectlve ooJ loJlvlJool powet.
80

AnoLher cruclal facLor ln Lhe above example was Lhe encouragemenL and
confldence ln Lhe young people shown by Lhe manager, who conslsLenLly
supporLed Lhelr aLLempLs Lo formallse Lhelr meeLlng and Lo 'feel Lhelr way' lnLo
Lhe experlence of power. 1hls ablllLy Lo encourage oLhers Lo reallse Lhelr own
power requlres confldence and a sense of personal securlLy on Lhe parL of Lhe
manager and oLhers, because oLherwlse lL ls very easy for Lhem Lo feel
LhreaLened by young people's asserLlveness and Lo reacL defenslvely, someLlmes
bellLLllng or lgnorlng Lhelr efforLs.

All leadershlp lnvolves Lhe use of power and auLhorlLy, and leaders are ofLen
percelved as powerful people, even Lhough (llke Lhe young people) Lhey may noL
always feel very powerful Lhemselves. ln oLher words, power ls a sub[ecLlve as
well as an ob[ecLlve quallLy. ln chlldren's homes leaders may use Lhelr power Lo
seek Lo lnfluence and even lnsplre people, Lo encourage sLaff Lo Lry new ways of
worklng for lnsLance, or Lo help young people Lo belleve LhaL Lhey Lhemselves
may have more Lo offer Lhan Lhey reallze. AL oLher Llmes Lhe leader may need Lo
resLore order ln a Lroubled group of young people, or Lo challenge a sLaff Leam
abouL some aspecL of Lhelr pracLlce, and leadershlp may also lnvolve proLecLlng
Lhe unlL from crlLlclsm or susplclon comlng from ouLslde, wheLher from
nelghbours, from oLher young people or from oLher professlonals, and Lhls
proLecLlon may requlre Lhe leader Lo be asserLlve and dlrecLlve. 1he leader may
also have Lo represenL Lhe unlL and lLs work aL exLernal meeLlngs. ln all of Lhese
scenarlos Lhe leader ls exerclslng power whlch relles on a comblnaLlon of
personal and organlsaLlonal auLhorlLy.

re[ud|ce
re[udlce lnvolves maklng assumpLlons abouL oLhers because of sLereoLyped and
ofLen negaLlve vlews whlch usually sLem from anxleLy abouL dlfference - such as
81

Lhe assumpLlons LhaL whlLe people may have abouL black people as a group, LhaL
men may have abouL women, adulLs abouL chlldren (and vlce vetso) and Lhus
abouL any lndlvldual as somehow 'Lyplcal' of LhaL group.

1o lllusLraLe how Lhe dynamlcs of dlfference may weave ln and ouL of leadershlp
scenarlos, we wlll focus here malnly on lssues of gender, alLhough parallel lssues
wlll arlse ln each of Lhe oLher areas menLloned above, and ofLen more powerfully
when more Lhan one lssue overlaps. lease noLe: nCL8CC wlll be publlshlng more
maLerlals on 8ace and eLhnlclLy ln 8esldenLlal Chlld Care ln Lhe near fuLure.

6ender
lssues of gender are woven Lhrough Lhe fabrlc of resldenLlal chlld care, especlally
ln Lhe relaLlonshlps beLween Lhe young people, Lhe sLaff and Lhe manager. 1hls ls
parLly because many of Lhe young people wlll have had negaLlve experlences of
elLher male or female adulLs (or boLh), perhaps Lhrough experlence wlLh Lhelr
parenLs buL maybe also Lhrough encounLers wlLh school, pollce, fosLer carers and
oLher professlonals. ln parLlcular Lhey may carry especlally sLrong feellngs abouL
boLh moLher- and faLher-roles. AL Lhe same Llme lL ls noL uncommon for chlldren
Lo slmulLaneously carry wlLhln Lhem an ldeallsed lmage of Lhe perfecL moLher
Lhey wlsh Lhey had had, or whlch Lhey sLlll wanLed Lo belleve Lhey had - and
lndeed for Lhem Lo somehow carry boLh Lhe ldeallsaLlon and Lhe denlgraLlon aL
Lhe same Llme and Lo swlng unpredlcLably beLween Lhem. 1he sLrengLh of Lhls
amblvalence, and Lhe confuslon whlch lL causes for young people, ofLen
conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe very mlxed feellngs whlch Lhey brlng Lo Lhelr relaLlonshlps wlLh
sLaff and especlally Lhe manager who may be percelved ln a hlghly-charged
parenLal role.

8earlng Lhls ln mlnd, a female manager ln a chlldren's home may represenL elLher
a demon or a savlour Lo Lhe young people, and ofLen boLh ln Lhe same day. All of
Lhe chlldren's wlshes for rescue from Lhelr Lurmoll may be pro[ecLed onLo a
82

'maLernal' manager, who wlll of course have Lo be very careful ln how she
responds Lo Lhese pro[ecLlons. 1hls wlll noL necessarlly happen aL a consclous
level as when Lhe young person may acLually say '?ou're as bad as my Mum you
are' - lL ls more llkely Lo be acLed ouL more lndlrecLly and lmpllclLly, wlLh Lhe
leader only really dlscoverlng lL as she sLruggles Lo cope wlLh Lhe levels of anger
or hosLlllLy she may be experlenclng.

Cne naLural response Lo such pressure may be for Lhe leader Lo Lry Lo respond
wlLh warmLh and accepLance and Lo offer nurLurlng - Lhough Lhls may noL work
elLher. She cannoL ln reallLy, of course, be Lhe unlversal or sLereoLyplcal moLher,
even Lhough aL some level she mlghL wlsh she could be, buL nelLher should she
collude wlLh Lhe feellng LhaL she ls some klnd of monsLer who ls personally
deprlvlng chlldren of Lhelr famlly llfe, whlch she may also be made Lo feel aL
Llmes. She has Lo manage Lhe dlfferlng expecLaLlons whlch Lhe chlldren (and
someLlmes Lhelr parenLs) may have of her and probably alm Lo respond ln a
broadly conslsLenL way Lo all, and yeL somehow sLlll remaln herself and Lrue Lo
herself.

Meanwhlle a male leader may be sub[ecLed Lo Lhe equlvalenL pro[ecLlons of belng
ln some way desLrucLlve, wheLher Lhls means belng seen as [usL as abuslve or
neglecLful, or [usL as hosLlle or absenL as Lhe chlldren may have vlewed Lhelr own
faLher-flgures as belng. 8ecause of sLereoLyped vlews of male auLhorlLy, young
people may LreaL a male manager wlLh greaL cauLlon and apparenL respecL -
someLlmes lnfurlaLlng Lhe oLher sLaff by paylng much more heed Lo Lhe
manager's word Lhan Lo anyone else's. 1he manager has Lo guard agalnsL Lhe self-
deluslon whlch such a paLLern may produce, and accepL LhaL lL may slmply be a
funcLlon of Lhe role Lhey are playlng, or even of Lhe fear whlch Lhe young people
feel for all male adulLs or male auLhorlLy flgures. Lqually, some young people may
flnd relaLlonshlps wlLh Lhelr everyday care sLaff easler, buL keep a speclal klnd of
resenLmenL and re[ecLlon for Lhe leader.
83

Clearly Lhe above dlscusslon ralses lmporLanL quesLlons abouL Lhe broad
sLereoLypes ln socleLy abouL male and female roles, mascullne and femlnlne
'characLerlsLlcs', and Lhe maLernal and paLernal aspecLs of parenLlng. l cerLalnly
do noL wanL Lo suggesL LhaL a female leader wlll ooly experlence dlfflculLles ln
relaLlon Lo supposedly 'femlnlne' or 'maLernal' funcLlons (or vlce vetso for male
leaders). l do feel lL ls helpful, however, Lo acknowledge LhaL - because of Lhe
young people's experlence of whaL wlll ofLen have been exLreme or dlsLorLed
verslons of parenLal roles - Lhey may brlng powerful and compllcaLed
assumpLlons Lo Lhelr lnLeracLlons wlLh leaders, based on Lhese prlor experlences.
lf leaders and Leams can make regular opporLunlLles ln Leam meeLlngs Lo dlscuss
such dynamlcs and Lhelr respecLlve experlence of Lhem, and lf Lhey can also
exLend such dlscusslons Lo lnclude Lhe young people ln Lhem, Lhen Lhls openlng
up of communlcaLlon may help Lo reduce Lhe 'acLlng' ouL of Lhe sLrong feellngs
whlch people may have ln Lhls area.

Cf course young people wlll have Lhelr own sLrong feellngs abouL oLher aspecLs of
Lhelr own and oLher people's gender and Lhese feellngs wlll be sLlll be aL a
formaLlve and ofLen changeable sLage, leadlng Lo paln and confuslon aL Llmes.
Cender (llke eLhnlclLy and raclsm) ls an under-explored Lheme ln resldenLlal chlld
care and one whlch would repay much furLher aLLenLlon.

5exuo/ity in teoms
Leaders are ofLen aL Lhe cenLre of a seL of powerful and ofLen unspoken feellngs
ln whlch everyone noLlces Lhlngs abouL Lhe leader, lncludlng Lhelr personal and
emoLlonal sLyle, and Lhelr 'presence', ln Lerms of Lhelr levels of engagemenL, Lhelr
lnLer-personal skllls and Lhe boundarles whlch Lhey manage. Agaln lL ls Lhe power
elemenL whlch lnfecLs Lhe relaLlonshlps and whlch, lf noL LhoughL abouL and
communlcaLed abouL, can dlsLorL boLh percepLlon and reallLy.

84

1here ls ofLen also a coverL elemenL of sexuallLy ln Lhe relaLlonshlp - Lhe power
of leadershlp may be experlenced as a sexual challenge or even lnvlLaLlon, whlle
Lhe wlsh Lo lnfluence or please Lhe boss (or perhaps Lo flghL Lhe boss) may have
Lhls componenL Loo. eople ln organlsaLlonal power may exerL a cerLaln personal
power and Lhls may aL Llmes be experlenced, or be used, ln sexual Lerms. Words
such as 'domlnanL' or 'submlsslve' glve some of Lhe flavour of Lhese dynamlcs -
or Lhere may be Lenslons beLween people's sexuallLy and Lhelr power. An
aLLracLlve and powerful leader who can lnvlLe lndlvldual loyalLy may almosL
seduce people lnLo compllance, and noL necessarlly consclously so.

ln resldenLlal seLLlngs people work closely LogeLher ln emoLlonally charged
slLuaLlons, and have Lo rely on each oLher for supporL and comforL when Lhlngs
become Lense or confronLaLlonal. Clven LhaL all workplace relaLlonshlps can
develop a sexual componenL lL ls noL surprlslng LhaL Lhls may happen ln Lhe
resldenLlal seLLlng. SLaff are ofLen young and may be slngle or unaLLached - Lhe
demands and unsoclal hours may make Lhls a [ob whlch ls dlfflculL for Lhose wlLh
Lhelr own famlly responslblllLles Lo susLaln. 1hey may also be sub[ecL Lo
sexuallsed responses, commenLs or quesLlons from Lhe young people, or have Lo
deal wlLh sexual acLlng-ouL among Lhe young people, and Lhls can all conLrlbuLe
Lo an aLmosphere of helghLened awareness of sexuallLy, whlch lf noL addressed
expllclLly may geL acLed-ouL.

8elaLlonshlps beLween sLaff members have speclal connoLaLlons ln Lhls seLLlng
because Lhe young people, for all Lhelr dlfflculLles, are llkely Lo be adepL aL Lunlng
ln Lo Lhe quallLy and naLure of sLaff relaLlonshlps, and someLlmes Lo provoke,
lnLerfere, or aL leasL commenL, whlch may compllcaLe Lhlngs furLher.
AddlLlonally, because Lhe young people may Lhemselves have powerful and
compllcaLed feellngs abouL Lhelr own sexuallLy, someLlmes exacerbaLed by earller
abuslve experlences, Lhere may be a Lendency for Lhese feellngs Lo flnd Lhelr way
lnLo Lhe sLaff Leam, someLlmes Lhrough lndlrecL and unconsclous means.
85

1hls all lmplnges on leadershlp, because Lhe leader may geL lnvolved ln Lrylng Lo
medlaLe - or worse, Lhe leader may geL drawn lnLo such relaLlonshlps or seek Lo
geL lnvolved ln Lhem. 1hls aspecL of leader/Leam relaLlonshlps may be Lhe lasL Lo
be acknowledged and dlscussed openly, and yeL lL may ofLen Lurn ouL Lo
underpln some of Lhe dlfflculLles or Lo be Lhe facLor whlch Lurns a dlfflculL
slLuaLlon lnLo an 'lmposslble' one - malnly because Lhe sexual dynamlcs ln Leams
can be so hard Lo address dlrecLly, especlally ln relaLlon Lo Lhe dynamlcs around
Lhe leader. ln order for such dynamlcs Lo be safely dlscussed and resolved, lL ls
ofLen lnvaluable Lo have an exLernal Leam supervlsor ln a consulLaLlve role whose
maln alm wlll be Lo faclllLaLe open and 'safe' communlcaLlon.

Dependency to Autonomy
8ecause leaders are ln a poslLlon of power and auLhorlLy, oLhers are Lo some
exLenL dependenL on Lhem, flrsLly ln a pracLlcal sense: people rely on Lhelr
leaders for advlce and guldance ln relaLlon Lo declslon-maklng and pollcy, and as
we have seen for a sense of shared and even lnsplrlng 'vlslon' whlch wlll help
Lhem Lo work LogeLher Lowards a common goal. Powever, Lhe relaLlonshlps
beLween sLaff and leaders may evoke anoLher klnd of dependency, a feellng of
belng able Lo rely on someone for emoLlonal supporL Lhrough dlfflculL Llmes, and
a sense LhaL Lhe leader ls reslllenL and LoleranL enough Lo remaln responslve
desplLe belng puL Lo Lhe LesL. As we saw ln Lhe earller dlscusslon abouL Lhe
unconsclous elemenLs ln leadershlp, Lhls dependency may also be experlenced
vla Lhe 'LemplaLes' whlch we may all unwlLLlngly brlng wlLh us - ofLen based on
much earller experlences wlLh parenLal and oLher key flgures. A worker may
percelve Lhelr leader as sLern and conLrolllng, or dlsLanL and unavallable -
someLlmes wlLhouL belng aware of how Lhelr unconsclous LemplaLes may be
affecLlng Lhese percepLlons and expecLaLlons around dependency.

86

Such expecLaLlons, whlch are ofLen unspoken, may evoke a defenslve reacLlon ln
some leaders, who ln Lhelr enLhuslasm Lo encourage lndependence and
auLonomy on Lhelr sLaff, may go Loo far ln keeplng sLaff aL arm's lengLh and
become emoLlonally dlsLanL from Lhelr Leam. Cn Lhe oLher hand some leaders
seem Lo rellsh Lhls dynamlc and have a 'need Lo be needed' whlch compllcaLes
Lhe relaLlonshlp unhelpfully, as we wlll see ln Lhe nexL chapLer. 1hls may show ln
Lhelr responses Lo Lhe demands elLher from sLaff or from young people, who of
course may have enormous unmeL dependency needs, havlng been leL down and
poorly LreaLed by lmporLanL adulLs LhroughouL Lhelr llves.

erhaps Lhe key responslblllLy of Lhe leader ln Lhls respecL ls Lo be aware of Lhe
dynamlcs around dependency wlLh each lndlvldual and group and Lo offer
LhoughLful responses as approprlaLe. ln mosL cases Lhls wlll mean accepLlng a
degree of dependency whlle also encouraglng people Lo move Lowards a maLure
sense of Lhelr own relaLlve lndependence and auLonomy. eople need Lo be able
Lo make Lhelr own declslons aL 'ground level' wlLhouL havlng Lo consLanLly 'refer
up' for advlce or lnsLrucLlon: Lhls ls parLly a quesLlon of sLaff esLabllshlng Lhelr
own level of auLhorlLy. lf chlld care workers are frequenLly havlng Lo respond Lo
requesLs or demands from young people by saylng l don'L know, l'll have Lo
ask/check" Lhey are unllkely Lo esLabllsh good worklng relaLlonshlps wlLh Lhem,
as Lhe young people wlll soon learn Lo bypass or subverL sLaff whom Lhey
percelve as lacklng auLhorlLy or auLonomy.

As ln oLher areas, Lhe leader Lherefore needs Lo sLrlke a balance ln managlng Lhe
dependency needs of sLaff and young people, acknowledglng Lhe needs and
respondlng approprlaLely Lo Lhem buL wlLhouL geLLlng drawn lnLo lnapproprlaLe
reacLlons. 1hls ls an area ln whlch leaders wlll especlally beneflL from havlng
regular supervlslon and consulLancy Lo ensure LhaL Lhey monlLor Lhemselves
effecLlvely.

87

Summary
lrom a sLarLlng polnL of drawlng aLLenLlon Lo Lhe framework of values whlch
underplns all care work lncludlng Lhe leadershlp of such work, we have looked aL
Lhe speclflc areas or power, pre[udlce and dependency. We have seen agaln how
such dynamlcs may arlse aL boLh consclous and unconsclous levels and how lL can
be essenLlal Lo galn Lhe addlLlonal perspecLlve of an exLernal Leam and leadershlp
consulLanL Lo address Lhe more compllcaLed dynamlcs.


Ward, A. (1993) LsLabllshlng communlLy meeLlngs ln a chlldren's home.
Ctoopwotk, 8 (1) 67-78.

88

7. 1nL LLADLk AS A LkSCN

1he focus of Lhls paper has been on Lhe range of personal and professlonal
challenges faclng leaders ln resldenLlal chlld care seLLlngs, especlally ln Lerms of
Lhe lnLerpersonal dynamlcs beLween leaders, Lhelr Leams and Lhe group as a
whole. 1he real challenge for Lhe leader ls Lo be oneself and be Lrue Lo oneself
whlle also meeLlng Lhe range of expecLaLlons and achlevlng Lhe Lask expecLed of a
leader. ln Lhls flnal chapLer we wlll focus on whaL Lhls challenge means for
leaders, and how Lhey can remaln human desplLe Lhe demands of Lhe [ob.

1he r|sk of |so|at|on
We saw earller LhaL Lhe leader slLs aL a crlLlcal polnL ln Lhe organlsaLlon, aL Lhe
fulcrum balanclng lLs ouLer and lnner worlds, and on Lhe boundary beLween Lhe
varlous groups and grouplngs lnvolved. 1hls ls poLenLlally an lsolaLed poslLlon,
and some leaders are LempLed Lo deny or avold Lhls lsolaLlon by blurrlng Lhe
boundarles, geLLlng Loo closely ldenLlfled elLher wlLh Lhe ouLslde world of senlor
managemenL or wlLh Lhe lnslde world of Lhe sLaff of Lhe unlL - or someLlmes wlLh
Lhe young people Lhemselves, as we have seen. none of Lhese courses of acLlon
ls helpful, because ln Lhe long run Lhe leader ls accounLable ln all dlrecLlons and
may have Lo 'hold Lhe llne', and Lhls ls why lL was proposed earller LhaL Lhe 'place'
of Lhe leader ls on or close Lo Lhe boundary. 1he prlce Lo be pald for holdlng Lhls
poslLlon ls LhaL Lhe leader rlsks becomlng Loo separaLe from oLhers and less
effecLlve, and LhaL ln Lhe process he or she may experlence anxleLy ln Lhe form of
lonellness or professlonal lsolaLlon.

xomp/e
cello wos tbe moooqet of o looq-estobllsbeJ cbllJteos bome too by o locol
ootbotlty. 5be wos lofotmeJ by seolot moooqemeot ooe Joy tbot wltblo slx
89

mootbs tlme tbete wos o ploo to te-Jeslqoote tbe bome wltb o oew ooJ
vety Jlffeteot potpose, wblcb woolJ bove mojot lmpllcotloos fot tbe exlstloq
stoff ooJ cbllJteo. 5be wos oskeJ oot to Jlsclose tbese ploos ootll o fltm
Jeclsloo boJ beeo moJe, to ovolJ oooecessoty extto Jlsttess ooJ
oocettoloty, ooJ sbe oqteeJ to tbls tepoest oltbooqb lt left bet feelloq
Jlsloyol botb to bet stoff ooJ to tbe cbllJteo wbo mlqbt floJ tbot tbey boJ to
move to oew occommoJotloo ot sbott ootlce. 5be felt coocetoeJ fot tbelt
fotote ooJ qollty ot bolJloq koowleJqe wblcb woolJ offect tbem Jeeply ooJ
yet oot beloq oble to lofotm tbem. nowevet, wltblo o few weeks tbe ploos
boJ cbooqeJ oqolo becoose of oo ooteloteJ floooclol Jlfflcolty lo tbe
ootbotlty, ooJ tbe ptoposol wos sbelveJ fot o fottbet twelve mootbs. cello
wos telleveJ ooJ qloJ tbot sbe boJ oot spllleJ tbe beoos lo ooy woy, bot
stlll felt oocomfottoble lo bolJloq o set of koowleJqe wltb oll tbe ossocloteJ
feelloqs, ooJ oot beloq oble to sbote ooy of tbls wltb bet stoff.

lL ls very common for leaders Lo have Lo hold lmporLanL lnformaLlon
confldenLlally, elLher from 'upsLream' ln Lhe wlder organlsaLlon or 'downsLream'
from lndlvldual sLaff members. ln addlLlon Lhey ofLen have Lo balance compeLlng
or confllcLlng vlews and emoLlons arlslng from dlfferenL parLs of Lhe 'sysLem', and
declde noL only where Lhey sLand ln relaLlon Lo Lhese vlews, buL also how Lo
manage Lhelr own poslLlon sLraLeglcally wlLh regard Lo all parLles.

As we have seen, someLlmes leaders geL drawn lnLo a poslLlon Loo far from Lhe
boundary - elLher Loo far lnslde or Loo far ouLslde. LlLher way Lhe rlsks Lo Lhe
organlsaLlon, and someLlmes Lo Lhe well-belng of Lhe leader, are conslderable.

xomp/e
Ieff wos tbe leoJet of o soccessfol tbetopeotlc oolt fot oJolesceots
wblcb boJ beeo toooloq fot mooy yeots. ne boJ cteJlblllty wltb most
of tbe stoff ooJ yoooq people, oltbooqb some of tbe seolot stoff beqoo
90

to feel too closely sopetvlseJ by Ieff, wbo totely left tbe bollJloq - ooJ
wbo lo foct llveJ lo o boose oJjololoq tbe slte. Ieff wos olwoys pteseot,
lo evety meetloq of botb stoff ooJ yoooq people, ooJ olwoys
coottlboteJ octlvely ooJ eveo possloootely. Oo tbe otbet booJ, be
woolJ totely veotote oot loto tbe test of tbe ptofessloool oetwotk wltb
wblcb tbe oolt oeeJeJ to telote, soyloq tbot be ptefetteJ to Jeleqote
tbot tole to bls Jepoty - bot lo foct ovolJloq lt. ne qtoJoolly become
sosplcloos of tbe ootslJe oetwotk, feelloq tbot mooy of tbese people
JlJ oot teolly voloe ot ooJetstooJ tbe ootote of tbe wotk lo tbe oolt,
ooJ be ofteo eoJloq op lo o self-folflllloq ptopbecy of coofllct wltb
tbem. As tlme weot oo, Ieff become locteosloqly lsoloteJ, ooJ so JlJ
tbe oolt, becoose fewet soclol wotkets wlsbeJ to moke tefettols to o
ploce wblcb boJ tetteoteJ so mocb ftom tbe test of tbe wotlJ. Ieff felt
tbot tbls sltootloo ptoveJ bls polot tbot tbe test of tbe wotlJ wos
bostlle ooJ sosplcloos.

ln Lhe above scenarlo !eff was unable Lo recognlse LhaL he was almosL llLerally
palnLlng hlmself and Lhe unlL lnLo a corner, and hls own lsolaLlon (whlch seemed
Lo sLem from hls anxleLy abouL worklng wlLh oLher agencles) soon became
'enacLed' ln Lhe whole unlL, whlch would have rlsked closure Lhrough lack of
buslness lf Lhe slLuaLlon had conLlnued for much longer. ln Lhls case Lhe
organlsaLlon called ln a sLaff consulLanL Lo work lnLenslvely wlLh !eff Lowards re-
poslLlonlng hls role ln Lhe organlsaLlon, and Lhlngs gradually began Lo change.

Counter|ng the r|sk of |so|at|on
1here are varlous ways ln whlch Lhls poLenLlal lsolaLlon can be addressed,
especlally Lhrough Lhe leader havlng regular access Lo supervlslon and menLorlng,
belonglng Lo a peer supporL group and uslng exLernal consulLancy. lL can be
especlally helpful Lo have more Lhan one form of regular supporL, because Lhe
role ls complex and lncludes many dlfferenL lssues. lor example, supervlslon
91

wlLhln Lhe llne-managemenL sLrucLure of Lhe organlsaLlon ls essenLlal ln Lerms of
keeplng Lhe unlL broadly ln llne wlLh lLs agreed Lask and properly co-ordlnaLed
wlLh Lhe overall Lask of Lhe organlsaLlon. AL Lhe same Llme, however, lL ls also
vlLally lmporLanL LhaL Lhe leader has rellable and regular access Lo extetool
consulLancy, ln order Lo feel free Lo reflecL openly and aL Llmes crlLlcally on Lhe
whole experlence, lncludlng coplng wlLh Lhe demands of 'head offlce', whlch may
confllcL wlLh oLher hopes and expecLaLlons.

AnoLher elemenL ln Lhe supporL sysLem ls llkely Lo be Lhe muLual supporL whlch
leaders ln slmllar unlLs or organlsaLlons can offer each oLher lf Lhey can esLabllsh
a supporLlve neLwork ln whlch Lhey can perhaps hold regular meeLlngs buL also
be avallable Lo each oLher for advlce or solace aL Llmes of sLress. Cne of Lhe
hazards of Lhe growlng prlvaLlsaLlon of resldenLlal servlces ln Lhe uk has been
LhaL some leaders have begun Lo feel ln compeLlLlon wlLh each oLher raLher Lhan
belng able Lo supporL each oLher. naLlonal neLworks such as nCL8CC's Chlldren's
8esldenLlal neLwork could be a forum for overcomlng Lhls rlsk.

Powever, none of Lhese forms of supporL wlll necessarlly Lake away Lhe reallLy
LhaL lL can feel 'lonely aL Lhe Lop'. erhaps whaL leaders need ls whaL WlnnlcoLL
called 'Lhe capaclLy Lo be alone' or 'alone ln Lhe presence of oLhers' (WlnnlcoLL,
1963) - ln Lhls case Lhe ablllLy Lo hold one's own poslLlon and auLhorlLy wlLhouL
needlng Lo seek escape or compromlse. lL lnvolves Lhe ablllLy Lo know your own
mlnd and noL Lo allow lL Lo be lmplnged upon by oLher people's anxleLles, and Lo
feel secure and reslllenL ln Lhe face of crlLlclsm or aLLack - buL equally, noL Lo
reLreaL lnLo an arroganL poslLlon of 'knowlng lL all'. Such a leader wlll have
confldence ln Lhelr ldenLlLy, knowledge and experlence and Lhe ablllLy Lo
communlcaLe Lhese Lo oLhers for Lhe beneflL of Lhe young people.

1here ls Lherefore a balance Lo be sLruck, because no leader ls an lsland, and lL ls
never helpful Lo place yourself ln 'splendld lsolaLlon' as a leader, wlLhdrawlng
92

from poLenLlal allles on all sldes and lssulng commenLs or orders from afar. A
leader needs connecLlvlLy - llnks wlLh all parLles and especlally wlLh Lhose ln a
poslLlon Lo share ln leadershlp or Lo be consulLed abouL maklng declslons or
assesslng slLuaLlons.

xomp/e
lo ooe oolt wblcb boJ become polte Jysfooctloool, tbe leoJet, Ioo
(wbo llveJ oeotby) boJ qot loto tbe boblt of Joloq wbot sbe colleJ
spot cbecks Jotloq bet tlme off ot wbeo sbe wos Joe to be
elsewbete, by collloq lo ooexpecteJly to cbeck op oo tbe stoff. 1bls
wos blqbly Jlstoptlve ooJ ooJetmloloq to tbe teom ooJ especlolly to
tbe Jepoty wbo felt sbe wos oot ttosteJ. 1be potteto soqqesteJ oo
losecote ooJ ootbotltotloo leoJet wbo wos oooble eltbet to leoJ
effectlvely wbeo sbe wos pteseot ot to Jeleqote sofflcleotly to ollow
tbe Jepoty to Jevelop bet owo ootbotlty. 1bete wos olso o blottloq
of toles lo tbot tbe leoJet wos vlttoolly tokloq oo tbe tole of oo
ooooooooceJ lospectot.

ln Lhls case Lhe leader was noL only lsolaLed buL also somewhaL paranold - and
she creaLed slmllar feellngs ln her sLaff. Powever, she was able Lo susLaln Lhls
poslLlon for some Llme Lhrough Lhe comblnaLlon of lnLlmldaLlng Lhe sLaff and
neverLheless lmpresslng her Pead Cfflce because Lhey LhoughL she was runnlng a
'LlghL shlp, ' a percepLlon LhaL was radlcally alLered when Lhe acLual lnspecLlon
unlL's unannounced lnspecLlon was lnLerrupLed by one of Lhe boss's own flylng
vlslLs!

1he |eadersh|p team
lL wlll be clear by now LhaL lL ls noL always helpful Lo Lhlnk of 'Lhe leader' as an
enLlrely separaLe lndlvldual. Pe or she needs Lo bulld a leadershlp Leam whlch can
work collaboraLlvely on mosL of Lhe lssues and challenges whlch need Lo be
93

faced. 1hls Leam wlll lnclude Lhe depuLy and perhaps lnLermedlaLe Leam leaders,
dependlng on Lhe slze of Lhe organlsaLlon. 1he relaLlonshlps of Lhls 'core' of each
home are of crlLlcal lmporLance, as Lhey wlll lnfluence Lhe whole 'sysLem' or
neLwork of relaLlonshlps. 1here also needs Lo be a conLlnulLy of managemenL
and leadershlp, of lL 'golng-on-belng' even when senlor managers are noL
physlcally presenL.

8y conLrasL wlLh Lhe above example, Lhls Leam wlll need Lo evolve a culLure of
muLual LrusL and respecL, and lL ls on Lhls LrusL LhaL delegaLlon wlll be bullL.
uelegaLlon of course should noL conslsL of Lhe leader parcelllng ouL Lhe harder or
more uncomforLable aspecLs of Lhe leadershlp role and 'landlng' oLher people
wlLh Lhem. lL works besL when lL fosLers people's lndlvldual and collecLlve LalenLs,
and when lL enables Lhe more anxleLy-rldden Lasks Lo be shared and managed
LogeLher.

We saw ln ChapLer Cne Lhe example of a resldenLlal home and school where Lhe
senlor managemenL Leam meL every mornlng afLer Lhe chlldren wenL lnLo school
Lo revlew and plan, Lo co-ordlnaLe Lhe comlng day's work and Lo anLlclpaLe
facLors whlch may need Lo be Lake lnLo accounL. 1hls 'managemenL' elemenL ln
Lhe meeLlngs (revlewlng, plannlng, co-ordlnaLlng) was complemenLed by an
expllclL 'leadershlp' elemenL, ln whlch Lhe leader of each unlL would reflecL on
Lhe lssues faclng Lhem ln Lhelr leadershlp role.

Smaller unlLs may noL have Lhe resources or need for a full managemenL Leam
buL aL leasL lL wlll be posslble for Lhe head and depuLy or oLher senlor person Lo
meeL everyday wlLh a slmllar brlef. lL may someLlmes be argued LhaL 'we are Loo
busy Lo have LhaL sorL of dally meeLlng' - Lo whlch Lhe obvlous reply ls LhaL lf Lhe
meeLlng were Lo become esLabllshed as a forum for shared leadershlp and
reflecLlon, Lhe level of 'busyness' mlghL be reduced because less Llme would need
Lo be spenL ln reacLlng Lo unanLlclpaLed evenLs.
94

Careful LhoughL wlll need Lo go lnLo decldlng who should and should noL be
lncluded ln Lhls Leam. ln one mulLl-unlL 'campus' whlch l vlslLed Lhe managemenL
Leam meeLlngs lncluded noL only Lhe head of each unlL buL also Lhe head of Lhe
malnLenance sLaff. 1eam leaders felL LhaL lf Lhey were Lo properly respecL
confldenLlallLy lssues lL was noL posslble Lo reporL as fully as Lhey needed Lo on
Lhe lssues arlslng wlLh Lhe young people ln Lhelr unlLs, Lhus lmpedlng one Lask of
Lhe meeLlng whlch was Lo enable Lhe Leam leaders Lo reporL and reflecL on Lhe
lssues currenLly arlslng ln Lhelr unlLs. Powever l am aware of oLher places where
Lhere ls a dlfferenL percepLlon of relaLedness wlLh 'supporL servlces' belng fully
lnLegraLed lnLo managemenL and oLher levels.

Conf|dence
ln Lhe earller example of !an and her 'spoL checks', whaL seemed Lo underlle Lhls
leader's arroganL behavlour was a serlous lack of confldence - noL only Lhe
leader's confldence ln herself buL also her confldence ln oLhers. Confldence ls an
eluslve quallLy: Lhere are some people who appear Lo have more of lL Lhan ls
good for Lhem, whlle some oLhers seem Lo have less Lhan Lhey are enLlLled Lo. lL
ls noL [usL a quesLlon of bellevlng ln your own ablllLles buL also of encouraglng
oLhers Lo belleve ln you. Some leaders lnsplre confldence - ln oLher words, Lhey
lnsplre oLher people Lo feel confldenL ln Lhem and Lo feel more confldenL
Lhemselves when worklng wlLh Lhem, whlle oLhers have qulLe Lhe opposlLe
effecL, so LhaL people acLually feel less confldenL when wlLh Lhem, perhaps
because Lhe leader seems Loo anxlous or preoccupled Lo noLlce oLhers' needs and
conLaln Lhelr anxleLy when necessary. 1hls musL be parLly abouL people's
personal sLyle ln handllng anxleLy.

lL may asslsL readers Lo conslder Lhemselves ln relaLlon Lo Lhe llsL relaLlng Lhe
many aspecLs of managemenL whlch ls Lo be found on pages 23- 26 of Lhe
nCL8CC 1eamwork pracLlce developmenL maLerlals.
95

hLLp://www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc/ncercc20pracLlce20documenLs/ncercc_Leamw
ork.pdf

Manag|ng the 'burden' of |eadersh|p
8ecause of Lhe demands of Lhe role and Lhe emoLlonal sLraln lnvolved, lL ls also
lmporLanL LhaL leaders manage Lhelr own personal resources and keep clear
boundarles beLween Lhelr professlonal and Lhelr personal llves. lL ls no
colncldence LhaL some of Lhe examples glven ln Lhls paper of where leadershlp
has gone wrong have lncluded an elemenL of Lhe blurrlng of Lhese boundarles.
1hls ls no surprlse: resldenLlal chlld care ls ofLen felL as a Lrue vocaLlon, ln whlch
people feel personally moved and moLlvaLed Lo puL huge amounLs of energy lnLo
supporLlng Lroubled chlldren. 8uL Lhe reallLy ls LhaL Lhls can easlly Lurn lnLo a
burden or become over-preoccupylng, and ln facL leaders ln parLlcular wlll only
be able Lo susLaln Lhelr lnpuL lf Lhey also remaln ln conLrol of Lhelr own
boundarles.

Leaders Lherefore also need Lhe self-dlsclpllne Lo know Lhelr own llmlLs, Lo draw a
llne around Lhelr commlLmenL, and monlLor Lhelr lnpuL carefully. l have wrlLLen
elsewhere (Ward 2006) of Lhe lmporLance of flnlshlng each day's work clearly and
maklng Lhe efforL noL Lo Lake home Loo much emoLlonal 'baggage' - Lhls may
mean de-brleflng ln a handover meeLlng, wrlLlng up approprlaLe records before
leavlng, passlng on lmporLanL communlcaLlons, and leavlng as few 'loose ends' as
posslble. Slmllarly aL Lhe end of a week or before golng on leave, lL ls ln
everyone's lnLeresL LhaL Lhe leader makes sure everyLhlng ls lefL clear and well
communlcaLed. 1hese may seem very baslc polnLs, buL Lhey are worLh repeaLlng
because wlLhouL such aLLenLlon Lo Lhe fullesL deLall of communlcaLlon, Lhlngs
ofLen go wrong elLher for Lhe unlL or for Lhe leader - who may oLherwlse carry on
puzzllng over uncompleLed Lasks or worrylng abouL slLuaLlons or people who are
unresolved.

96

os|t|v|ty and ||fe beyond the workp|ace
8eyond Lhese perhaps raLher defenslve remarks abouL malnLalnlng your
boundarles, however, Lhere ls someLhlng else Lo be sald abouL Lhe 'Leader as a
person'. Leaders are mosL llkely Lo be mosL effecLlve when Lhey can feel poslLlve
and creaLlve, noL only ln Lhelr work buL also ln Lhelr own llves ouLslde of work.
lor Lhls reason, lL ls especlally lmporLanL for leaders Lo relax well, and Lo flnd and
develop lnLeresLs and acLlvlLles ouLslde work whlch wlll refresh and revlve Lhem
and enable Lhem Lo achleve a good balance ln Lhelr llfe. 1here are many buslness-
orlenLed LexLs whlch develop Lhls Lheme, buL noL so many ln Lhe welfare fleld. A
LexL whlch l have personally found useful ln Lhls respecL ls 'oeLry and Lhe
reservaLlon of Lhe Soul aL Work' by WhyLe (1997), a corporaLe worker who
learned Lo handle work-relaLed sLress and found more meanlng and balance ln
hls llfe by developlng hls lnLeresL ln poeLry. Cf course, for oLher people whaL wlll
achleve Lhe same resulLs may be anyLhlng from sLamp collecLlng Lo sky-dlvlng: for
some people lL wlll be lmporLanL Lo geL as far away as posslble from any
connecLlons wlLh work, whereas for oLhers Lhelr ouLslde lnLeresLs may noL be so
far removed buL aL leasL Lhey are separaLe from work and from whaL 8uddhlsLs
call Lhe 'Len Lhousand Lhlngs' whlch crowd ln on us ln everyday llfe (and especlally
ln work llfe).

Cne funcLlon of such ouLslde lnLeresLs may be Lo enable people Lo develop oLher
areas of sLrengLh and confldence, oLher personal neLworks of frlendshlp and
acLlvlLy and Lo Lherefore feel more 'whole' and rounded as an lndlvldual, whlch
wlll ln Lurn have a poslLlve lmpacL back ln Lhe world of work.

1he need to be needed
Cne Lhlng whlch ls acLlvely unhelpful ln leaders ls an excesslve need Lo be llked or
needed. 1he need Lo be llked can push you lnLo 'agreelng wlLh Lhe lasL speaker',
or noL feellng able Lo challenge oLhers wlLh whom you dlsagree, or perhaps belng
97

Loo lenlenL ln followlng Lhrough declslons whlch may be unpopular Lhough
necessary. 1he need Lo be needed ls perhaps dlfferenL - lL shows ln leaders lf
Lhey encourage excesslve dependency ln Leam members, perhaps by noL
delegaLlng enough, or by lmposlng lnapproprlaLe 'cuL-off polnLs' ln people's levels
of declslon-maklng or responslblllLy. We should bear ln mlnd LhaL Lhere may be
developmenLal lssues here. We Lalked ln ChapLer 1 abouL leadershlp as an
unfoldlng process, and lL ls noL uncommon LhaL a new leader may sLarL ouL by
holdlng a loL of power and declslon-maklng very cenLrally, buL wlLh a vlew
Lowards delegaLlng as parL of an ongolng developmenLal process - so LhaL
delegaLlon can lnvolve showlng lncreaslng LrusL ln people Lo carry ouL Lasks whlch
Lhe leader knows abouL from Lhe lnslde raLher Lhan slmply 'passlng Lhe buck'. As
leaders grow lnLo Lhe role, and as Lhe Leam and leader accommodaLe Lo each
oLher, Lhe relaLlonshlp wlll need Lo evolve lnLo one ln whlch all parLles can rely on
each oLher and LrusL each oLher, raLher Lhan any lndlvldual needlng Lo be
needed.

Conc|us|on
We have now come full clrcle. l began Lhls paper on a very personal noLe, and
Lold Lhe sLory of my own shaky beglnnlngs as a leader, whlch evenLually led me
lnLo flndlng proper confldence and developlng more effecLlve auLhorlLy. CLhers
wlll have made Lhelr own [ourneys ln Lhls role, Lhough noL all may be as dramaLlc
as mlne. l would hope LhaL oLhers wlll Lake on Lhe role wlLh more experlence and
greaLer self-confldence as well as wlLh Lhe full range of supporL.

We are now reachlng Lhe end of Lhls sLudy of leadershlp and agaln we are on a
personal noLe - Lhls Llme, looklng aL Lhe leader as a person and how Lhey need Lo
manage Lhelr own emoLlonal economy as well as LhaL of Lhe unlL lLself. We have
seen LhaL on Lhe one hand leaders need Lo remaln boLh Lhoroughly engaged ln
Lhelr work and lnvolved wlLh sLaff and young people, wlLhouL aL Lhe same Llme an
excesslve need Lo be elLher llked or needed. 1hey need Lo be personal,
98

commlLLed and relaLlonal wlLhouL pushlng Lhe boundarles of charlsma or
'LransformaLlonal leadershlp' lnLo aLLenLlon-seeklng or bullylng. 1hey need Lo
have a clear seL of values and Lhe ablllLy Lo model Lhose values ln acLlon ln Lhelr
deallngs wlLh people aL all levels. 1hey need Lo work wlLh noL only Lhe consclous,
raLlonal complexlLles of Lhe Lask, buL also wlLh Lhe unconsclous and lrraLlonal
elemenLs whlch lL lncludes. lL ls a Lall order and demandlng role, Lhough lL ls also
one whlch ls deeply worLhwhlle. 1here remalns one flnal area Lo conslder ln Lhe
flnal secLlon of Lhls paper.

WhyLe, u. (1999) 1be neott AtooseJ. loetty ooJ tbe ltesetvotloo of tbe 5ool ot
wotk. Splro ress

WlnnlcoLL, u. W. (1963). 1be motototloool ptocesses ooJ tbe focllltotloq
eovltoomeot. stoJles lo tbe tbeoty of emotloool Jevelopmeot. London: PogarLh
ress and Lhe lnsLlLuLe of sycho-analysls.
99

Conc|ud|ng comments: 'What makes |eadersh|p work?'
As Lhls [ourney comes Lo an end l wanL Lo shlfL Lhe emphasls one more Llme. 1he
paper has focused on Lhe roles and Lasks of leadershlp, and especlally on Lhe
relaLlonshlp-based work whlch needs Lo go on aL all levels, someLlmes formally
and someLlmes lnformally. ln emphaslzlng Lhe relaLlonal dynamlcs of Lhe work,
however, l do noL wanL Lo deny Lhe organlsaLlonal sLrucLure wlLhln whlch any
chlldren's home or oLher resldenLlal esLabllshmenL ls seL. Lven Lhe mosL skllled
and lnslghLful leader wlll sLruggle and may fall lf Lhe organlsaLlonal consLralnLs
wlLhln whlch he or she ls Lrylng Lo operaLe are unhelpful or undermlnlng. !usL as
we saw earller ln Lhe analogy of Lhe fooLball manager who Lrlumphs wlLh one
Leam and falls wlLh anoLher - someLlmes lL ls Lhe 8oard whlch loses Lhe maLch -
so someLlmes lL ls Lhe organlsaLlon whlch falls Lhe leader.

1here Lherefore remalns one lmporLanL quesLlon: 'WhaL makes leadershlp
work?'. ln oLher words, whaL condlLlons and resources wlll provlde Lhe besL
opporLunlLles for hlgh quallLy leadershlp Lo flourlsh ln resldenLlal care and how
can oLher sysLems supporL and conLrlbuLe Lo Lhls? 1hese remarks are addressed
Lo Lhose wlLh overall or exLernal responslblllLy for overseelng resldenLlal servlces,
as well as Lo Lhose ln Lhe leadershlp role who may someLlmes wonder why llfe
has Lo have so many uphlll scrambles. l wlll suggesL four maln exLernal condlLlons
or conLrlbuLlng facLors Lo successful leadershlp ln resldenLlal servlces.

llrsLly Lhe 'parenL' organlsaLlon has Lo be clear and dlrecL abouL Lhe preclse Lask
expecLed of Lhe resldenLlal home. 1hls ls a maLLer noL [usL of seLLlng broad
remlLs such as 'shorL-sLay' or 'preparaLlon for fosLerlng', buL of belng as clear as
posslble abouL Lhe parLlcular proflle of young person for whom Lhe home ls
lnLended, lncludlng ln parLlcular Lhe level and lnLenslLy of Lhelr emoLlonal need.
1here also needs Lo be clarlLy and agreemenL abouL Lhe expecLed lengLh of sLay
and Lhe 'hoped-for ouLcome' for each chlld, as well as abouL Lhe naLure of Lhe
work Lo be underLaken. Such areas need Lo be on Lhe one hand clear and well-
100

deflned buL also sub[ecL Lo ongolng revlew wlLh Lhe leader / manager of Lhe
home.

Secondly, wlLhln Lhls sLrucLure Lhere needs Lo be clarlLy abouL Lhe range and
scope of Lhe leader's auLhorlLy, and ln parLlcular Lhe leader needs Lo hold key
responslblllLy for declslons abouL all admlsslons and deparLures of young people
and all comlngs and golngs of sLaff. ln many organlsaLlons some of Lhese
declslons wlll be Laken aL 'panel' or commlLLee meeLlngs, buL lf Lhe leader ls golng
Lo be able Lo work wlLh full auLhorlLy and 'ownershlp' of Lhe Lask, lL wlll be
essenLlal LhaL he or she reLalns a crlLlcal role wlLhln such declslons.

1hlrdly Lhere needs Lo be a range of experL supporL servlces provlded for Lhe
leader ln Lerms of boLh llne managemenL and exLernal consulLancy. We have
seen aL varlous sLages ln Lhls paper LhaL lL ls only wlLh clear llnes of accounLablllLy
LhaL Lhe leader can have Lrue auLhorlLy and approprlaLe confldence. ln addlLlon,
and sLlll much more of a rarlLy, ls Lhe lmporLance of Lhe leader havlng regular
access Lo exLernal consulLancy or menLorlng.

lourLhly and mosL lmporLanLly ls Lhe 'boLLom llne': Lhe home and lLs leadershlp
need Lo be adequaLely resourced Lo fulfll lLs Lask, wlLh proper fundlng for all
aspecLs of sLafflng lncludlng Lhe essenLlal elemenLs of supporL, supervlslon,
Lralnlng and developmenL. lL wlll be wlLhln Lhe manager's remlL Lo make Lhe besL
and mosL effecLlve use of resources buL lL ls Lhe overall responslblllLy of Lhe
employlng organlsaLlon Lo ensure LhaL Lhey are ln place.

none of Lhese condlLlons wlll guaranLee effecLlve leadershlp of course, buL
wlLhouL Lhem even Lhe mosL able leader may sLruggle.
101

8I8LICGkAn

Anglln, !. (2002) lolo, Notmollty ooJ tbe 5ttoqqle fot cooqtoeoce. kelotetptetloq
keslJeotlol cote fot cbllJteo ooJ ootb. PaworLh ress, new ?ork.


Clough 8, 8ullock 8, Ward A, (2000) wbot wotks lo keslJeotlol cbllJ cote
hLLp://www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc/ncercc20pracLlce20documenLs/whaLworkslnrc
csummary_ncbhlghllghL.pdf

Collle, A. (2002) CpporLunlsLlc SLaff uevelopmenL SLraLegles ln 1herapeuLlc
CommunlLles. 1betopeotlc commooltles 23 (2) 123-132

Colllns, 1. and 8ruce, 1. (1984) 5toff 5oppott ooJ 5toff 1tololoq London, 1avlsLock.

uanbury, P. and Wallbrldge, u. (1989) ulrecLlve Leachlng and guL learnlng: 1he
semlnar Lechnlque and lLs use ln vldeo-based role-play learnlng. Iootool of 5oclol
wotk ltoctlce, May, 33-67.

klngsley.


Powe, u. (2008) 1be motlooolly lotelllqeot 5oclol wotket. 8aslngsLoke, algrave
Macmlllan.

Puczynskl, A. (1993) Lxplalnlng Lhe successlon of managemenL fads. 1be
lotetootloool Iootool of nomoo kesootce Moooqemeot. 4 (2) 443 - 463

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