Friday, April 4, 2008

Leadership Skills for Female Managers & Supervisors

• Have you ever felt there must be a better way to supervise and lead because something is missing from traditional leadership models?
• Has your voice as a female leader been challenged, minimized, and/or silenced?
• Is there a difficult work conversation that you've been putting off, fearing that you will damage the relationship?

Few women have had training in management, and for many, the role has come unexpectedly, or even accidentally. While leadership models have usually been taught as command/control and power-over, a relational model of leadership is equally effective in taking risks, responsibility, and action. An effective female leader must use skills that balance empathy, authenticity, and mutuality, know when to take control, and when to let people make their own decisions, take risks, and even make mistakes.

We will examine our assumptions about leadership and how to create an environment of shared power while maintaining authority. We will consider the power structures and privilege systems that create institutional barriers that limit women's progress in the workplace and discuss ways to respond. We will discuss conflictual situations and how to deal with high anxiety conversations with colleagues, bosses, supervisees, or trainees. Whether these challenges are low morale, high turnover, or personal dilemmas, we will talk about how to confront these issues despite fear and discomfort. Participants will:

• Assess and build on their own leadership strengths while recognizing the distinctions between leadership styles of men and women
• Identify and use skills from a relational model of leadership to review challenges and problem areas in the workplace and develop solutions
• Learn how to engage and sustain difficult dialogue in conflict situations
• Acquire skills to motivate staff and promote productivity, while recognizing the precursors to performance problems: lack of information, lack of skill, or lack of motivation

Workshop format includes lecture, case examples, as well as small group discussion and activities.

Instructor

Mary Bettley, MSW, LICSW, is Clinical Director at the Baird Center, a program of the Home for Little Wanderers, and a professor in the Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools program at Lesley University. She has more than 25 years of experience as an administrator, supervisor, social worker, high school teacher, and college professor. Mary has worked in outpatient, home-based, and residential programs, state hospitals, and schools. She trains nationally and is known for her humor and her practical approach to challenging situations.