PROFESSIONALLY SURVIVING, STRIVING, OR THRIVING?

We often talk about surviving, striving or thriving, or use other similar typologies, in the context of the children, young people, families and care leavers that we work with or for. Typologies are of course grossly simplistic as they attempt to sum up all human experience at a point in time with 3, 4 or 5 words, which in this instance are further limited in also sharing the same suffix!

However despite, or because of, that simplicity, typologies can be a very powerful reminder that children in OOHC, families or care leavers are not a single homogeneous group, and that policies, services and programmes always need to be designed and delivered with that clearly in mind. Specific OOHC typologies that I find useful are Mike Stein’s in relation to care leavers (strugglers, survivors and moving on), Mark Courtney’s, also with care leavers (accelerated adults, struggling parents, emerging adults, and troubled and troubling youth), and David Berridge’s in relation to the education of children in care (Stressed/unresolved, Committee/trusted support, Private/self-reliant and Disengaged).

But what about you? Professionally, are you surviving, striving or thriving?

While not usually of their own making, surviving OOHC professionals operate in, and respond to, a climate of crisis. It may be the residential worker who is hoping (and behaving in order) to get through their shift without being assaulted. It’s the foster care team who regularly find themselves ringing round their foster carers on a Friday afternoon to ‘check’ on whether someone can take a temporary placement over the weekend, or are having to continuously recruit new foster carers to replace existing dissatisfied ones. It’s the new transitioning from care worker who is putting in the time but struggling to make contact and sufficiently engage with young people on her caseload. It’s the burnt-out practitioner or supervisor who are either doing the bare minimum or doing crazy hours just to keep up. It’s the senior manager or chief executive who is having to spend more of their time dealing with political and media crises than leading the organisation. With some exceptions which usually come at a high personal cost, OOHC professionals who are in surviving-mode are falling far short of their potential and the expectations of themselves and others. They are also largely ineffective.

Striving OOHC professionals have a strong sense of purpose. It may be the residential worker who builds a meaningful relationship with every one of the young people in his care. It’s the foster care team with a well-researched foster carer recruitment and retention strategy. It’s the leaving care worker who takes steps to learn about the particular needs of any care leaver where he doesn’t know much about a topic. It’s the manager who ensures that supervision is meaningful and tries to harness the strengths and experience of both individuals and the team. It’s the senior manager or CEO who understands both the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation, and has a clear strategy, a demonstrable plan to get there, and a willingness to adjust the plan in the light of regular evidence and experience. Striving OOHC professionals are usually interested in learning, action and results. They tend to be much more effective than surviving OOHC professionals. However some senior managers and CEOs in particular may struggle to maintain momentum and deliver on promised results.

While working in OHC will always have its challenges, thriving OOHC professionals both get results because they are thriving, and are thriving because they are getting results. It’s the residential worker who is able to make full use of her high quality relationship with young people. It’s the foster care team providing well-matched purposeful placements where children and young people do well. It’s the transitioning from care worker can see in a new baby a cycle of intergenerational abuse coming to an end. It’s the manager who runs a team that people want to work in. It’s the senior leader and CEO who can consistently deliver results in the short, medium and longer term.

Which of these three best reflect you and your circumstances? Where will you be next year?