Reflective Supervision

Reflective Supervision Training Helps Team Leaders Support Staff Growth

Effective leaders empower team members and support the growth of each individual in the group. In human services, leaders are often holding space for those working on the frontlines. Reflective Supervision training offers the structure and practices to ensure supportive leadership.

In our Reflective Supervision training, participants discover:

  • The skills needed for Reflective Supervision
  • Trauma-informed approaches to leadership
  • Empathetic listening and guiding
  • Embracing Cultural Humility and fostering Cultural Reverence
  • Parallel skills developed in Motivational Interviewing training

The outcomes and impacts of Reflective Supervision training are often quickly evident. Staff achieve increasing levels of critical thinking and align their practice with organizational values and direction. Reflective Supervision training decreases the common phenomena of burnout and compassion fatigue. The training often leads to increasingly targeted and efficient professional development meetings.

REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION TRAINING OVERVIEW

Reflective Supervision is an empowering professional development approach for managers and organizational supervisors. This approach empowers them to support the growth of their direct service staff.  During a supervision encounter, the supervisor guides the staff member through the reflective conversation structure.

Description

During the description, the employee shares the facts of the situation the employee wishes to process.

Identification of Feelings and Thoughts

The supervisor explores the feelings and thoughts that surfaced in the employee during the situation.

Evaluation

The employee shares what they felt went well and what could have gone better.

Analysis

Looking back on the situation, the employee shares their sense of the situation.

Conclusion

The supervision invites the employee to share their perspective on what they might do differently in the future.

Plan

The staff person makes a concrete plan to achieve the conclusion.

Reflective Supervision is an integral component of Share Training’s Healing-Focused Care model. The skills needed for Reflective Supervision are also found in the Motivational Interviewing process. These include empathetic listening, use of the OARS (Open-Ended Questions, Affirmations, and Summaries), and using a guiding style.

Reflective Supervision is enhanced by expressing the Spirit of MI (Partnership, Acceptance, Compassion, and Evocation) and aligns with MI’s four process model: Engage, Focus, Evoke, and Plan. Reflective Supervision is a broadly embraced model that supports a Trauma-Informed service environment. Embracing Cultural Humility supports culturally responsive supervisory relationships in increasingly diverse work environments.

MEET OUR REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION TRAINER

Shawn Smith is our Reflective Supervision trainer. He brings humor, empathy, and insight into the training process, enabling learners to grow and discover new insights.

Feedback from Learners

“Reflective Supervision Training ups our game of supervision. It brought our supervisors and management team together with hands-on practice."
Scott
Manager/Deputy Director County Health and Human Services Department
“Reflective Supervision is valuable in all aspects of work, relationships, home, and supervision."
Libby
Health Strategist