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#7 Leading and managing change
Middle managers in social services play a pivotal role as change agents within their organisation. Their influence is both downward and upward. They translate high level strategy and policy decisions into operational systems and procedures and provide feedback for senior managers about the impact of change. They support innovation at grassroots level, identifying new working practices which may be of value across the organisation and making senior management aware of these.
To earn this Open Badge, you should use the resources on our Step into Leadership website to help you meet the criteria below. You may also wish to reflect on other leadership learning you have undertaken that contributes to you meeting the criteria e.g. a formal leadership programme you have undertaken or leadership learning that has been delivered by your organisation.
Provide evidence that you are able to:
- understand the wider context for change and identify adaptive changes which enable teams and services to respond to new needs, demands and expectations
- clearly communicate the rationale for change to staff and inspire commitment to the change process
- use a range of communication approaches to ensure that all those impacted by the change feel informed and involved in the process
- identify and be responsive to the impact of change, loss and uncertainty while still ensuring progress in the desired direction
- sustain personal resilience and openness in the face of anxiety, conflict or hostility
- tolerate uncertainty and the risk of failure while supporting creativity, innovation and experimentation within teams and services
- ensure that staff retain a clear focus on people who use services, families and carers while adapting to change and discontinuity
- provide a range of channels for staff to provide feedback on change
- communicate proactively with senior managers to identify issues and risks that may be generated by change, particularly where this is likely to have a negative impact on service viability, or on the quality of services provided.
You should already hold the Leadership Capability Feedback badge.
Please provide a written statement or link to an audio or video recording showing how what you’ve learned from the resources has contributed to your professional development and informed your practice. There’s no limit to the number of words you can use in your statement although we would suggest 500-1000 words will allow you to reflect your learning effectively. Keep the criteria above in mind when preparing your statement. You can provide the statement on the badge application form or provide a link to your own blog or e-portfolio.
If you want to use a blog or ePortfolio entry as evidence, you might find our guide to preparing and publishing your evidence useful.
Remember, the evidence you provide will be viewable by anyone you show your badge to. Please don’t include confidential or private information within your statement.
Badge issuer
Scottish Social Services Council
Promoting high standards, raising public confidence and developing a trained and trusted social service workforce in Scotland.
Submit your application
The SSSC Open Badge system relies on trust. We trust that the evidence you provide will be of your own work and based on your own skills and knowledge. By submitting an application you agree to the following statement: "In studying and completing the activities for this badge, I confirm that all the work provided as evidence will be my own." The SSSC will revoke a badge if the evidence provided is discovered to have been the work of someone else.Your evidence, name, and email address will be sent to the organisation who issue this badge