Leadership and strengths-based practice

Many professionals already aspire to demonstrate the principles of strengths-based practice in their work. However, it is evident from the lived experience of individuals and families, and from research, that many services have not provided such models of support. There are many reasons why this has been the case. These include a historic emphasis in some organisations on professionals being the gatekeepers to limited resources, traditional models of assessment (or diagnosis) focusing on deficits and problems, a bureaucratic approach to care planning and decision-making that is risk averse, and anxiety from some professionals that they will not be supported to work more creatively and flexibly. Commissioning of services has been a barrier when it has focused on performance management of process-based targets based on traditional professional siloes rather than the achievement of broader outcomes for people and communities. All these factors mean that despite numerous policy and practice initiatives to require or encourage strengths-based working, and support for such principles amongst many representative groups and professional bodies, it has been difficult to embed it across our health and care systems.

Implementing strengths-based practice

Research and local experience demonstrate that implementation of strengths-based practice is challenging due to these historic processes and ways of working. Thankfully though, there are examples of local areas and individual programmes that have been able to make significant progress. Successful implementation involves a blend of activities which respond to local challenges and build on potential opportunities. Common elements include:

• sustained engagement and co-production with stakeholders including those with lived experience and communities, providing training and development opportunities on strengths-based practice for the staff groups who will have to work differently
• creating a supportive culture which seeks to learn from what has gone well and what has not succeeded
• opportunities for reflection through supervision and team-based events
• addressing processes and procedures which reflect the old ways of working
• ensuring that there are sufficient financial and other resources to support the change required and underpin its future sustainability.

The other factor which is always associated with successful implementation of strengths-based practice is leadership. This relates in part to those in more senior roles who can provide an official endorsement, develop an authorising organisational environment, develop and promote a single, widely-shared and understood strengths-based vision and practice framework or model, identify the necessary resources, and champion the cause of strengths-based practice to other stakeholders. But successful implementation requires leadership from others. This includes leadership from across the organisation and creating a culture of collaboration with partners and providers, operational managers who coordinate services at a local level, and professionals who work directly with individuals and families. Meaningful and sustained implementation of strengths-based practice also requires those with lived experience to shape the vision and determine what success will look like. This requires individuals and communities being given the support and opportunity to demonstrate their leadership too.