The following resources describe aspects of leadership and leadership strategies that can improve agency effectiveness and impact the workforce, including State and local examples.
Administrative Leadership
Hardina, Middleton, Montana, & Simpson (2006)
In An Empowering Approach to Managing Social Service Organizations
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Describes the role of administration staff in creating an empowering organization
Advocacy Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Very Young Children: Interviews with Leaders at the State and Community Levels (PDF - 89 KB)
ZERO TO THREE Policy Center (2006)
Presents two interviews, one with a State leader and the other with a community leader. They have employed effective advocacy strategies to raise awareness, mobilize members of the public and other advocates, and influence the public policy process directly.
Discerning Leadership Abilities in Child Welfare Organizations
Harris (2008)
Emphasizes the importance of recognizing leadership qualities in child welfare professionals and determining executive leadership needs for the future of an organization.
Executive Leadership
Herman & Heimovics (2004)
In The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management
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Describes specific board-centered leadership skills that characterize especially effective chief executives.
Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives: Guiding Your Organization to Long-term Success
Peters & Schaffer (2005)
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Teaches executive directors of nonprofit organizations how to use financial information in decision-making. This book is organized around a financial leadership model that has four components: ensure accuracy, assess, plan, and communicate.
Leadership Academy
National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
Offers evidence-based leadership training and development to enhance the ability of supervisors and middle managers to initiate and support organizational transformations that lead to improved outcomes for children, families, and communities. The Leadership Academy for Supervisors provides free online training for supervisors and the Leadership Academy for Middle Managers provides five days of residential classroom training. Training in both components is followed by peer networking events. Certificates and/or CEU's are available.
Learning and Living Toolkit
National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
Offers professionals a toolkit that increase leadership skills to strengthen the agency workforce development efforts to generate ideas, enhance development of personal learning place, and support strategic change efforts. The toolkit is designed with five domains including a competency definition and a menu of activities designed to promote further development of professional leadership.
Leadership and Management Competencies Defined by Practicing Social Work Managers: An Overview of Standards Developed by the National Network for Social Work Managers
Wimpfheimer
Administration in Social Work, 28(1), 2004
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Reviews a set of tools designed to improve management skills and ultimately the quality of service delivery in agencies, and focuses on the 10 competencies needed to run a well-functioning, high-quality organization.
Senior Leadership Teams: What It Takes to Make Them Great
Wageman
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Offers guidance about how to harness the benefits of executive teams without falling victim to the problems and miscues that often derail them, based on results of a study examining the functioning of more than 120 leadership teams worldwide.
State and local examples
The Agency's Story: Fostering Collaboration Within
Jordan Institute for Families, University of North Carolina School of Social Work (2001)
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Describes how one agency nurtured collaboration within its management, line, and support staff in order to support external community building.
Leadership Dimensions, the Critical Link for the Evolution of Collaboration: A Case Study
Impink
Social Policy Journal, 3(2), 2004
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Traces the history of one community's efforts to coordinate services to address family violence.