Transforming Workplace Wellbeing with Reflective Supervision

Building Trusting and Respectful Relationships

Fostering safe, trusting, and respectful relationships is absolutely essential for transforming workplace wellbeing into a more positive and productive environment. These relationships form the foundation upon which a healthy work culture is built, allowing employees to feel valued, understood, and supported. When staff members have supportive relationships with their supervisors, it opens up a vital channel for communication and collaboration. This supportive dynamic provides staff with the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, share their challenges, and effectively manage the stresses and demands of their work. By having a reliable support system, employees are better equipped to navigate the complexities of their roles, leading to improved job satisfaction, reduced stress levels, and enhanced overall performance.

Beyond Accountability: The Role of Supervision

Supervision extends far beyond simply fulfilling a program requirement or acting as a mechanism to ensure staff accountability. It plays a crucial role as a dynamic platform designed to nurture and coach staff members, providing them with the necessary guidance and support to enhance their knowledge and skills. This process not only focuses on professional development but also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy perspective on the various work-related hazards that employees may encounter. These hazards, if not properly managed, can lead to significant issues such as secondary trauma and burnout. By addressing these concerns through effective supervision, organizations can help staff develop resilience and coping strategies, ensuring they remain engaged and motivated in their roles. This comprehensive approach to supervision ultimately contributes to a more sustainable and fulfilling work environment, where employees feel empowered and equipped to handle the challenges of their profession.

The Power of Reflective Supervision

Reflective supervision offers leadership a chance to actively listen and pose thoughtful questions, enabling staff to deeply consider the significance of themselves, their work experiences and the supervisory relationship. This introspection fosters greater self-awareness, enhances knowledge, improves skills, and reinforces professional boundaries and self-care practices. There are four primary areas supervisors can explore in supervision: safety, transference and countertransference, knowledge and skill, and Meaning.

Examples of Reflective Questions

The Person

Safety

• When do you feel safe at work?
• Who are the people you seek out for safety? What qualities do they have?
• In what environment do you feel the safest?

Transference / Counter transference

• What are you bringing to your role from your training and life experiences? How do these things help you or hinder you?

Knowledge / Skill

• What are the aspects that challenge you or even scare or worry you?
• How do you deal with stress or challenges?
• What do you need, to do your best? To grow?
• Are there resources we can look for?

Meaning

• What is fulfilling for you?
• What does this work mean to you personally?
• What do you connect with meaningfully?

Events

Safety

• Tell me what happened.
• How did you feel when ________?

Transference / Counter Transference

• What did you say?
• How did you feel?
• What did it remind you of?
• What do you think they are getting from their relationship with you?

Knowledge / Skill

• What would you like to say if he/she were here right now?
• If you could wave a magic wand, what would be different?
• What could you do differently, if anything, to change how this relationship is going?
• Do you have the information you need?
• Is there a skill that you could use or use better in this situation?

Meaning

• What does this event mean to you?
• What do you hope you will gain?
• What do you hope they will gain?

Supervisory Relationship

Safety

• Are you comfortable expressing your questions, feelings of uncertainty or confusion to me?
• When things aren’t working, do you share these struggles with me so we can develop alternatives together?
• When I express my concerns about something you’ve done, is that concern shared in a way that feels nonthreatening?

Transference / Countertransference

• Do I remind you of anyone or of previous authority figures?
• Do you sometimes expect me to respond a certain way, but are surprised when I don’t?
• Do you feel I truly understand you or are there times you feel misunderstood by me?

Knowledge / Skill

• Do your questions get addressed in a way that is useful?
• Do you learn from supervisions?
• Does your knowledge translate into skill?

Meaning

• Does supervision bring meaning to your work by building your competence and confidence?
• Does supervision allow you to explore the values, beliefs and assumptions that you bring to your work?

Conclusion

When supervision focuses solely on productivity and performance standards, employees may feel insecure and hesitant to engage in open dialogue that fosters meaningful growth. For reflective supervision to be effective, supervisors must create a safe environment that encourages staff to explore both their strengths and weaknesses.

In reflective supervision, both supervisors and staff share the responsibility for learning and growth within the supervisory relationship. This shared responsibility motivates both parties to schedule and maintain regular meeting times, arriving prepared and eager to contribute and learn. The supervisory relationship has the potential to make a lasting, positive impact on workplace wellbeing and the quality of care provided to patients.

Resources

Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health. (2018). Michigan Association for Mental Health. https://mi-aimh.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Best-Practice-Guidelines-for-Reflective-Supervision-and-Consultation.pdf.

Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center. (2024). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/family-engagement/building-partnerships-guide-developing-relationships-families/reflective-supervision.

Madariaga, Patricia; Sparr, Mariel; West, Allison. (2022). Reflective Supervision: What We Know and What We Need to Know to Support and Strengthen the Home Visiting Workforce. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/reflective-supervision-what-we-know-and-what-we-need-know-support-and-strengthen-home#:~:text=Reflective%20supervision%20is%20a%20form,Home%20Visiting%20(MIECHV)%20Program.