‘My first manager taught me the meaning of good supervision’

For Community Care’s 50th anniversary, our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone who has inspired you in your career.

In this entry, service manager Michelle Vernon has nominated her first social work manager, Hilary, whose exemplary practice and supervision have influenced her career for over two decades.

Pictured: Hilary / Photo by Michelle Vernon

Hilary was my first social work manager following my qualification in 2000, and has been a friend and guiding light since.

She was then the manager of a small team at the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity supporting LGBTQ+ 16-25-year-olds at risk of homelessness, and I was a keen, but cynical, social worker.

I was disillusioned by the motives of people in my course and suspected the profession was  full of power-crazed maniacs. Instead, Hilary taught me that there is room in social work for compassionate practice and management.

She was, and remains, one of the most thoughtful practitioners and managers I have ever worked with. She cares about people, challenges poor practice and decision making, often at great cost to herself, and, perhaps most importantly, is kind.

My first experience of supervision was with her – she centred our conversation around my identity as a practitioner and helped me to think about how I practised.

Having had such a positive first experience became a key insight for when I did my stint in a local authority, where supervision was focused on case management and nothing more. I knew that I wasn’t expecting ‘too much’ from those meetings, but that I deserved more.

I have since gone on to manage teams, and now a region, and I still base my provision of supervision on that very first experience I had with Hilary.

I understand the importance of having a safe space to explore, think, and just notice where you are within the work; a space where it is okay to be vulnerable and seek direction. There is an understanding that we all continue to learn.

I like to think I am firm but fair and that definitely began with Hilary.

Thank you H!

How to nominate a colleague

For our 50th anniversary, we’re expanding our series My Brilliant Colleague to include anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by either:

• Filling in our nominations form with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
• Or sending a voice note of up to 90 seconds to +447887865218, including your and the nominee’s names and roles.

Despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry.

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com.