Leadership Analysis Paper

Lorrie Wesoly

December 5, 2013

Clinical Social Work Supervision

Southern Connecticut State University

Jeanjulia Van Der Maelen

In the book the TaoTe Ching, Lao-tzu wrote " What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you don't understand this you will get lost, however intelligent you are. It is the great secret" (Tao Te Ching, 1988, Stephen Mitchell). The Tao Te Ching is a classic book about Taoist spiritual teachings. There are many translations of the title and the book itself. However, for this purpose I refer to it as "The Classic book on the Way of Virtue. (David James Lee) In English the word 'virtue' relates to the sense of personal character, inner strength or personal integrity. It is this definition of virtue that I consider to be the core of good leadership especially in the field of social work. Tafvelin (2012) found:
Social work leadership has attracted growing attention in both social work practice and research. As social service organisations have changed in a variety of ways during the last decades, knowledge of how leaders should act in these transformed organisations is crucial. However, few empirical studies have examined what kind of leadership these changed organisations benefit from and how the continuing organisational change might affect the impact leaders have. Clinicians who become supervisors may find it challenging to transition into a leadership role. It is imperative that the new supervisor understand the agency's mission, vision, goals and culture as it relates to their new responsibilities. In order to be an effective leader who inherits managerial responsibilities, the supervisor will need to choose and develop a leadership style that closely reflects their personal values and personality. The leadership style will serve as a