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Slovenia Maribor COER – Leadership and Management

Site: OpenLearn Create
Course: Assets Based Working with Communities
Book: Slovenia Maribor COER – Leadership and Management
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Friday, 29 March 2024, 5:53 AM

1. Welcome/Overview

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Live versions of these COERs as accredited modules in an International Masters Degree on Assets Based Interprofessional Working with Communities coming soon!



The purpose of the resource

This resource is designed to help you familiarise yourself with the group dynamic, which may occur in the process of managing and leading teams established in the scope of Asset-Based Approaches [ABA]. Managing teams composed of a diverse range of members may prove challenging. Therefore, certain skills, practices and endeavours are required to manage them appropriately and effectively. While heterogeneity may provide effective ideas and ways to tackle a broad array of challenges, it may also be demanding from an organisational perspective. The figure below represents the links between individual COERs (Partnership and Networking, Theory and Praxis, Mapping the Context, Identity and Inter-professional Working, Leadership and Management) and gaps analysed in the IO2 reports (Networking, Inclusion of Target Groups, Team Working, Assessment and Evaluation, Resourcing and Funding, Sustainability). The 'Assets based Collaborative Open Educational Resources' have been created through a collaborative process that we would like to extend to all interested users.

Theory and Praxis Tree

This resource can be taken as a standalone activity or used as a contribution to your study of the “Leadership and Management” module, should you wish to obtain the relevant accreditation. To broaden your knowledge on leadership and management, we suggest you study the “Partnership and Networking” or “Identity and Inter-professional Working” modules.

What you will get from working through this resource

This module provides insights into and some basic information about leadership and management tasks required when organising and directing a team. In addition, it introduces the concept of group dynamic, which makes it relevant to all members of a team and not merely for team leaders, as everyone can get an impression of the functioning and dynamics of various teams.

We would greatly appreciate any feedback from you about your general impressions and experience of our course content and ask if you could answer two short questions. The answers you give will be used to improve the quality of our educational content. If you agree to answer the questions please click on the link.

(You can complete the quick one-minute feedback questionnaire now or in the summary section at the end of the course.) 

Quick one minute feedback

2. Introducing the mini case

When scholars conducted research into various ABA practices (see Kretzmann and McKnight, 1993; reference to this project), they found that various organisational situations arise. The same conclusion was also reached during the research into the ABA in Slovenia, since the way in which individual teams were established influenced how their work tasks were distributed, what sort of group dynamic was established, and how motivated the team members were, etc. Moreover, the way in which the ABA was funded also played a substantial role in aforementioned matters. 

You will now watch an animation about the ABA, as well as about the leadership and management aspects that were inspired by the results of cases studies related to the ABA projects in Slovenia. In the Context of the Artefact sub-page, you will then be presented with more information about the analysed ABAs. The two activities will provide some basic insights into the issues surrounding the leadership and management of ABA projects and/or teams using the ABA method. Furthermore, in the Critical Questions sub-page, you will be asked to answer a few questions that will encourage you to reflect on how you have or could have tackled such issues. You will receive answers provided by participants in our case studies and by scholars on these matters. This will enable you to compare your answers with the ABA practitioners and experts in organisational behaviour.


3. The Artefact

Please watch this video and think about the leadership and management issues from your perspective and experience.


4. The Context of the Artefact

The material for the video that you have just watched is the result of two cases studies undertaken using the ABA method in Slovenia. These were the NasViz and the CONA Fužine projects.

A 19-month project called NasVIZ was conducted in Slovenia in 2015. The central aim of the project was tackling peer violence in the broadest possible way and addressing these problems from a sociological, cultural and pedagogical standpoint. The project was launched as an idea presented by a head of a primary school counselling service.  It was set up as a comprehensive project, which first conducts an inquiry into individual problems and then produces as many solutions as possible (from including the subject of peer violence in the curriculum to a number of extra-curricular activities). The core team comprised the originators of the projects, who also took on the role of project coordinators. Other key members included teachers from residential institutions. The team organised activities, such as Scouts, improvisation theatre, etc. The NasVIZ project used the assets of the local community and the social capital of its key members. For instance, they cooperated a local group of Scout guides, who participated as tutors. They were teaching youngsters certain scout skills and organised camping trips to discuss and reflect on some key issues with the children. The team also relied on personal acquaintances working in NGOs specialised in violence prevention, who gave presentations on peaceful conflict resolution techniques.

Since the majority of the team members were working both on the project as well as in their regular job, this meant that a substantial share of their spare time was devoted to the project. Some of the team members were assigned to the project, which meant that they had not chosen to devote their spare time to the project. Many participants, who were included in the project, were primary school and residential facility pupils, who typically have minor behavioural, emotional and learning difficulties. Therefore, the work required by the project could be difficult. The project leaders had to manage the project, which involved coordinating project activities, motivating team members, encouraging the cooperation of and between participants and conducting administrative tasks required to meet the project reporting obligations. 

On the other hand, the CONA Fužine project is a continuous project aimed at providing children with a safe and stimulating place to be. It is a type of day centre, where children can meet and perform a variety of activities or just do their homework with the help of the CONA Fužine employees. While employees working on the project are employed in different Slovene social work centres and thus paid out of the Slovenian State budget, the funding for CONA Fužine and its activities is obtained by competing in public tenders. In this regard, the CONA Fužine is faced with the question of sustainability on an annual basis, as it must obtain funding to cover the costs of its existence and activities every year. Furthermore, since the visitors of the CONA are often young people with unresolved problems this requires the employees to have certain skills and a lot of motivation to deal with day-to-day issues that arise from working with such youth. While schools do provide these practitioners with certain know-how and skill sets, the most valuable lessons are learned by performing practical work. The managers of the team(s) and the CONA Fužine centre are, therefore, the ones tasked with dealing with the issues of adequate team management or, in other words, with making sure that they do not burn out or lose their motivation. At the same time, they must complete all administrative obligations, and compete in tenders, etc.

In sum, the research revealed the following findings related to team management and administrative workload: the ABA projects that are funded through public tenders are required to report extensively on the conducted activities, finances, evaluation, timesheet submissions, not to mention the compilation of demanding tender applications, etc. In terms of team management, it was observed that certain managerial and leadership skills were required to run ABA projects, since the ABAs can be innovative but are often based on voluntary work. For instance, if team members [TMs] are volunteers working on a certain ABA project, the main problem is how to distribute individual tasks according to TMs’ capacities. In contrast, if TMs are part volunteers part assigned personnel, who do not see an ABA project as a useful endeavour, but were allocated to the team because their superiors wanted to express support for the ABA project (or their superiors just needed to avoid “to do something” because of their own superiors and decided to allocate the task to those on the lower step of the hierarchical ladder). In such cases, tensions in the ABA team may arise, particularly if the “allocated TMs” do not perform their task and other TMs are thus required to “step in”. While this increases the workload disproportionately, it also effects the motivation of the team. Motivation usually withers away or sways from time to time in any case, and it is the leader’s job to make sure that this happens as little as possible and, when it does, to remedy the situation. It was also observed that the core of the ABA teams was comprised of a relatively small number of people. They come up with ideas for applying the ABA and are therefore often expected to lead and manage the work on the ABA project. This expectation often comes true, which in turn raises two key questions: (1) do these innovative and highly motivated people have the necessary skillset, know-how and time to implement the ideas (the ABA project)? and (2) when ideas are being implemented, do they have the necessary skillset, know-how and time to lead and manage a team implementing them? These two questions point to a potential problem. The majority of the ABA projects affects the social strata of society and the human resources involved in such projects often have a social science, medical, psychological or similar background. They obtained their knowledge at education institutions, which teach social relations, but seem to focus insufficiently on issues related to leadership and the management of people (which is in a way understandable, as the majority of them will not hold the positions of leaders and managers). While it was discovered that those leading and managing the ABA projects do so effectively and use the aforementioned skills in the field of interpersonal relations, psychology and sociology, which they usually obtained during the course of their education, they can also learn the necessary skills by themselves or possess a natural skill (which is often the case). Nevertheless, they do recognise the benefit of obtaining additional knowledge either at higher education institutions or via online courses.

5. Critical Questions

Think about what you have learned with respect to the challenges of managing a diverse team of experts, such as counsellors, psychologists, doctors and volunteers, each of whom has a different educational background and a varying degree of volunteerism and dedication to Asset-Based Approaches in the scope of community-related project work. Answer the following critical questions and write down your answers in your personal blog space.   

  • What situations have you experienced that are similar to those encountered by the professionals in the NasVIZ or CONA FUŽINE project?
  • How would you tackle the problem of managing multi-professional teams, where different experts and professionals see their discipline as more or less important than other disciplines?
  • In your opinion, what skills do you think are important to manage and lead community projects?
  • How would you prevent the motivation of your team from diminishing?
  • While managing and leading such teams might be demanding, which benefits and challenges would this create for you as a practitioner?
  • Which activities would you encourage or suggest for your teams’ team building?


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                  Click the link to complete your Individual Wiki

Individual Wiki

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                          Comment

6. Professional Practice

  • What are the pros and cons of: 
    • striving for strict discipline?
    • striving for equality between all team members?
    • using round tables for meetings?
    • using designated siting arrangements in meetings?
    • setting morning meetings, monthly reports and/or end-of-project reports?
  • What are your arguments for the answers you provided to the questions above? How do you think these decisions influence your own practice? What else do you think is important to point out about leadership and management tasks?
  • How could the ABA method be used to improve leadership and management skills?

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Click the link to complete your Group Wiki

Group Wiki

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                          Comment

7. Comparing International practice/academic perspectives

Compare the answers you provided in your Individual Wiki, blog space and Group Wiki:

  1. with the answers provided by practitioners from the NasVIZ and CONA Fužine projects;
  2. with the views presented by scholars and other international experts.

You can go back to the previous section in the course by clicking on the table of contents menu.

8. Bringing it all together

  • How does your answers differ from those provided by practitioners from the NasVIZ and CONA Fužine projects?
  • How are your answers similar to those provided by practitioners from the NasVIZ and CONA Fužine projects?
  • How does your groups’ answers differ from those provided by international experts?
  • How are your answers similar to those provided by scholars?


You can go back to the previous section in the course by clicking on the table of contents menu.


Pencil Icon


                 Click the link to complete your Group Wiki

Group Wiki

Comments Icon 


                          Comment

9. Summary

In the previous sections, you will have learned about leadership and management tasks required for organising and directing a team. You will have learned about group dynamics, which arises in the course of when managing and leading teams that were established within the ABA projects. You will have learned that while heterogeneity can provide effective ideas and ways to tackle a broad array of issues, it can also represent an organisational challenge. Leaders and managers, therefore, have to possess the necessary skillset and know-how to motivate people, resolve conflicts, adapt to unexpected changes, etc. You will have learned about the two ABA projects in Slovenia, i.e. the NasVIZ and CONA Fužine. You will also have learned about the different views and perspectives of practitioners, scholars and international experts on leadership and management. You will have developed your analytical and abstract thinking and writing skills, and gained new insights to be used in your own practice.

We would greatly appreciate it if you would take the time to complete the quick one-minute feedback questionnaire and our learner experience and satisfaction survey by clicking on the links below. Thank you.

Quick one minute feedback

Learner Experience and Satisfaction Survey

You can find out more about how our course was developed and you can leave feedback, post comments and ask questions by visiting our website by clicking on the word patch wall link.

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10. References

Altier, W. J. (1999). The Thinking Manager's Toolbox: Effective Processes for Problem Solving and Decision Making (1st edition). New York: Oxford University Press.

Berne, E. (1964). Games people play : the psychology of human relationship. London: Penguin Group.

Forsyth, D. R. (2006). Group Dynamics (4th edition). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing.

Kretzmann, J. P. and McKnight, J. L. (1993). Building communities from the inside out: a path toward finding and mobilizing a community assets. Evanston: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University.

Kotter, J. P. (1987). The leadership factor. New York, NY: Free Press.

Kotter, J. P. (1990). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 103-111.

Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Leadership versus Management: A Key Distinction—At Least in Theory. International journal of management, business, and administration, 14(1), 1-4.