TEAMWORK ...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

The soccer coach was a teacher at the school. Playing for the under 13 team he positioned me as 'centre half,  Every match - "centre half". One day we passed in a passage. "Why do you always put me at centre half? Why not centre forward?" "Because", he said "you don't have a strong enough kick to score goals. It's your job to pass the ball to him". 

It was an aha moment. In my head I said "Why didn't you tell me before?" I had always thought that if you played soccer, the idea was to score goals. Right?...and this was always my game plan.

I could dribble well, but not kick powerfully. It was a lesson for life. In some situations... I had to pass the ball.

 A comment was made on my blog on child and youth care work in private practice. More or less - "Child and youth care workers may find it difficult to work in private practice. They work in teams and in private practice you work on your own"

We are team workers. It has to do with what we do in practice with the children and young people in our programmes... develop potential from strengths. We set goals and tasks with them based on their strengths.

As for them, so for us.

There are very good programmes available designed for adults and for children and young people to identify their individual gifts and strengths and to build up an individual strengths profile. This seems to be the starting point.  "What are my strengths and gifts?" ( I can dribble but I'm not a very  powerful kicker). 
The Dependable Strengths Institute (Seattle, USA) has a really good programme on dependable strengths. There are equally good programmes for the identification of strengths for children and young people.

Self awareness, self honesty, the opinion and observations of colleagues, friends and family, a recollection of what you have done well and felt good doing... these all help when building up a professional strengths practice profile.

There's a teamwork exercise which seems helpful in gaining insights into 'team',... how and what we each contribute. It's called, Build a Tower with Drinking Straws and Pins. The exercise is for a random group of 5 child and youth care workers to be given drinking straws and pins. They are told to build a tower of straws, use the pins tor attach the straws The team with highest unassisted standing tower after a fairly short set time period, wins. They will get a small prize each. "Go!". Usually some towers are sturdy, but short. Others, tall but cant stand unassisted. Some stand for a fraction of time then fall. Discussion follows  "What did the winning team do to make it work? Who did what  ? What did they, we observe about their working together. What happened in your team?"

What I learnt from this exercise is that the team of 5 who spent at least a few minutes before starting on the tower to discuss  who would do what and to plan a basic structure, a foundation, a plan to get hight and strength - these teams invariably did the best or won the chocolate bars. They did encourage each other as the went along .

It had to do with a child and youth care worker volunteering to undertake a particular role and tasks, agreed leadership    ( the visionary), agreed organizer, agreed manager, agreed resource provider, Agreement. They did make suggestions to each other as they went along. One usually volunteered to be a time-keeper. They did give mutual support during the exercise. As a team they achieved more than any one could achieve as an individual.as they recognised each other's strengths.("You're meant to pass the ball to him. He will kick at goal").

"OK, Time's up. Hands off "... they collapsed or could stand only a while.  Competing leadership, taking an unexpected individual initiative almost impulsively to get hight and without team agreement... collapse !,    

It gets more complicated for us because we practice in teams as child and youth care workers, then we work also in multi-disciplinary teams. We, child, young person, social workers, teachers, psychologists, health workers, parents, significant others, sometimes religious leaders, psychometrists, domestic workers, local shopkeeper, neighbour - each with different approaches and expectations, philosophy and  methodology. 

That pre-straw and pin discussion becomes now a critical sharing, each to declare, understand and respect the others role in unity and synergy for the sake of the child or young person.  ( Coach !..Why didn't you tell me before?)

She was of biggish build, not doing that well at school in a class for those who struggle. A psychometrist's  test results showed that she should be fine for employment in a trade.  She had a leaning toward hairdressing and catering. Teacher and principal of the school were sure that she would be retained for at least a further year before ready to enter the secondary occupation and trade school. They had evidence of this based on her school performance in Language and Mathematics. Child and youth care workers reported her strengths and style of relationship building and her resilience. The psychologist added a personality assessment which included a professional psychological opinion on the effect of a further year in the primary school. The social worker gave a comprehensive socio-gram with the quality of her connectedness  and support systems. 

Staying at school for another year was regarded by all including, of course, the young person that staying at primary school for another year was not in her best interest nor her best way forward.

In my position of Director, I asked for an appointment with the Chief Inspector of Education in the city.  On the strength of the evidence of the multi=disciplinary team he granted a year of constructive delay. This was,I believe a first in the country. The social worker arranged that she work at the local hairdresser as an assistant and at the Home for the Elderly as an assistant in the kitchen. The teacher and the principal agreed to give her a time-table to attend classes in Language and Mathematics only until she went to the secondary occupation and trade school.

The multi-disciplinary tower of straws and pins was high and strong. It stood.

This young person is now of middle age, regarded as one of the best hairdressers in the city, sought after and has her own business.

Teamwork build towers. 

Lives: tall and sturdy.