Helena Maguire – Leadership Under Fire: Effective Supervision and Organizational Integrity: A Treatment Package for Crisis Events

We continue to live and work eight months under the shadow of a pandemic crisis never seen before by emerging supervisors in the field of applied behavior analysis.  The ability to provide the necessary leadership to effectively supervise and direct staff during a crisis requires the application of critical interpersonal skills and technical skills.  Attempting to respond appropriately in the technical domain while remaining compassionate to the needs of employees and maintain organizational integrity is a challenge during any health related crisis, especially if the behavioral system has not been designed to support the complexities of the human worker and their range of responses for pandemic events such as COVID-19.  

For new supervisors, developing appropriate skills must be supported through a behavioral systems approach at the organization and individual level in order to strengthen professional relationships among colleagues, subordinates and other stakeholders.  Maintaining organizational integrity while balancing the needs of employees and clients may present competing priorities to supervisors.  The commitment by supervisors to ensure they have developed effective relationships with all stakeholders must begin before a crisis emerges.  The importance of practicing effective, compassionate supervision becomes paramount to successful leadership when an unexpected organizational or individual crisis occurs.

This presentation focus on:  

1. Identifying effective organizational behavior systems necessary to develop an effective and compassionate approach to supervision
2. Outlining critical supervisory skills that should be developed, shaped and reinforced in preparation for the unexpected crisis.  
3. Recommendations at an organizational systems level for the review, development and inclusion of supervision training for all supervisors. 

A case study review of the recent COVID-19 pandemic will be used to highlight barriers and opportunities for development of supervisors in behavior analytic organizations.