Professional registration
Benefits of culturally competent leadership
This practice tool is for:
- leaders
- managers
- supervisors
- social workers
Social workers must meet professional standards to maintain registration with Social Work England. The professional standards social workers must uphold include:
- promoting the rights, strengths and wellbeing of people, families and communities
- establishing and maintaining the trust and confidence of people
- being accountable for the quality of their practice and the decisions they make
- promoting ethical practice and reporting concerns
Organisations should support social workers to uphold the professional standards and promote and encourage ethical practice (see Employer standard 7: Professional registration). Leadership has an important part to play, but individual social workers must also take responsibility for meeting the professional standards.
Leadership styles that embrace cultural differences in today’s diverse workplaces can ensure everyone feels included.
By promoting ethical practices, leaders can give social workers the support and confidence they need to challenge unsafe practices and report concerns, in line with Employer standard 7: Professional registration.
Developing culturally competent leadership requires more than just being aware of differences, it also means:
- learning the skills needed to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds
- adapting your communications and decision-making to meet the needs of a diverse team
- listening actively to understand different perspectives and experiences
Culturally competent leadership can be practiced at all levels within organisations. This resource will help you develop those skills and become a more inclusive and effective leader, supporting you to meet the professional standards for social workers.
Cultural competence engages the development of abilities and skills to respect differences and effectively interact with individuals from different backgrounds. This involves awareness of one’s biases or prejudices and is rooted in respect, validation, and openness toward differences among people.
Cultural competence begins with an awareness of one’s own cultural beliefs and practices, and the recognition that others believe in different truths and realities than one’s own. It also implies that there is more than one way of doing the same thing in the right manner.
Kohli, H. K., Huber, R., & Faul, A. C. (2010)
Promoting fairness to tackle discrimination in social care
Social care workers may experience racism, discrimination, exclusion, homophobia, and stereotyping within their teams and in their practice.
These challenges can lead to unfair treatment, particularly for Black, male, and older social workers, who are often over-represented in fitness-to-practice hearings. Similarly, workers from minority groups in the NHS are more likely to be involved in local disciplinary processes.
To promote fair treatment, leaders should focus on recognising and addressing unconscious bias in areas such as recruitment, appraisals, promotions, and disciplinary actions. This involves a commitment to reflecting on biases and creating a more inclusive environment.
Although many aim for cultural competence and compassionate leadership, evidence shows that racism still occurs in social work organisations.
Leaders should understand the impact of discrimination and actions to address discrimination in their organisation. Taking proactive steps helps establish an anti-racist, fair culture where people from minority groups feel safe to raise concerns without fear of unfair treatment.
Social workers should speak up when they notice discrimination in the workplace. Conversations are often the first step to making change.
Spend time getting to know your colleagues and really listen to their perspectives. You can do this by:
- taking your time during meetings to allow space for meaningful conversations
- talking openly about race to reduce racism and microaggressions in the workplace
- directly addressing racial issues to help build a more inclusive and respectful environment
Listen to people and recognise that they are the experts in their own experiences. Be open to hearing what they have to say. Get comfortable discussing inequality and race, as nearly six out of ten employees feel their employers avoid these topics.
This video from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) on ‘How to talk about race at work’ will help you develop your skills to talk about racial disparities. Anti-discriminatory practice is a key practice approach for social workers, and helps social workers meet the professional standards.
Making sure that your organisational processes and policies are not discriminatory will show your commitment to supporting anti-discriminatory practice.
Using inclusive language
As a leader, you should think about the influence you have and the words you use. The language you choose may either encourage a social worker or cause harm, even if that’s not your intention.
Be careful with how you respond when things go wrong. Avoid saying things like “I’m sure they didn’t mean that,” as it dismisses the experiences of others and makes them feel ignored or undervalued.
Prioritise the person when you are referring to them. For example, use ‘person with disability’ rather than ‘disabled person.’ Encourage the use of gender-neutral language and challenge the use of language that is not inclusive.
Lead by example and encourage social workers to respectfully challenge language that is not inclusive.
Addressing inequality by focusing on equity
Recognise that institutional and structural inequalities, along with conscious and unconscious bias, affect behaviour and decision-making. You may feel that you cannot change institutional and structural inequalities, but each small action has an impact.
Avoid making quick judgements about people and stay open-minded. Check your human resources (HR) processes and policies for any bias or favouritism, as these often result in inequality within organisations.
Instead of focusing on ‘equality’, think about actions which will achieve ‘equity.’ Equality is when everyone has access to the same resources.
Equity recognises that everyone is not the same and that some people need more resources or support to achieve equality with others.
Avoiding assumptions and ‘norm referencing’
Recognise that your values and beliefs may differ from others. Avoid ‘norm referencing’, which happens when you unconsciously judge others based on your own cultural experiences or background, treating your own experience as the ‘norm’.
Making assumptions about people who come from a similar background to you can lead to misunderstandings and reinforce bias. Be curious about the experiences, values and beliefs of others and value difference.
Using your influence to support diversity
Use your role to promote policies and practices that encourage cultural competence and diversity in your organisation.
Maintain an open mind about learning and improving your knowledge and skill. If you’re unsure, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Although discussing race and racism can feel challenging, it’s important to confront these issues and take action to build cultural competence.
Exercise leadership by acknowledging that you do not have all the answers. Encourage open discussion about cultural competence in your workplace.
Read more about the role of cultural competence in promoting leadership and organisational change. Evidence of effective practice in managing diversity at work is also available.
Research on bullying in social care
Research shows that bullying does occur in social care, especially when there are heavy workloads, resources are limited, and work feels insecure (see Cassie in References section).
It’s important that employers establish clear policies that take a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment, and discrimination (read more on this topic by Whitaker and van den Broek in the references section).
Workers from minority backgrounds are more likely to report issues of bullying and harassment. See guidelines for tackling racial harassment and bullying in Employer standard 2: Effective workplace planning systems.
The Health and Safety Executive offers advice to organisations for dealing with bullying and harassment, along with sample questions leaders can use when surveying staff.
Guidance from Acas
Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) offers resources for dealing with discrimination and bullying in the workplace.
When developing and implementing policies to tackle discrimination, leaders should empower workers who have encountered discrimination to talk about their experiences.
Emotionally literate and culturally competent leadership involves recognising that employees may express distress and signal their need for support in different ways.
Employer standard 4: Wellbeing provides information about inclusive conversations to help leaders navigate diverse perspectives.
References
Archibong, U. E., Kline, R., Eshareturi, C., et al. (2019). Disproportionality in NHS disciplinary proceedings. British Journal of Healthcare Management, 25(4).
Cassie, K. M., & Crank, A. K. (2018). Bullies in our midst: Workplace bullying among social service workers in long-term care facilities. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 42(4), 417-431.
Gov UK. (2017). Race in the workplace: The McGregor-Smith review
Kinman, G., Teoh, K., & Harriss, A. (2020). The mental health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives in the UK. Royal College of Nursing Foundation and Society of Occupational Medicine.
Kohli, H. K., Huber, R., & Faul, A. C. (2010). Historical and theoretical development of culturally competent social work practice. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 30(3), 252-271.
Social Work England. (2019). Professional Standards.
Turner, A. (2020, May 28). Most social workers say COVID-19 has negatively hit their work and the lives of those they support. Community Care.
van den Broeck, A. D., Baillien, E., & De Witte, H. (2011). Workplace bullying: A perspective from the Job Demands-Resources model. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), 40-51.
Whitaker, T. (2012). Social workers and workplace bullying: Perceptions, responses and implications. Work, 42(1), 115-123.
The resources have been developed by
Research in Practice
in collaboration with
DfE.
Published: 27 February 2025
Last updated: 28 February 2025
Published: 27 February 2025
Last updated: 28 February 2025