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Section 4 of 6
Pathway 2: Managing complexity

How middle managers can manage complexity in practice

By now you will have a clearer sense of how you want to strengthen your ability to manage complexity.  

Here is a list of practical strategies to support you as a middle manager in navigating complex team situations, balancing multiple priorities, and making informed decisions that prioritise staff, children, and families. 

These strategies aim to improve collaboration, optimise resource use, and enhance overall decision-making, ensuring a positive effect on both team dynamics and service delivery. 

These are separated into suggestions that will benefit you, your team, and your work with wider stakeholders. 

Which activities below do you think would benefit you, your team, and your service the most? Choose one from each section that you would like to try out. 

Thinking about yourself 

Leadership perspective swap 

Work with a colleague and share a recent challenging decision you made. Discuss alternative approaches and listen to your peer's viewpoint. This allows you to gain new insights and refine your leadership approach based on different perspectives. 

Reviewing and revising leadership strategies  

Regularly review and assess your leadership strategies to stay responsive to changing circumstances and team feedback by following these steps: 

  1. Schedule regular reviews (monthly/quarterly)
  2. Assess your management of supervision, conflict resolution, and team motivation
  3. Identify successful strategies and areas for improvement
  4. Gather team feedback for insights
  5. Adjust your approach based on findings to stay flexible and responsive to team needs

By making this a routine practice, you’ll ensure continuous improvement in your leadership approach

Thinking about your team 

Observed group discussions 

Organise sessions where a small group of supervisees discuss a case while others observe. Afterward, the observers share their insights, focusing on what questions or curiosities emerged as they listened. This method helps uncover new opportunities and perspectives. 

Conflict resolution strategies 

Teach and practice conflict resolution techniques with supervisees, focusing on how to handle disagreements between agencies constructively. Simulate potential conflicts and practice strategies to find common ground. This prepares supervisees to manage and resolve conflicts in multi-agency settings, ensuring that the focus remains on the best outcomes for the child and family. 

Thinking about the wider system 

Community immersion projects 

Encourage supervisees to engage in community immersion projects where they spend time in diverse communities they serve. This can help them gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of the families they work with and how complex social, cultural, and economic factors intersect.

Systems thinking workshops 

Engage supervisees in workshops on systems thinking, helping them to see how different elements within social work, such as:

  • policy 
  • family dynamics 
  • external agencies 
  • interact and affect outcomes   

After you’ve reviewed these activities, choose one from each section that you’d like to experiment with. You can use the 4C leadership capability framework action plan to detail when and where you’ll try these out and reflect on their effect over time. 

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The resources have been developed by Frontline in collaboration with DfE.
Published: 30 January 2025
Last updated: 30 January 2025