ABSTRACT
This chapter is a reflection on ideas about and the experience of facilitating reflective leadership. The context for this exploration is the clinical work that is undertaken within multi-disciplinary teams which offer support for individuals with an intellectual disability. Teams supporting individuals with an intellectual disability work to empower their service users and challenge the difficulties presented to these individuals that are often a consequence of the environment and communities in which they live, work and make relationships. Intellectual disability teams typically focus on inclusion by understanding the effect of the environment. Psychologists working in intellectual disability teams are often trained and skilled in working with systemic models that engage with difference and diversity. In this chapter, ideas about diversity are, however, in relation to thinking differently about leadership. Working in teams to support people and systems that are related to intellectual disability is often challenging and can be highly stressful and emotional. Multi-disciplinary teams are configured with the expectation that they work as a team and may share goals, plans and hoped for outcomes. The stressful nature of the work can lead teams both to split and project the stress that is experienced by the team members. In the case of the example given, the stress was a consequence of team members striving to give the best support possible for a service user with whom they had become emotionally connected. Facilitating leadership that does not include support for team members to reflect on, engage with and be supported with their own thoughts and emotional responses to their work may lead to team members finding it difficult to work together and even become overly stressed themselves. This chapter explores ways in which to mitigate against this.
