ABSTRACT
Values are central to social work. Three of the domains of practice in the PCF relate to this: ethics and values; diversity; rights, justice and economic well-being. Throughout this chapter I argue that these values are important both in guiding what we are trying to sustain or create through our professional leadership and how we achieve this. Chapter 2 identified concepts of ethical leadership and distributed leadership as being particularly relevant for social work professional leadership. However, theories of distributed leadership have lacked analyses of power and diversity (Bolden 2011). The ways in which we exercise leadership are influenced not only by our own actions but also by how others perceive us and attend to our contributions. The sources of power referred to in the previous chapter did not explicitly discuss the power that we may hold (or not) by virtue of our social identity. Yet differences relating to ‘race’, gender, class and other social divisions are powerful influences on the cultures and practices of organisations (Acker 2006).
