Antiracist Supervision Practices for YDEKC Members

Youth Development Executives of King County is excited to partner with Be the Change Consulting, a unique capacity building organization with deep knowledge of the youth development field and a commitment to social justice, for a customized professional development experience for YDEKC members. This program is designed for leaders at any level within YDEKC member organizations who supervise one or more employees. This series will have two parts. 

Part A is two workshops for supervisors: 

1. March 23, 9:30-12: The Fundamentals of Equitable Employee Development 

1. April 13, 9:30-12: Culturally Responsive Supervision Techniques 

Each workshop will be only $20 with a YDEKC discount code! 

See below for detailed descriptions, and the process to sign up for a discount code. Sign up for your YDEKC discount code by March 17 at the latest, and then register on the Be the Change website for the workshops. Space is limited. (Review our Member List if you’re not sure if your organization is a current member.) 

Part B is up to two group workplace coaching sessions: 

• April 27, 9:30-11 a.m.: Group Coaching Session 1 
• May 18, 9:30-11 a.m.: Group Coaching Session 2 

The coaching sessions are free. Limited space will be available, and registration for these sessions will open to attendees who attend both March 23 and April 13 workshops. See below for a detailed description.

Workshop Descriptions: 

The Fundamentals of Equitable Employee Development:  

80% of your budget pays for staff time—staff development is a must! How do we encourage performance, attention to timelines, and results-based thinking without replicating the extractive qualities of dominant culture?  

Through the right combination of guidance and relational support a supervisor can develop the natural talents of their team, serve as inspiration when the going gets tough, and set high expectations for those around them to achieve transformational results using an Equity-based Framework for Staff Development. Developing these super-qualities takes dedication and a passion to invest in those around you. 

Note: This is a public workshop, which will include YDEKC members and others in the Be the Change community. 

Culturally Responsive Supervision Techniques 

Because most organizations are patterned against dominant culture belief-systems, those that work fast, write well, show up on time, prep intensely, and speak in bullet points will often be elevated as successful, while those with different learning and working styles will be critiqued and left behind. When dominant culture is de-centered, room can be made for other gifts and strengths that our organizations need. 

In this session, supervisors will reflect on ways to dismantle dominant beliefs about “high performing vs low-performing employees” and translate our Supervision for Equitable Employee Development Framework into practical strategies to integrate culturally responsive techniques such as: Relational Trust in the supervisor-supervisee relationship; Consistently celebrating success through concrete descriptive feedback; Drilling into challenge areas to identify a skill to grow/develop, and designing creative interventions to build and practice new skills; and Transparently visibilizing ones thinking about success using a matrix system – to get feedback on where dominant culture has taken over, as well as to visibilize current and desired states for an employee. 

Note: This is a public workshop, which will include YDEKC members and others in the Be the Change community. 

Group Coaching Session Description: 

Coaching is a valuable tool in boosting employee retention and experience. It is an individualized and confidential space that supports employees to proactively explore cultural challenges. Each session introduces tools to address difficult conversations and offers a neutral perspective that can help deepen a staff member’s analysis and capacity to implement training tools, in relation to participants’ experience attending The Fundamentals of Equitable Employee Development and Culturally Responsive Supervision Techniques. Possible topics include: Problem Solve Supervision Challenges; Reflect on Your Goals; Identify Challenges In Your Relationships. 

Note: These coaching sessions are for YDEKC members only who have attended the workshops in Part A of this series. Attendees will have the opportunity to register for one or two sessions. Space will be limited to 10 people per session.