Jun 27 / Staff

Strengthening Supervisory Leadership in a Public Human Services Agency

Helping a vital public agency transform performance through focused leadership development.

Client Context

A public agency responsible for supporting individuals with disabilities recognized that strong supervision was essential to delivering high-quality services. The agency’s mission—ensuring equitable access to resources that promote independent living and community inclusion—required not only frontline expertise, but also leadership clarity at every level of management. Over time, internal assessments revealed that inconsistent supervisory practices were impeding team cohesion 

The Challenge

The agency’s leadership team identified a critical gap in the skills and practices of its 55-member supervisory cohort. Communication challenges, underdeveloped coaching capacity, and variable performance management approaches were contributing to inefficiencies and missed strategic opportunities. Supervisors were committed, but lacked the structured support and self-awareness needed to evolve their leadership.

Rather than default to a generic training solution, the agency sought a partner who could deliver a tailored, insight-driven development process—one that would foster self-reflection, strengthen key competencies, and contribute to a broader culture of accountability.

The Symphonic Approach

Symphonic Strategies was engaged to lead a comprehensive engagement rooted in 360-degree evaluation and competency-based leadership training. Our approach emphasized individualized insight, adult learning principles, and systemic alignment with organizational goals.

The engagement unfolded in five interdependent phases:

1. Orientation and Preparation
An in-person session introduced the 360-degree evaluation process, helped supervisors select reviewers, and framed the development process as a collaborative and constructive journey.

2. 360-Degree Assessments
Each supervisor completed an in-depth Perspectives 360 assessment, gathering feedback from direct reports, peers, and managers across 17 core leadership competencies, including time management, decision-making, coaching, and delegation.

3. Interpretation and Prioritization
Following the assessments, Symphonic facilitated virtual debriefs to help participants interpret their results. We also worked closely with agency leadership to synthesize patterns and prioritize competencies for targeted development.

4. Leadership Development Workshops
Ten workshops were designed and delivered—each aligned with one of the competencies identified as a priority.

Every workshop included:
- Part 1: Conceptual grounding in principles and best practices
- Part 2: Application through scenarios, discussion, and peer feedback

Topics included Listening and Organizing, Setting Goals and Standards, and Training, Coaching, and Delegating.

5. Practice, Reflection, and Follow-Up
Post-workshop assignments encouraged supervisors to apply what they had learned. Follow-up sessions offered space for reflection, real-time coaching, and continued access to development tools.

The Impact

The feedback-informed, skill-focused approach led to several key outcomes:

Stronger Supervisory Performance
Supervisors improved their ability to communicate clearly, delegate effectively, and set aligned goals—raising team performance and organizational efficiency.

Elevated Self-Awareness and Ownership
Through comprehensive feedback, participants gained greater insight into their leadership blind spots and strengths. This fostered a culture shift toward personal responsibility and growth.

Improved Team Dynamics and Delivery
With more capable and confident supervisors, teams functioned more cohesively. The result was faster decision-making, smoother coordination, and better outcomes for the agency’s service recipients.

Reflections

This engagement demonstrates that sustainable leadership development requires more than content—it requires context, conversation, and clarity. By combining structured evaluations with targeted learning experiences, the agency deepened its leadership capacity and reinforced a culture of reflection and alignment.

The work continues, as supervisors carry forward the insights, language, and tools introduced during this initiative into their daily leadership practices.

Feedback

“The process helped us name where we were stuck—and gave us a path forward, not just as individuals, but as a team.”
— Senior Agency Official (anonymous)