An innovative guide for social workers who are about to take the next step in their career to become a social work manager, or who may have recently taken on that role. Practitioners will learn how they can prepare for this transition, how it really feels to be a manager, and how to develop their professional identity.

Despite the interest in how social work roles are managed and led, the actual experience of the transition to social work manager can be overlooked. Many books written around this topic focus on the skills needed to be a manager, management and organisational concepts rather than how it feels to go through the process and how to cope as a new manager.

This book draws on a relationship-based model, proposing that relationships play a significant part in the transition into management. It emphasises the importance of how managers support their teams and individuals while also caring for themselves.

Based on research with newly promoted social work managers, this book features in-depth case studies which illustrate four significant points in the transitional journey:

• preparation for the role,
• multiple identities,
• managing people, and
• self-care.

The concluding chapter offers a practical model that readers considering social work management can utilise within their own supervision or annual appraisal to support a smoother transition into management.