Core competencies for complex care team leaders

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by everyone overseeing complex care teams and programs.

Building the complex care field Education & training Workforce development

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High quality team leadership is linked to better skill development, satisfaction, and retention among staff. Team leadership is especially important in complex care because of the emotional labor required by all staff, diverse needs of patients and lack of resources, and medical and social care systems that are not set up to support individuals.

As well as providing oversight to frontline staff, complex care supervisors are often also responsible for developing, managing and growing programs and building relationships with other organizations.

However, complex care team leaders often do not receive the training necessary to do their jobs. They are often promoted from frontline work without specific training on building a supervisory alliance, running programs, and understanding data.

The Core competencies for complex care team leaders, to be released in the fall of 2024, will be the first time that the distinct knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by complex care leaders are formally named and defined. They will be relevant to team leaders across disciplines, settings, and contexts.

These competencies will build on the Core competencies for frontline complex care providers and the Complex Care Certificate. They are an innovative and field-defining collection of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to manage complex care programs and supervise staff who support people with complex health and social needs. The competencies will inform a new certificate for complex care supervisors and managers, coming in the fall of 2025.

The competencies are currently being developed by our National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs in partnership with a working group of experts from around the country from a variety of disciplines, geographies, and settings.

Kym shares her selections during a brainstorm session with other working group members.
Being a leader of a complex care program is indeed a multifaceted challenge. There are numerous moving pieces, and often, supervisors and leaders lack a clear roadmap to navigate these intricate waterways. The core competencies pinpoint the critical areas that complex care team leaders need to focus on and master.

Working group members:

  • Kymberly Centaro, Housing and Wellness Director, Community Support Network, CA
  • Kathy Burgoyne, Consultant, Uncommon Solutions, WA
  • Keshana Owens Cody, Workforce Director for Public Health, New York Office of Public Health, NY
  • Laura Fletcher, Behavioral Health Manager, Boston Medical Center, MA
  • Doreen Glover, Prevention Services Manager, Family Resources, PA
  • Meredith Jones, Director of Family Support Services, Transitions Life Care, NC
  • Carrie Lara, Clinical Director and Head of Behavioral Health, Community Support Network, CA
  • Salvador Nunez, Social Work Supervisor, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, CA
  • Kristin O’Neal-Burger, Population Health Strategy Lead, Humana, OK
  • Ren Pelley, Peer Manager, Oaks Integrated Care, NJ
  • Aura Silva, Care Management Manager, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, CA
  • Lakisha Sturgis, Director of Community Care Management, Temple Center for Population Health, PA
  • Heather Thomas, Program Supervisor of Pledge to Connect, Oaks Integrated Care, NJ
  • Marisol Caban, Associate Director, Camden Coalition, NJ

How to get involved

Join us for the release of the competencies at  Putting Care at the Center 2024 where there will be sessions focused on the competencies and supervisor professional development.

Keep checking back for more opportunities.

Members of the working group met for a full day brainstorm sessions to think through the important core competencies needed when supervisoring staff in the complex care field. Lakisha reviews her selections and how they relate to one another during one of these sessions.
It was a pleasure to be a part of this process and the diversity of thought. We did not have to agree, but we were able to respect each other and ensure that this was an authentic process.

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