NDIS Support Worker Communication

Following on the previous blog let’s delve deeper on communication and interpersonal skills.

This sounds great, but how do I practically achieve this, you may ask?  What the skills and talents I need to enhance:

Be curious, observe your customers, the surroundings, and situations they find themselves in and politely question the status quo

Whilst striving to be self-aware and improving yourself as a professional, I would advocate that you objectively measure yourself against the NDIS Worker Capability Framework which has been built through the eyes of the customer, and provides criteria for you to self-analyze:

• Our relationship, uphold my rights, communicate effectively, clearly, inclusively and respectfully (listening, questioning, influencing, manage conflict), building trust, working collaboratively with others (teamwork).  Listen and be patient in working through communication difficulties we may experience

• Impact – show Self-awareness, be flexible in your communication style and approach to connect with me (aligned to Daniel Goleman’s work), work within your capabilities (professional boundaries and specialized skills) and self-care (resilience)

• Support me – know what a good life means for me? Show compassion.  Help me with choices/decisions, build my capacity to participate and help me to communicate with others effectively  

• Be present – observe and respond flexibly to my changing needs, manage health and safety (risk), engage, and motivate me 

• Check in – review quality of supports (this takes self-awareness and an open mind), support me to speak up (advocacy), help me build my competence and confidence  

If you regularly review both the elements of emotional intelligence and the criteria in the NDIS Worker Capability Framework, I guarantee you will continue to improve both personally, and as a professional Support Worker. It will be vital for you to seek feedback and support mentoring to achieve your goals- we will explore this further in future blogs.

Your role is so important from a human perspective as you literally have the skills and talents to change lives which is so rewarding and powerful. Should you invest the time and effort in continued professional development you cannot fail to reap the benefits of this.

Overall, emotional intelligence can be practiced and improved over time, whatever career you choose to embark upon, it is proven to add significant value to you and to others. Enjoy the challenge!

Guest Blogger: Ursy Murray