You deserve to feel support in your practice.
You deserve a safe place with peers to reflect.
Glow up your social work career with the brand new Social Work
Coaching Hub online platform where you will get access to a
peer support network, over 50 CPD toolkits, ebooks, journals
and reflective resources. Career confidence tools for
well-being, mindset, personal growth, practice development,
leadership and exclusive online events taking place online and
in person. This hub is for you if you are a
social work student, an experienced practitioner,
manager, leader, independent social worker, self-employed.
If you're feeling stuck, wanting to build confidence, or simply
just looking for new resources and a supportive community to
enhance your practice, then I would say Social Work Coaching
Hub Online. It is for you.
You get exclusive lifetime access.
That means one payment. To unlock all the premium
content inside of the hub, just click the link in the bio or go
to socialworkcoachinghub.com. To be part of this brand new
community which is already growing.
Welcome to Dear Social Worker. It's the number one personal
development podcast for social workers.
Skill alone isn't enough. Building your character is what
sustains careers in social work. I'm Lisa Rapp, a social worker
turned full time entrepreneur at socialworkcoachinghub.com.
And whilst I can't reduce your caseload, I can help you level
up your career with practical tools, leadership strategies and
tips to build resilience. This is real talk.
From one social worker to another, empowering your
personal growth, you're exactly where you need to be.
Let's talk. Turning up as your whole self at
work is something that I often talk about, whether it's on
Instagram, whether it's on Tiktok.
I truly believe that you can't step into your next level of
your social work career while hiding the most powerful parts
of who you are. Welcome back to dear social
worker, and welcome to December. This is going to be our last
episode of the year. Can you believe it?
We're already at the end of the year.
It's a great exhale. And this is the part where the
noise will soften, the pace becomes slower, and we finally
hear our thoughts again. You know, I'm a big fan of
reflection before we get into the new year.
And I always encourage you here on the Dear Social Worker
podcast to be reflecting now, not reflecting in the new year
itself. But this is our last official
episode of the year. But stay with me to the end
because I will be dropping a little bonus today.
I want to speak directly to the heart of your social work
journey. We've all, while some of us here
in the UK have decided that we are going to continue as a
social worker. Our CPD was due.
We needed to renew by the 30th of November 2025.
S Welcome back to those of you who have renewed.
But the heart of your social work journey is linked to your
identity. It's an intersection of your
career, your courage, the confidence it takes to turn up
as your whole self in a profession that often asks you
to shrink. Now in my brand new community
social work coaching hub.com, if you go straight to the link here
to this podcast, you will gain access immediately.
And inside the hub, we have a peer support network.
We have almost 20 people inside the hub we launched last week.
And it's a wonderful place where you can access various
resources, which I'll talk about throughout this podcast.
So you'll you'll know what's in there.
But one of the things that is inside the hub is around
expectation versus reality. We have talked about this
before, but let's be honest, the expectations placed on social
workers still is nothing short of enormous.
You're expected to be decisive yet gentle, confident yet
humble, Emotionally available yet emotionally contained.
What a strange dichotomy to be emotionally available, but yet
somehow you've got to contain your emotions, you've got to
exercise the greatest level of self-control.
Somewhere between the policies, somewhere between these
pressures and this performance culture that we have, your sense
of self can get lost. Now, this podcast has been going
for almost three years. Next year, we're nearly at the
100th episode. So you must know my story by now
when it comes to burnout. You must know that my story of
my burnout happened several times because I was a martyr to
the profession. I was a martyr to my children
and families. I cared more about them than I
cared about myself. When I realized by the time I
hit burnout that I was fit for nothing, then you feel this
enormous sense of guilt that you didn't do something earlier to
try and manage what was in front of you.
We know that we're working in a in a job where unpredictability
rules, right? No one's lives stuck because
we're tired or we're exhausted or we need a break.
We know this. So it's our job to find the
areas of control and the sphere of influence that we do have
amongst the unpredictability. But in amongst of trying to
manage that and navigate this challenging profession, that
sense of self can get lost. And I realized that when I hit
burnout, I woke up 1 morning and I was thinking why have I chosen
this profession and even lost my sense of purpose this year?
So many social workers have said to me in my coaching sessions.
As you know, I coach with social workers right across the
country. I do training internationally
and nationally. One the four top things social
workers have said to me is I'm worried about what people will
think. I'm scared to speak up.
Inside the hub we have a downloadable called Speak Up at
Work Scripts. You can download that and
literally copy and paste the scripts to support your
assertive communication. Third, I don't want to get it
wrong. I mean, that's a big one.
No one wants to get it wrong. We've had the recent serious
case review and here in this country and there is a lot to
learn considerably. And lastly, I don't know if I'm
good enough. I'm not sure.
We've done an episode on imposter syndrome, actually.
That's something I need to look back on.
We might need to do that. I don't know if I'm good enough.
And when you are social work in every single day, you know
you're working your heart out. The truth is, we don't say
enough. When you hold yourself back, the
people who lose out, it isn't just you.
It's the families that you serve because your potential, your
ideas, your intuition, your leadership, it's part of the
support system that they rely on, like it or not.
It's part of the support system they rely on.
And your presence signifies stability, whether they want you
there or not. Your presence signifies I'm here
to support you whether they want you there or not.
That is the job. That is the mandate.
That is the calling. We've all chosen that calling.
But what happens, particularly in the workplace when there's
workplace politics? If you haven't listened to that
episode, please do. Turning up as our whole self.
Often when we attempt to do that, there's someone along the
line, whether it's a parent, professional or work colleague
in the office, that gives you a response that sends the message
you can't show up as your whole self here.
We don't actually want your full voice.
We don't want you to positively challenge.
We don't want you to keep us accountable.
And that sends a message that your full self, it's not wanted.
That's happened to me several times.
Yes, to me several times, because I show up as my full
self wherever I go. It's not always well received
though, and one of the tricks here is navigating the terrain
of when your full self is isn't wanted.
It's simply about remaining in your presence.
And and what I found as I became more proficient at navigating
that terrain, what I found is it's about presence.
And my presence alone through silence spoke way louder than if
I was to give my opinion. And it's so surprising how many
people that can offend. You don't have to actually say
anything. Your presence is the boundary.
Your presence is saying I'm not happy with this.
Sometimes just being it actually is enough.
So if it sounds like you where you've looked back on this whole
year now and you're looking back thinking I could have turned up
as my whole self there, I could have said something there if I
just had the right support to help me manoeuvre and navigate
that situation. I have something for you.
The social work coaching hub platform online, you have access
to over 50 CPD resources and we have a career section where
we've got these speaker pat work scripts where you can literally
copy and paste these scripts and develop your assertive
communication. Don't walk into next year with
the same thoughts. Do something about it.
Take action. We've got a downloadable and
income protection, particularly if you are local.
If you're not protecting your income, you're not protecting
your career. If you're not protecting your
career, you're leaving yourself vulnerable.
So again, we have checklists and questions that you can be asking
the insurance companies to support you.
We're not selling any form of insurance.
I don't know anything about that.
I've been a public service for 26 years.
I don't know anything about that stuff.
But what I do know is what I've put in this document for you to
help you make an informed decision.
We've got two other documents. If you're thinking about leaving
your job, I as a coach have posed some questions to you for
you to consider. If that sounds like actually I
need to be moving on for growth or this place is a place where
I'm being tolerated and not celebrated, you can download
that immediately. And then also I have one called
the before the grievance. Sometimes stuff happens at work
whether we like it or not, and we have to think about whether
we're going to put in this grievance and some questions you
need to ask yourself again, you can download that immediately
and have instant access if you go to socialworkcoachinghub.com
or the link in the bio will take you straight there.
And the best thing about all of these things is you can talk
about it with our safe peer support network, all of our
social workers who are already inside of the community.
This is why I've created the Social Work Hub.
It's for people who want to develop their voice, develop
their practice. We have direct work tools in
there as well, without guilt, without pressure, without
burnout, and feel safe to do so. So these are the three things
that I think would be helpful for you to be saying moving
forward. If this podcast episode is
resonating with you #1 I know who I am #2 I know what I bring,
and #3 the big one, I am not shrinking to make anybody else
feel comfortable. I'm going to walk you through
these three right now, and then I'm going to get you out of
here. I know who I am.
Your identity is the anchor. It's not an apology.
Can I just say this again? Your identity is your anchor.
It is not an apology, right? You can get labeled.
You can get put into boxes by systems managers, colleagues,
even families, but this is about you.
You know who you are. Other people can say what they
want and think what they want. But when you are anchored in
your own identity, when you have clarity about who you are, that
helps you with your decision making, making it sharper,
making it safer. That helps you love yourself as
a professional even more. When your identity is rooted,
the wind may move you, but it can't carry you away.
It can't carry you away into burnout.
It can't carry you away into anxiety or depression or
whatever it may be. That is feels like it's weighing
heavy on your shoulders #2 owning your value without
performing for approval. You know what you bring.
I want you to say this out loud with me.
I know what I bring. You've got to name your
strengths out loud instead of waiting for someone to validate
them. If you follow me on Instagram,
if you follow me on TikTok, I talk a lot about validation.
Getting validation from the workplace, it's very dangerous
territory. That's not going to reinforce
you. And it it, even if you are
getting that reiteration that you're looking for, it's
temporary. It's temporary.
Now, what I want you to think of is that the social work
qualification, it's not just about that, it's about your life
experience that you bring that falls back into what I'm saying.
I know what I bring. Come on, say it with me.
I know what I bring, right? It's your perspective, it's your
resilience, It's your ability to relate to others.
But if you're sitting here thinking, I don't really know
what I bring as a social worker or a kind of do, but I kind of
need some validation. Join the social work coaching
home. Contact me for coaching.
Let's get you out of that space. That's not a space where you're
going to thrive and bloom. That's a space where you're
going to stay exactly where you are or regress.
The point is, your presence isn't ornamental.
It's instrumental #3 shrinking. I can't wait to say this to you.
Let me clear my throat. Shrinking is silent resignation.
And as you shrink, everybody
else is feeling comfortable walking around, head held high,
skipping down the street. Literally, right.
So I want you to think of it as this that systems subtly reward
silence, compliance and self minimization.
I've been in situations where if you stay silent, actually you're
enabling the bully, you're enabling the problem makers.
That's silence. You have to be able to know when
to use it and when you need to breakthrough it.
If there's an emotional task that's involved here,
particularly from your, if you're from a racialized
background, if you're neuro divergent, you know there's
other pressures and contributing factors that link back to your
compliance of being silent. Refusing to shrink is not
confrontation, It's alignment. It's alignment with who you are.
They hired you. They hired you, so expanding
yourself and stepping into your full self.
When you're taking up your rightful space, you're giving
other people permission to do so, but also you are validating
yourself without having to get that external validation
elsewhere. I love talking about this stuff.
You know me. This is our last episode of the
year. I want you to really listen to
everything that I've shared with you.
So you're taking it on board as to how you're going to integrate
some of these points into 2026, Whether that's staying in the
role that you're in, whether it's growing outside, whether
that's setting up your own business, whatever it may be for
you, whether it's just showing up to your whole self at work,
remembering that you are enough now.
I've created a community for social workers, leaders,
students, a global community for those who want to develop their
voice, their confidence and their practice without guilt,
without pressure, without burnout.
This is the place where you are invited to 100% be yourself.
It is the social work coaching hub.
Inside the hub, you have a section.
You can access journals and downloadables.
One of them is called Understanding my Emotions.
I have coached for 10 years. I've coached hundreds of people.
I might be at the 1000 mark next year.
We'll see. And I'm telling you, one of the
most interesting observations I can share with you is that as
adults, most of us are emotionally illiterate.
We're asking young children to say to us, tell me how you're
feeling. What are you feeling?
What are your thoughts? Most of us can't really describe
that for ourselves beyond using the word sad, mad and angry and
frustrated. There are more accurate words
that we can use and understanding my emotional, my
emotions, sorry journal. It's a full journal.
You have full books and full journals that you can download
inside the hub. It gives you that information,
the fear of the unknown, grounding direct work tools that
you can use with children, families, adults in mental
health, art therapy activities because I'm trained in art
therapy. And you get this exclusive
membership with our peer group and we have exclusive membership
events and we've got our first one coming up in December.
You can access the hub by clicking the link in the bio.
And there you can have access to over 50 tools, templates,
reflection guides, checklists, copy and paste scripts, you
know, live and replay coaching, a space to process how you feel.
The hub anchors everything that we talk about here on this
podcast. It anchors everything around
personal growth, practice development, the link between
personal development and practice growth.
We know how strong that is just by talking on this podcast.
Emotional clarity and learning how to show up as your full
self, your full, powerful, brilliant self.
You work bloody hard, excuse my French.
So this episode, it's your nudge because December is the moment
to pause and think. Did I shrink or did I stretch?
Did fear stop me from speaking up?
Did I show up as myself or as the version of me I thought
people wanted? Who am I becoming?
Your potential, The type of social worker you want to be, is
not waiting on January. It's not waiting on 2026 and the
new year to come in. It's waiting on you.
Whether this year has gone the way you expected or not, whether
it stretched you or humbled you. Maybe it broke you in ways that
you didn't want it to. Maybe relationships have broken
down that you didn't want to. I've certainly lost friends this
year. These things are unfortunate and
it does happen, but standing in who you are is one of the most
important things that you can do.
And whatever this year held, I just want to remind you, you're
still here, you're still alive, you're breathing, you have
breath of life and we thank God for that.
You're learning, you're growing, you're becoming, and I want to
leave you, you know, with this, you deserve to feel supported.
Click the link in the bio. Get involved with our global
community. Get the support you need.
You deserve roles that see your value.
I can't tell you as a local social worker for about a decade
I can't tell you the amount of non thanks I received.
I had to find the validation in myself and that way I could just
get through and just get on and do what I needed to do.
You deserve to lead with clarity, but that clarity has to
come from inside, not from the external.
Yes, you deserve to show up fully.
And if you're ready for support with that journey, the Social
Work Coaching Hub online platform is your space.
Before we go, as it's the last official episode of the year,
I'm going to drop a bonus episode.
Actually, I'm going to drop a bonus episode this month.
Until then, I want you to keep choosing you keep choosing
growth. Join our social work coaching
hope, Click the link in the bio and my very, very last line.
And I can't wait to say this to you, your career and the
families that you serve. They deserve nothing less.
God bless you. Have a great week.