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2Gen Skills and Competencies

2Gen Frontline Innovators: Top Ten Essential Skills and Competencies

To enhance professional development and amplify impact, the cohort identified key Frontline Innovator skills and competencies essential for effective 2Gen service delivery.

1. Honor Family Power

  • Engage and center families as leaders and advisors, providing resources and tools for active engagement.
  • Actively listen to families through validation and action.

2. Effective Communication

  • Strengthen communication skills, including body language, to demonstrate active listening and empathy.
  • Develop and utilize online systems for referrals and follow-ups to improve collaboration.

3. Adaptability

  • Strengthen the ability to be a flexible thinker, operate with ambiguity, and maintain an openness to embracing diverse perspectives without imposing personal agendas.
  • Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to navigate complex systems and challenging situations.

4. Trauma-Informed Practices

  • Strengthen understanding of how to readily recognize families impacted by trauma and respond effectively.
  • Partner with families to identify resources and develop support plans.

5. Wellbeing-Focused Practices

  • Prioritize Frontline Innovators' wellbeing and review wellbeing resources with colleagues.
  • Integrate wellbeing strategies into agency practices to enhance support for families.

6. Collaboration and Cooperation

  • Learn about resources offered by other entities to provide comprehensive, aligned support.
  • Identify opportunities to connect systems, avoid duplication, and measure collective impact.

7. Compassion and Empathy

  • Strengthen emotional intelligence to ensure self-awareness, effective self-management, and relationship management.
  • Demonstrate active listening and active validation, including suspending judgment.

8. Advocacy and Support

  • Advocate for both clients and staff, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met.
  • Share practical solutions and resources to assist clients in navigating challenges.

9. Holistic Understanding and Cultural Competence

  • Respect each client’s unique background, circumstances, and lived experiences.
  • Enhance understanding of multicultural differences and values to guide approaches with families, particularly regarding mental health and addiction-related issues.

10. Continuous Improvement

  • Identify trends and patterns from client interactions to improve service delivery strategies and systems and integrate these improvement ideas into advocacy efforts.
  • Encourage self-reflection and professional growth to ensure ongoing effectiveness in working with families and realizing the outcomes families desire for themselves.
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