Our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone who has inspired you in your career. It is part of Community Care’s ongoing Choose Social Work campaign, which aims to champion the brilliant work social workers do every day and inspire the next generation of practitioners.
In this entry, social worker Paul Benko pays tribute to his former team manager, Pia Nielsen, whom he praises for going "above and beyond" to support him and other practitioners in their careers.
Pia Nielsen has been the greatest team manager I've ever had while working in children's services in Northamptonshire.
She has not only consistently been there for all our team members, but has also became a real source of support for staff from other teams across the organisation. Pia has gone above and beyond to ensure every social worker has the support they need. She is also reason I have managed to carry on working with children.
Every day she has worked relentlessly to prioritise others.
She's led by example and has always been approachable and available to everyone. Unfortunately, due to high demand, workload and rising pressures, she recently had to step back and consider her wellbeing for once.
I wish every manager was like Pia and hope that one day I will be able to offer others the support she's abundantly given to me and fellow practitioners.
You will be missed Pia. Our service will never be the same without you. THANK YOU!
How to nominate a colleague
You can nominate anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.
Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form. This could be with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
*Despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry.*
If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com.
