How Social Workers Build Leverage
If you’ve never worked alongside a social worker, here’s what you should know:
We are trained to spot the real problem before anyone else sees it.
We know the difference between a transportation issue and a health literacy issue.
We know when “noncompliance” is actually untreated trauma.
We know how to line up three phone calls, a Medicaid form, and a housing placement before a patient is even discharged.
On paper, this should make us high-value operators in any healthcare system.
But here’s the reality: most social workers spend their careers advocating from the bedside, not the boardroom. They solve the $50,000 problem at the unit level but never get credit for the $5 million savings they generate system-wide.
That’s not because they lack the skill. It’s because they lack leverage, the kind that comes from being able to:
When social workers have this leverage, they stop being a “cost center” and start being a growth asset.
I didn’t always see this.
For over a decade, I worked hospice, home health, skilled nursing, ER nights. I thought the problem was the schedule, the pay, the short staffing. I thought maybe if I found the right team, the right hospital, it would finally work.
But every room felt the same. I learned to say things so I wouldn’t “sound emotional” in rounds. I fought just hard enough not to get punished. I watched the light go out of new social workers I’d trained.
And then one day, I saw versions of my own work being launched by people who’d never set foot in those rooms.
They didn’t have more experience.
They had leverage.
That’s when I learned: If you're a social worker, your license is scope, not identity.
The system doesn’t reward who cares the most.
It rewards who can connect care to capital.
If you want to know how to do that, how to protect your work from funding cliffs, make it fee-for-service-proof, and speak with the kind of clarity executives can’t ignore watch this:
Thank you, Christina! That is a honest observation. We do have to learn the dance and wear a mask to avoid being misunderstood or undermined. It is the wisdom and nuance of our role when dealing with heavy handed for profits/dysfunctional ethical work climates. Though, your article inspiring - the more we step into owning a companies/non profits, we create the culture. When researching companies, I look administration that are clinician themselves and explore how they uphold their values/mission. I want less business interest and more client care. And, one day I hope to own and build my own. THANK YOU.
Such an important reminder that burnout isn’t always about hours or pay; it’s about whether our work is seen and valued. Grateful you’re opening this conversation.
Really needed this today
Interesting perspective
Love this, Christina Y.