The Nine Commandments for Supervisors
For many supervisors, their relationship with people who work for them could be a lot better. A recent study by faculty members at the University of Florida said that more than half of the employees found their supervisors untrustworthy, not good role models and too free to share confidential information. This is indeed a severe indictment. Poor supervision is often seen as a factor in high turnover and increasingly employers are holding supervisors accountable for turnover amongst their direct reports.
Supervision is about nurturing employees. It's about being committed to making them successful rather than waiting for them to make a mistake. Supervisors need to have a clear and specific idea of how they can support the individuals who work for them and how technical skills as well as attitudes or habits can be improved.
Technical skills are the easy part. Attitudes and habits are harder to change which speaks to the reason why they are responsible for more terminations than the technical skills. Which takes us to the Nine Commandments... since if followed, the supervisor will be more successful at changing attitudes and habits.
1. Get to know the employee, what motivates them, what some of their personal interests are, what their goals are for their personal and professional future. Be prepared to share some of your own as well. This develops the bond between you and your employee, enables better planning for the future and adds zest to your work together.
2. Be organized. Don't bring your employee into a cluttered office. Be prepared. The employee should not feel as though he/she is taking you away from more important work. Don't take phone calls during the session. Do put a do-not-disturb sign on your door and make sure that your discussions are held in a private, safe-to-talk space. The environment should show respect for the employee.
3. Model the behavior you expect to see from your employee. Handle your own responsibilities well.
4. Acknowledge good work. Regularly and often. No employee has ever complained that their boss compliments them too much. Compliments feel good.
5. Be positive and optimistic. Give your employees the confidence that things will work out; give them a reason to believe that planning and hard work will lead to success. Describe their strengths as well as weaknesses.
6. Document your discussions. Describe the behavior you want from the employee both verbally and in writing. Track progress and make note of it. This eliminates surprises when it comes to doing the annual review.
7. Refer often to the mission and goals of the organization. Make sure that the employee knows exactly how to contribute to those goals.
8. Demonstrate your own commitment to learning and to improving your own performance. Don't expect your employees to find time to go to training if you can't seem to break away for some time of personal growth. Be willing to admit your own mistakes and areas in which you need to improve.
9. Be fair, consistent and honest. Be prepared to speak clearly about areas of the employee's performance that must improve; don't use vague language. Be behaviorally specific in terms of the problem and the solution as well as the time frame for expected improvement. One can be specific without being judgmental of the person receiving the feedback.
As a supervisor you must recognize that your job now requires that you help the organization achieve success through the cooperation of other people. You may have been really good at making clay pots, but that is not your job now. Instead of the technical skills that were required in making those pots, you now need the people skills which build loyalty and motivation. As Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying, "Leadership (including supervision) is about getting other people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it that way." Attitudes and habits do not change quickly. You will need to be patient, but determined.
For many supervisors, their relationship with people who work for them could be a lot better. A recent study by faculty members at the University of Florida said that more than half of the employees found their supervisors untrustworthy, not good role models and too free to share confidential information. This is indeed a severe indictment. Poor supervision is often seen as a factor in high turnover and increasingly employers are holding supervisors accountable for turnover amongst their direct reports.
Supervision is about nurturing employees. It's about being committed to making them successful rather than waiting for them to make a mistake. Supervisors need to have a clear and specific idea of how they can support the individuals who work for them and how technical skills as well as attitudes or habits can be improved.
Technical skills are the easy part. Attitudes and habits are harder to change which speaks to the reason why they are responsible for more terminations than the technical skills. Which takes us to the Nine Commandments... since if followed, the supervisor will be more successful at changing attitudes and habits.
1. Get to know the employee, what motivates them, what some of their personal interests are, what their goals are for their personal and professional future. Be prepared to share some of your own as well. This develops the bond between you and your employee, enables better planning for the future and adds zest to your work together.
2. Be organized. Don't bring your employee into a cluttered office. Be prepared. The employee should not feel as though he/she is taking you away from more important work. Don't take phone calls during the session. Do put a do-not-disturb sign on your door and make sure that your discussions are held in a private, safe-to-talk space. The environment should show respect for the employee.
3. Model the behavior you expect to see from your employee. Handle your own responsibilities well.
4. Acknowledge good work. Regularly and often. No employee has ever complained that their boss compliments them too much. Compliments feel good.
5. Be positive and optimistic. Give your employees the confidence that things will work out; give them a reason to believe that planning and hard work will lead to success. Describe their strengths as well as weaknesses.
6. Document your discussions. Describe the behavior you want from the employee both verbally and in writing. Track progress and make note of it. This eliminates surprises when it comes to doing the annual review.
7. Refer often to the mission and goals of the organization. Make sure that the employee knows exactly how to contribute to those goals.
8. Demonstrate your own commitment to learning and to improving your own performance. Don't expect your employees to find time to go to training if you can't seem to break away for some time of personal growth. Be willing to admit your own mistakes and areas in which you need to improve.
9. Be fair, consistent and honest. Be prepared to speak clearly about areas of the employee's performance that must improve; don't use vague language. Be behaviorally specific in terms of the problem and the solution as well as the time frame for expected improvement. One can be specific without being judgmental of the person receiving the feedback.
As a supervisor you must recognize that your job now requires that you help the organization achieve success through the cooperation of other people. You may have been really good at making clay pots, but that is not your job now. Instead of the technical skills that were required in making those pots, you now need the people skills which build loyalty and motivation. As Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying, "Leadership (including supervision) is about getting other people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it that way." Attitudes and habits do not change quickly. You will need to be patient, but determined.
No comments:
Post a Comment