People will stay in an organization because of a good supervisor and people will just as soon leave an organization because of a bad supervisor. Think about your own experience. Does that ring true for you?
When asked what qualities make a good supervisor, many people may say things such as trust, honesty, good coach, good communicator, someone who has my back, and other answers along these lines. When asked if technical experience or excellent relationships makes for an excellent supervisor, many people say excellent relationships without hesitation.
Great supervision balances the goals of the organization through technical experience with the needs of the work group by forming excellent relationships. Understanding your employees is crucial. Identifying the following for each employee you supervise starts you on the path to becoming a great supervisor:
- WHAT they do well
- HOW they need to be developed
- WHERE there are performance gaps
When you understand your employees in this way, you are focusing on their strengths with the perspective of turning weakness and areas for improvement into some of their greatest strengths. Being invested in the development of your employees forms and excellent relationship that benefits everyone.
With this perspective of development in mind, there are five skills that are key to being a great supervisor are:
- Guiding the Work
- Organizing the Work
- Developing Staff
- Managing Performance
- Managing Relations
Developing these five areas leads to a well-rounded supervisor that can easily balance the technical experience with excellent relationships because they understand that all five aspects work together to benefit the employee, the team, and ultimately, the organization.
For a more detailed explanation of each of these five skills, watch the webinar, Taking the Lead: Five Things Every Supervisor Needs to Know, presented by Dr. Annette Cremo. To get started today with understanding your supervisory skill set and how you can improve as a supervisor, check out the HRDQ assessment, Supervisory Skills Questionnaire.