All organizations need to bring people together to accomplish results. Organizations need leaders to bring people together and develop the skills and talents of their employees. To do this, you need to educate your supervisors.
Regardless of the industry or organization, supervisors must have the ability to guide the work, organize the work, develop their employees, manage employee performance, and above all, manage relationships. High-performance organizations require supervisors who are aware of the overall big picture of the organization, oversee the employee’s work thereby implementing the company’s vision.
Let’s face it, for the most part, employees are promoted to supervisor because of their technical knowledge or their proficiency in doing the job. They are great at what they do but supervision has an entirely different skill set. A special need exists for supervisors to identify their proficiency and be trained in essential skills because they are the face of the organization. They communicate the company’s policies and vision. They provide reinforcement and feedback related to performance. They help grow their employees.
The following skills move away from a mechanistic model of organizations and address the needs of a flatter, more flexible, and resilient organization that focuses on continuous change and growth.
Guiding the Work: Understanding the needs of the organization and plan work effectively to meet those needs.
Organizing the Work: This involves assigning people and allocating resources to accomplish their goals and the goals of the organization.
Developing your Staff: Supervisors must be able to increase the skill level of each employee by learning their strengths and assigning tasks according to their development needs.
Managing Performance: This includes tracking the performance of your employees and helping them meet their objectives and those of the organization.
Managing Relations: Managing these relationships either with their team or other groups in the organization is critical to ensuring that your team is effective and meeting your organizational goals.
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.