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What Makes A Supervisor Great?

What Makes A Supervisor Great?
by Hank Boyer

Think back over all of the supervisors, bosses and managers for whom you've ever worked. Pick out the ones who were truly exceptional. What characteristics did they have in common? Of all the things that might be named, chances are that you’d find that the best managers consistently performed these two functions effectively:

• setting clear expectations with staff members
• coaching employees to help them master skills
  

Let's consider how these two managerial functions are applied to develop staff members, and how the combination of the two can create a highly engaged and productive team.

Setting clear expectations

Effective managers and supervisors don't make their employees guess what is expected or learn through a series of trials and errors. Instead, they make it a point to be clear with what is expected. This process is consistently applied with employees, with the manager personally explaining the following details about what is expected:

• They set specific quality and quantity guidelines for the employee to deliver when performing each of the duties or assignments associated of his or her position.
• They explain why each well-performed duty and assignment is important to customers and the department, as well as how they fit into the overall mission of the organization.
• They identify the resources available to successfully complete assignments and perform duties.
• They establish clear timelines for what is due when it is due.
• They outline how and when progress will be measured.
  

When employees understand all of these aspects of the work they are to perform, they are confident that the standards will not arbitrarily change from day to day or mood to mood.

Coaching effectively

Effective managers understand that teaching is not coaching or correcting.

Teaching is the initial process of equipping someone to perform his/her duties and assignments when performing something new. Teaching always should include clear expectations, along with a verbal and physical demonstration of what correct performance looks like. Let the employee try it and verify he/she can perform it correctly. Teaching isn't complete until someone can correctly perform something multiple times.

Coaching is the process immediately following teaching that helps employees to master what they have been taught. This is such a critical step, yet many managers and supervisors may skip directly over this step and immediately begin to correct employees who are not performing what they have been taught. When coaching is skipped — or done poorly — frustration and disengagement is often an undesired result.

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