How to Teach Supervisory Skills
Even those who have long wanted to be managers may become intimidated with their first supervisory role. But like any other skill, knowing how to supervise depends on learning key strategies that become second nature, providing a safe fallback even when things don't go as planned. As you coach prospective and incumbent supervisors, suggest they master one strategy at a time, such as relationship building or teamwork, by applying principles to real situations.
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Instructions
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Teach prospective supervisors to perform self-evaluations based on effectiveness indicators. The indicators prod learners to know the company's goals, assess whether the work environment is organized, whether employees take part in setting goals and seem engaged in their duties, and whether employees feel their talents are being put to good use.
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Take the advice of human resources professional Daniel Robin who urges supervisors that it's essential that they communicate the company's mission and goals in concrete terms. For example, rather than telling subordinates they "must focus on production" or "better customer service skills," supervisors should set goals in measurable terms, such as "let's respond to every customer call within one hour."
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Teach supervisors to delegate tasks by providing clear directions that identify results and set achievable deadlines. Suggest they divide large tasks into smaller ones with benchmarks, so that employees can chart their progress in increments, which improves focus.
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Encourage student supervisors to engage workers by setting team goals, as Daniel Robin recommends. For example, effective supervisors encourage subordinates to meet deadlines, plan for unanticipated disturbances, know work priorities, understand how to seek solutions and identify solutions that work.
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Emphasize that supervisors are judged on the decisions they make. Making sound decisions requires three basic skills: identifying issues, reaching out for the right input and making cost-effective and timely decisions.
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Teach supervisors how to monitor a group's workflow. This requires them to detect which employees are comfortable with their responsibilities and which lack the confidence to work independently. It also means supervisors must ensure that employees' performances are meeting company goals.
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Tell supervisors good work depends on engaging employees in their projects. As HR coach Andy Parsley explained in his "A Road Map for Employee Engagement," supervisors are better able to engage employees when they know the work cycle and how to coach employees, understand when to listen and know when employees are ready to work independently.
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Teach how to provide constructive feedback. This is based on facts, rather than opinions, and involves employees in changing behavior the company considers unacceptable. Follow the advice of HR professionals Michelle Collins and Julie Richie who designed the "BISA" model of giving constructive feedback to employees. The term, which stands for "Behavior," "Impact," "Silence" and "Alternatives," refers to a four-part process in which a supervisor pinpoints specific adverse behavior, explains the impact of that behavior on others in the workplace, then allows a period of "silence" for the employee to digest the information, and finally invites the employee to suggest alternative behavior.
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References
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