Bright Lights Tips/Solutions

Staying with the theme of new or revised, we have also been working on a revision of our “10 Key of Effective Supervision™” Model for our upcoming DVD (coming this Fall) and our first book (coming in late Spring/early Summer). We would like to share with you a brief preview of the information.

Traditionally, when business leaders talk about “supervision,” they are usually referring to the managerial or leadership function of overseeing the productivity and progress of employees – typically those employees who report directly to the supervisor. However, stemming from our experiences in providing both training and supervision to employees, Rising Sun’s approach to supervision takes a very different perspective – defining supervision more from a coaching and mentoring perspective than from a managerial perspective.

As research clearly demonstrates, it is not only in the best interest of the employee, but also the business to pay close attention to the supervisor/supervisee relationship. This relationship is critical to the success of an individual and ultimately the organization. We need to have well trained supervisors who are prepared to provide the necessary and appropriate guidance, structure, and encouragement to their staff.

Described below, The 10 Keys to Effective
Supervision™ represents a more positive and strength based approach to supervision. From this perspective, supervision has less to do with teaching and evaluation and more to do with establishing an environment which encourages individual growth and development.

Supporting Growth - Focusing on both individual development and creating a learning community are key factors to organizational success. Employing such strategies as orientation training, use of professional development plans, strength based performance appraisal systems, tuition reimbursement for continuing education, increased involvement in committees, increased involvement in professional associations, writing for newsletters or journals, providing opportunities for advancement, etc. are all critical steps in supporting growth.

Uniting Your Team - Ultimately, the success of any organization is largely dependent upon the strength of the relationships formed and maintained within an organization. The capacity to communicate effectively, to trust and to develop healthy teams relies on the strength of relationships. Stronger relationships between staff and supervisors and their teams are directly linked to increased productivity, increased retention and overall success of an organization.

Praising Others - Genuine praise is a critical tool in both developing and maintaining positive employee morale and engagement. However, praise alone (i.e., general statements of appreciation, “pats on the back,” etc.) often falls short of the mark. On the other hand, providing “encouragement” in addition to praise can go a long way to building self-esteem and pride in one’s work.

Expecting Excellence - Setting high expectations not only applies to actual job responsibilities but it also applies to how employees do their job. In other words we need to have high expectations for both behavior and

attitude. It is no longer good enough for an employee to be really good at their job but yet wreak havoc along the way. To build a high performing workforce, we need to set clear expectations for both job performance and attitudes.

Requiring Accountability – To be an effective servant leader, great skill is needed to have a realistic awareness of individual needs and organizational needs, then balancing the two to achieve success. While some actions and behaviors clearly can not be tolerated and need to follow appropriate steps within the organizations disciplinary system, effective accountability should always strive to be constructive and positive in nature.

Valuing What You Believe - The role of effective supervision is to support employees in understanding their role and how it connects to the mission, vision, and shared values.  An organization’s mission, vision and shared values need to be living, breathing documents. It can not simply be some words placed on posters and displayed around the facilities. It can not simply be leaders announcing the direction and expecting that everyone will simply get on board. Employees need to have clear role definitions. They need to know what is expected of them and how their role affects the organization as a whole.

Instilling Independence – Instilling Independence is thinking and assuming the best in others. It is empowering your employees to do the job they were hired to do. No other single strategy of effective supervision is more powerful than allowing an employee to actually do the job they were hire for without having to micromanage how they do it.

Sharing Continuously - One of the most critical skills that a good supervisor needs is effective communication. The method in which communication takes place is crucial in creating a workplace community where people feel valued. The more you are seen as someone who is genuinely committed to listening and responding appropriately, the more committed those around you will be to organizational goals and initiatives.

Optimizing Ownership - As supervisors we do our best to hire and train the best employees we possibly can. Yet when it comes to decision making, problem solving and other organizational challenges we seem to forget that we invested a tremendous amount of time and resources into our employees. Optimizing Ownership is about utilizing the talent and strengths of the employees we have invested in.

Realigning Your Efforts - As supervisors, we must be continuously asking ourselves how we are doing. We need to ask ourselves how we can be better at what we do. We need to identify what changes we need to make in order to better serve both our staff and our organization. At Rising Sun, we like to ask ourselves: “How would I like to have me as a supervisor?”

From this perspective, supervision is seen not as much as a form of instruction and/or accountability, but rather, as a form of coaching and mentoring. The role of the supervisor, therefore, has less to do with teaching and evaluation and more to do with establishing an environment and culture which encourages both individual growth and development – particularly in terms of the 10 Keys.