10 Specialty tips for Successful Supervision
I have learned a few things about supervisors/supervision in my life thus far. They can be summarized as follows:
(1) Most people think they are inherently effective supervisors
(2) Most people are not inherently effective supervisors
Supervising individual staff and full teams is a specific set of practices and skills. I have very often noticed that after a certain level of experience, folks are just assumed by others to be capable supervisors and also feel themselves to be great, wonderful, amazing, effective supervisors. I previously worked for 10 years in education and supervision (of both student and professional staff) is a key component of many roles. However, most graduate school programs don’t teach this essential skill. There is lots of research demonstrating that people leave jobs due to bad supervision. Undervaluing its importance can lead to losing talented employees, as well as reduce morale around the office.
In my previous role, I supervised a team that, in turn, supervised student staff. When I facilitated supervisor training, I shared the following tips. I have found them to be effective in my own career. Am I the best supervisor ever? Nah, definitely not, but I do believe I have been effective and I approach my supervision with a growth mindset.
Without further ado, here are Andrew’s Super Secret Supervising Specialty Tips!
1. Develop the relationship- the most important part of being an effective supervisor is developing a real relationship with your team. This means getting to know them as people- what are their dreams, motivations, and goals? Where are they from? Who are they outside of work? Developing the relationship makes accountability, challenging conversations, and just about everything else much much easier. This can be done in a myriad of ways- once a month lunches, an off-site teambuilding day, bringing coffee to the office for everyone, or anything else you can think of!
2. Be clear about expectations & accountability from the beginning- Yes, holding staff accountable is hard- but it’s necessary. Effective supervisors hold teams accountable from the beginning- if you let things slide for 6 months and then all of a sudden become very strict, it feels disjointed to your team. Set clear expectations as the relationship begins and hold staff accountable when necessary. The earliest I had a difficult conversation with a team member about accountability was on their 3rd day of work. This was challenging as we were still getting to know each other, but it also clearly established the importance of accountability and feedback for our relationship.
3. Individualise your supervision- Many folks think their supervisees should adapt to their style; I believe in the exact opposite. Though every relationship is a give and take, supervisors are in the greater position of power. For me, this means I should do more work to adapt to my team and not force them to adapt to me. Use your knowledge of your staff (go back to point 1) to make nuanced changes to your supervision. Some folks like to have one-on-ones outside, or while walking; others will want to receive quick feedback after every meeting; others might work best if they see meeting agendas the day before. Get to know your team and make adaptations to best support them.
4. Understand the identity dynamics in your relationship- Identity can impact the supervisory relationship in significant ways. Pay attention to the dynamics of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, class status, and other identities in your team. This is a challenge no matter what your identity- if you belong to a privileged group (say, cisgender male) and you are supervising women and gender minorities, it is important to be attuned to those dynamics. You would need to monitor yourself for unconscious bias and work extra hard to create a safe and welcoming environment. Alternatively, if you are the supervisor and have a minoritized identity, this can also create some challenges- staff might not take you seriously and their own unconscious bias may present itself. These are times where it becomes necessary to hold them accountable to the way they are behaving towards you. No matter what, identity dynamics will exist in a supervisory relationship and it is up to the supervisor to be attuned to them and ensure an empathetic and safe working environment.
5. Have a plan- Don’t just start supervising with no plan, no idea what you are doing, and just assume you’ll be effective. The best supervisors make plans for their one-on-ones and team meetings and communicate them to their teams ahead of time. As you make your plan, think about your specific positionality; for instance, if you are new to the organisation but your supervisees aren’t, create a plan for getting to know their previous work, their roles, their backgrounds, and their expectations for a supervisor. If you have supervisees who are new to the organisation, make a plan to provide them context, understand their concerns about being new, and make sure to introduce them to other staff.
6. Don’t make it just about work- Everyone has a full set of interests, dreams and life experiences that have nothing to do with your organisation. Learn about your team outside of just the work setting. This can be as a simple as making sure to ask about folks’ days, getting to know their interests, and sharing about yourself. This also will allow your staff to share with you when things are happening that might impact their work experience (death in the family, ending of a relationship, a medical issue, etc). Most folks will respond much more positively to being seen as a full person, instead of just a worker or employee.
7. Be a role model- Nothing is more frustrating than a supervisor who sets expectations for others that they don’t follow themselves. It can look hypocritical in the eyes of your team and sets a bad tone. If you expect folks to be on time for meetings with you, you should be on time as well (or communicate as soon as possible if you are running late); if you say you will follow up on something, then make sure that you do. Team leaders should be role modelling the behavior they would want to see from others.
8. Give autonomy- In addition to thinking we are all great supervisors, we also tend to think we are not micro-managers. But sometimes we are! It’s important to provide staff autonomy and empower them to make their own decisions, share new ideas with you, and do their work in the way that is best achieved for them. Whenever possible, provide staff with autonomy and ask for occasional check-ins. It’s important to also remember that something isn’t wrong or done incorrectly just because it’s not the exact way we would do it (keep this in mind when providing feedback as well!)
9. Establish goals together- Share your priorities with your team and let them share theirs with yours. It is very helpful to establish what you are both working towards. As a supervisor, I have found it helpful to share what the priorities are for my supervisor as well with my team. This gives folks a great sense of what the overall priorities are for your area/department/office. Then you can work together to set team and individual goals and work on them together. This gives a sense of shared purpose and it can be engaging and empowering to work on projects together.
10. Be a human- Sometimes we forget! We are all human and we make mistakes and sometimes we have bad days and sometimes we aren’t at our best. As a supervisor, make sure to acknowledge your own mistakes and apologise for them. Solicit feedback from your team (whether it is collected formally or not) and really take time to digest and learn from it. Share some of yourself and your own life stories. There is no need to play it off like you are perfect; just be yourself! Authentic supervisors are easier to connect with and create a warm and compassionate work environment for folks to thrive in.
It’s probably clear from this list that my supervision practice is very individual and people & relationship focused. The supervisory relationship is so important and, as noted above, it can be a make-or-break for folks. I have been supervised by people who almost pushed me into quitting my job as well as folks who made me want to stay in a role longer than I intended. You can make a strong impact as a supervisor- folks often look to their past supervisors for examples of what to do and what not to do. Make sure that you develop your skills so that you are in the former category.
Trident conducts workshops and trainings on becoming an effective supervisor! Reach out to me at andrew@tridenttraining.co for more information!
