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A new supervisor is hired to anchor a gardening project that
has fallen apart. The last supervisor walked out on the job
because he was overwhelmed with the high expectations of the
project. The new supervisor is in charge of ten teenage workers,
five young women and five young men, all of whom are not thrilled
to be working on a summer day. As the new replacement, the
supervisor is in charge of landscaping the lawn and garden areas
that garnish a business complex. The complex manager has informed
the supervisor that he has a three hour time limit to mow and trim
the lawn areas, weed out the old plants and dead greenery, and
replace them with a fresh array of tulip bulbs. By the day’s end,
the supervisor has a $20 food budget to feed the 10 workers on
their lunch break. The summer heat is burning, and the teenagers
would rather be out by the pool. Instead, they are required to
sacrifice this day at work. The supervisor is overwhelmed with the
task, but motivated to assist with all the responsibilities of his
ten employees for the next three hours.What is this
supervisor to do with limited time, resources, and not to mention,
controlling ten wild teenagers who are not thrilled to be working
while their peers are at play? Good training will assist him in
completing his duties as supervisor of the project.
Supervisor training involves motivation.
Attitude, incentives and goal-setting will lighten up any
burdensome task, and during the hot afternoon, the crew will need
the motivation to work.
- Attitude - It is important that the
supervisor is optimistic, especially in light of an arduous
task. If the supervisor reflects an optimistic attitude, his
workers will be easily influenced.
- Incentives - Rewards do not have to be
tangible; pats on the back and encouraging words are just as
enticing. When the atmosphere is uplifting and when authority is
not threatening, workers are more inclined to conform to their
surroundings.
- Goal Setting - Making goals will help the
supervisor’s crew envision what they need to accomplish in order
to be successful. When the supervisor paints a picture of what
needs to be done, the goals are specific, and thus, easier to
follow.
Supervisor training involves delegation.
Delegation converts deadweight into useful energy. From a personal
account, I previously worked under a great supervisor who
delegated work responsibilities equally and fairly among his
workers. He efficiently distributed the work among his resources
and that alleviated him from carrying the entire workload. He
would make assignments and follow up with everyone to make sure
that all tasks have been properly completed.
A supervisor who utilizes delegation will provide positive
outcomes for his workers. As workers, their roles are enhanced
with responsibilities and they know that their contributions are
needed and valued. For example, the supervisor of this gardening
project would group individuals to cover different regions of the
lawn and would follow up on their progression. This style of
supervising allows teams to focus on their assigned area and helps
the supervisor to keep track of the equal distribution of work
duties.
Supervisor training involves resource management.
The supervisor will use the limited resources he has to make this
project tolerable. For example, the supervisor knows he will be
working with anxious teenagers that have lived up to the motto of
no work, all play. That explanation could make him
nervous in itself. However, he brainstormed an idea of mixing work
with play and encouraged his workers to wear their swimsuits while
working. With the sprinkler system turned on, the crew will be
able to cool off while working in the heat.
Feeding the hungry teenagers after work will be a challenge
with $20 to spend. Depending on what degree of fine dining he
wants to go, or how picky or how healthy conscious his workers are
or aren’t, starving appetites after a hard working day might
override all eating preferences. The supervisor settles in on
ordering four large pizzas for $5 each at a local pizza place. The
business complex offers employees complimentary beverages and
paper goods, so the supervisor takes advantage of that resource to
keep morale high.
By the end of the day, the supervisor left with a sense of
success and his young workers went home with a full stomach and
pride of beautifying the gardens of the business complex. With
these supervising training tips in mind, you can turn any
laborious task into an enjoyable and learning experience.
Most of us know from personal experience that supervision is not
easy. A lot of research supports the fact that supervision, or the
lack of it, is one of the primary reasons why talented people
leave an organization. So this brings up the question, what does a
good supervisor have to do in order to unleash motivation, keep
talented people engaged, and help drive results for the
organization?
Our research and nearly 30 years of supervisor
training experience, indicates that supervisors must successfully
perform 10 tasks in order to make a difference. It’s that simple.
If supervisors want to obtain discretionary effort, that is effort
above and beyond what a person needs to exert just to keep their
job, supervisors will need to pay close attention to these things.
Supervisors could use these tasks as a checklist of their
effectiveness, and then make changes in their practices or
behaviors where they may be coming up short as a leader. Let’s
explore these 10 tasks and what we call, “The Performance Engine.”
Task 1. In order to provide some horsepower for the
organization, a supervisor has to demonstrate concern, interest,
and support for their workers. I think the number one question
most employees have is this, “Does anyone appreciate me for who I
am and what I do?” In effect the supervisor has to be able to
build a relationship with people. A supervisor must be
approachable, accessible, even friendly. Our supervisor training
does not suggest that a supervisor has to be best friends with
employees, they do need to be friendly enough that people feel
comfortable communicating and sharing concerns (the good, the bad,
and the ugly).
Task 2. High performance organizations need supervisors
who can communicate strategy to employees. The supervisor has to
be able to convey a sense of the organization’s purpose and answer
questions and clear up confusion about the organization’s mission
and goals. The question that most people have is, “Do I feel
connected and part of something? Do I like what this organization
stands for? Do I know where it is headed?” If a supervisor can
manage these questions they will unlock a lot of hidden talent,
motivation, and discretionary effort.
Task 3. The third cylinder of the performance engine
deals with roles. Everyone has to understand what they are
accountable for and what their responsibilities are. Roles need to
be clear; they need to fit in with the strategies and objectives
of the organization. A role has to offer some challenge, some
interest and intrigue. The supervisor has to make sure that the
tasks and activities are clearly defined, reviewed, and updated.
The supervisor has to design jobs so they offer motivation
potential and satisfaction.
Task 4. The next part of the performance engine is
targets (objectives) that employees need to reach. People who have
clear targets and objectives are more productive and achieve more.
Targets give people a sense of purpose and enable them to stay
connected to the work. Smart objectives stretch people to new
levels of achievement. The question that a lot of people have is:
“How do I fit and why do I matter? They want to know how their
efforts link into the “big picture?” The job of a supervisor is to
make sure these goals fit the organization strategy and that
objectives are specific, measurable, are action oriented,
realistic, and time-bound (SMART).
Task 5. The fifth cylinder of the supervisory
performance engine is feedback and coaching. Some supervisors find
this extremely easy to do, others find it very difficult. Some
supervisors fear that they are going to hurt a person’s feelings
if they give employees honest, constructive, and timely
information about performance. But people are curious, they thrive
on feedback, they are eager to know how they are doing, where they
are going, and how do they stand in the organization?
Task 6. The next area the supervisor must pay attention
to is skill development. People have a thrust for knowledge and
learning. A good supervisor will constantly be looking for
opportunities to develop people on and off the job. People want to
know if someone will be there to help look after their training.
They know the world is changing and that if they don’t stay
current and up to date, they will become irrelevant.
Task 7. The performance engine will be starved for fuel
if the supervisor isn’t willing to “go to the mat,” be willing to
wrestle and fight for resources: the financial support, time,
tools, technology, and equipment that people need in order to
perform. Everyone wants to know: Will this organization provide
the tools I need so that I can successfully perform my job safely
and do quality work.
Task 8. The eighth area of the performance engine is
opportunity. What we mean is access to future opportunity and
potential. Before people will put a stake in the ground and pin
their future to the organization, they want to know: Will my
supervisor prepare me for the future and the changes that will
inevitably come? Will I have opportunities to add value, be
relevant, and secure? If people know that their supervisor is
looking ahead and thinking strategically about the future,
employees will be reassured that the future is bright and they
will go the extra mile and step up to challenges.
Task 9. The job of every supervisor, to some degree,
depends on his/her ability to get everyone to work collectively as
a team. This means that people have to share information, share
ideas, be willing to help each other and make some sacrifices for
the good of the team. So, a supervisor has to lead by example as
they build cohesiveness and unity. Teamwork is important because
some individuals feel more responsibility or more accountability
to the group than to the supervisor. If a supervisor can create
some bonds and a sense of connection with members, they can go a
long way to unleashing discretionary effort.
Task 10. Last but not least, good supervisors maintain
the performance engine by taking care of rewards and recognition.
This means a supervisors has to pay attention and be sensitive to
people’s unique needs for recognition, reinforcement, as well as
economic rewards (pay, benefits, and incentives). Everyone is
different and some people “work to live” and some people “live to
work.” So supervisors have to adjust the way they recognize and
reward people. Everyone needs to feel they are treated equitably
and fairly in this area. While supervisors may not always be able
to fully control the rewards, and they will never be able to fully
satisfy this inexhaustible need for material rewards, but a
supervisor must be aware of people’s needs in this area and talk
about them.
There is no question that a supervisor has his/her work cut out
in order to stay on top of these 10 tasks. There is always
maintenance to do on this performance engine. So a supervisor’s
job is to pay attention to these 10 moving parts, and from time to
time do the needed tune-ups or add fuel to the engine. This means
that as a supervisor you must measure and monitor how your people
are doing on these 10 dimensions. A supervisor needs to have
conversations around these ten areas, they have to watch the
gauges and make sure they don’t run low on precious ingredients if
they want to unlock motivation.
Supervisors have to learn what kind of support people want,
what motivates then, what challenges them, and what skills they
are interested in learning. Supervisors must know whether or not
people have a sense of direction or if their roles are clear. It
is only through constant communication, coaching, and awareness of
these tasks that a supervisor can make a difference in the
organization. We all know that if organizations are going to be
successful in the future that good supervisors with supervisor
training will lead the way. But supervisors can’t do it alone.
Supervisors need a good organization that will back them up.
Supervisors need to have an organization behind them with policies
and procedures that are user friendly. There has to be a well
defined organization strategy, institutions, and traditions. There
has to be minimal bureaucracy, infighting, and politics. There has
to be a strong sense that people truly are important and will make
a difference in business.
If a supervisor is willing to step up, willing to have
authentic conversations with people about these 10 areas and
monitor them, they can be tremendously successful. If the
organization stands behind their supervisors and is willing to
provide the supervisor training, systems, policies, and resources,
there is a great chance organizations can meet the needs of
stakeholders, customers, as well as their own people.
