The Leadership Series: Making the Transition to Supervisor

Objectives: At the end of this training you will be able to: Adapt to supervising former friends Set SMART goals Give & Receive feedback constructively Understand adult learning principles

Letting Go of Your Old Role One of the toughest professional challenges is making the transition from co-worker to supervisor. Not only does accepting a new role mean taking on increased responsibilities and authority, it can also mean making changes to long standing relationships with peers and colleagues. Tip: Copy a successful supervisor or acquire a mentor to help you make the transition.

Supervising Friends This is one of the most difficult challenges for new supervisors. Initially, there is an uncomfortable feeling of trying to balance friendship and leadership. It is not uncommon for new supervisors to deal with jealousy, resentment, and a bit of conflict from individuals who have been good friends and former peers.

Key Factors in Managing Friends:  Realize that there is a possibility the relationship may not continue. Discuss your balance issue of friendship versus leadership and ask for his/her support in your new role.  Avoid holding personal conversations at work. It creates the perception you are playing favorites with friends.  Be aware of the dangers in sharing the inside scoop with friends.  Handle conflicts with friends and don’t procrastinate. Issues must be resolved quickly to minimize any negative impact.  Don’t use your friend by sharing your frustrations, concerns, etc. about the organization - even if sharing them after hours. This jeopardizes your credibility as an effective leader.

Gain Credibility & Trust “Leaders gain respect and trust when they do what is right, mentor workers, listen, celebrate good work, follow through on commitments, trust and empower others, share their visions, open doors, overcome personal hardships, [and] admit mistakes. Credible leaders influence the lives and decisions of their followers.” (James Kouzes & Barry Posner)

Build Working Relationships SUPERVISOR’S CHECKLIST □ Talk to employees with the same frequency. □ Pay as much attention to employees whose interests are different from yours as those with whom you have more in common. □ Find something to appreciate about each employee. □ Rotate less desirable tasks. □ Keep in mind that communication is two-way. Practice good listening skills. □ When assigning new tasks, also keep in mind opportunities for cross training and skill building. □ Involve employees in decision making as much as possible, to gain their buy-in.

Motivating Employees Goal setting is a powerful way of motivating people. Specific and difficult goals lead to better task performance than vague or easy goals. Telling someone to "Try hard" or "Do your best" is less effective than "Try to get more than 80% correct" or "Concentrate on beating your best time." Hard goals are more motivating than easy goals, because it is much more of an accomplishment to achieve something that you have to work for. Visit m for more information about goal setting. m

Setting SMART Goals Specific – Ask: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set Attainable - For short-term targets, your probability of achieving the goal should be 80% of higher. Longer term targets could be more of a stretch and have less probability of success. Realistic - Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time Timely – Specific end date. Enough time to achieve the goal but not too much time, which can affect project performance

Coaching Coaching is needed when performance fails to meet standards. To be effective, the leader should:  Establish a specific performance improvement goal  Remain positive  Gain the employee’s buy-in – get them to commit to improve

Legal Supervisors need to be aware of legal obligations regarding the following:  Harassment  Discrimination  Military service and leave  Retaliation  Safety  Wage and hour issues  Employee privacy

Effective Feedback DO... Ensure that performance improvements following the feedback are recognized and rewarded Keep the feedback behaviorally oriented, not personal Emphasize continuous learning/improvement Always keep negative feedback one-on-one Make feedback specific, clear, and timely Give the individual receiving the feedback an opportunity to respond Check for understanding

Ineffective Feedback DON'T...  Sugarcoat negative feedback  State what you’re unhappy about without offering a clear picture of what you want  Present an action plan without first getting agreement about the problem  Give positive feedback without specifics. (e.g. “You’re awesome!”; “You do such a great job!”)  Mistake valid reasons for excuses  Give feedback only when there is a problem

Receiving Feedback Place clear boundaries around the feedback. Let people know what you want and how much feedback you want to hear at one time. Make it as painless as possible for the other person. Just listen, don’t quibble. If you want feedback, you must accept that what someone tells you is “true” from their perspective. If you aren’t getting helpful feedback, ask specific behavioral questions that can be answered with simple facts or “yes” or “no”: Did I interrupt anyone? Did I get everyone’s input? Did I leave anyone out? Thank people. Keep them willing to give you more. Try out some suggestions, and make it visible. Let people know how their feedback was helpful.

Training Others As a supervisor, you may be responsible for training others Working adults have a much different learning style than students.

Adult Learning Principles: Focus on “real world” problems Emphasize how the learning can be applied Relate the learning to the learner’s goals – answer the “what’s in it for me?” question Relate the material to the learner’s past experiences Listen and respect the opinion of learners Encourage learners to be resources to you and to each other Treat learners like adults Give learners as much control as possible

Conclusion Be willing to receive as well as give honest, constructive feedback Expect that relationships with former coworkers will change Be aware of new legal obligations Remember that training adult learners requires a different approach than teaching students/children