Creating High Performers - 2nd Edition (eBook)

2.
The Role of Manager and Supervisor

Before diving into the 7 Questions and how to use them, let’s set the context. How do questions assist managers and supervisors?

The 7 Questions are intended to guide meaningful conversations with direct reports and thus better fulfill the manager/supervisor roles. To fully understand this, let’s get clear on these roles and how they add value to an organization.

Manager vs. Supervisor

Overview

The dividing line is thin and is specific to an organization. Generally, supervisors are limited to assuring that what needs to get done is done. The best synonym here would-be overseer. Managers are involved, to varying degrees depending upon their level in the organization, with defining what needs to be done, strategizing on future changes based on shifts in customer needs or market factors, making good use of financial resources and improvement of processes/methods. They are responsible for controlling results and taking corrective actions, some of which may be executed by supervisors.

Supervisors have an entirely internal focus. Managers have both an internal and external focus. The higher up in the organization, the more external the focus. Supervisors are focused on the immediate product or deliverable, the individuals doing the work, and the performance expectations of their assigned team. A typical manager’s view broadens to the productivity and profitability of a work center, the efficacy and potential of the individuals within the manager’s unit, and the strategic alignment and impact of organization wide decisions.

Usually, supervisors are continuing to do technical work alongside their fellow team members. However, managers should not be doing technical work and in cases where they are required to do so, that technical work should be extremely limited. Managers add value by ensuring a future for the company, reinforcing competitiveness and then assuring that plans/changes are executed well.

Managers often retain the authority to hire, evaluate and terminate employees. Sometimes this gets delegated in whole or in part to supervisors. Again, this role varies by organization.

Supervision can be considered a sub-set of a manager’s responsibility. The 7 Questions are applicable in both roles because managers are “overseeing” supervisors. Both play a vital role in development and management of human resources. Human resources are vital to execution, which, at the end of the day, separates market leaders from the also-rans.

Now, let’s dive in a bit more deeply.

The Manager Role

I like Lewis A. Allen’s2 definition of management, clear and simple; “the art and science of helping people use their abilities to the fullest.” It consists of four functions:

Planning: pre-determining a course of action, defining policy and procedure

Organizing: arranging and relating the work to be done so it can be performed effectively by people

Leading: influencing people to take effective action and achieve results

Controlling: assessing and regulating the work in progress to assess the results secured.

Managers assure the future viability of the organization. In addition to being responsible for execution, they are charged with foreseeing and meeting customer needs/wants, strategizing on how to handle competition and defining/driving changes to assure the company’s future. At the CEO level, they are largely externally focused. At the lower levels, they are largely internally focused.

If by policy, managers retain authority to hire and terminate, then they are likely completing whatever paperwork the organization may be using for employee evaluation. Supervisors may have input but not the final word. In other organizations, it is the supervisor who is doing the evaluating.

Managers may have responsibility for determining number of positions needed as well as the type, methods and processes used. Or, this information may be shared with supervisors. Again, this varies by organization.

The Supervisor Role

Supervision: Def. to be in charge of, ensure that a group of subordinates get out the assigned amount of production, when they are supposed to do it and within acceptable levels of quality, cost and safety

Supervisors assure adherence to accountabilities, priorities, methods and rules. They may or may not be involved in defining them. They instill motivation and ultimately are responsible for the results produced. Synonyms might include overseer or judge. The traditional model is that employees are responsible to the supervisor and the supervisor up the line to a manager for results.

Supervisors determine how best to use the resources provided, how the work group is organized to get the job done, who is assigned to which duties, establishes and enforces deadlines and standards. They may play a role in process improvement.

Supervisors orient new team members, train them as needed, provide clear expectations, offer feedback, deal with performance problems and develop the competencies as well as the confidence of their staff. They should be continuously improving the methods deployed but often they’re not given the skills to design and implement new processes with their teams.

The following list details what a supervisor should be providing in service to the organization:

1. On-boarding of well-qualified, motivated team members including understanding of the purpose, vision, values, strategies, priorities and policies of the organization
2. Clarity on the products/services to be produced and the quality standards for each.
3. Training on the methods the team should employ to produce results and the company policies
4. Regular feedback to employees on their performance
5. Delegation of sufficient authority for employees to meet expectations
6. Responsive decisions such that production is not slowed
7. Recognition of accomplishments of team and individuals
8. Definition and execution of development plan for each employee to get them to their full potential
9. Ongoing communications such that employees feel connected to the progress, problems and leadership of the organization
10. An ongoing process to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of methods used.

These ten deliverables are provided both by first-line supervisors and by managers of those supervisors. This list is a tall order to be sure. It often is not fulfilled for the following reasons:

1. Failure to choose as supervisors individuals with a strong interest and aptitude for developing others.There is a myth that someone with strong technical skills will somehow impart these skills to subordinates. But the values and skills needed to transfer technical competence to subordinates differs markedly from development and delivery of your individual technical skills. Being capable of doing does not in turn make an individual capable of training. Only candidates with an aptitude for developing others should be considered.
2. Supervisors not receiving training on their role. The role of supervisor is often not well defined. Also, new supervisors frequently do not receive training before taking on new responsibilities. The most commonly stated issue by supervisors and managers in our training program is that they were thrust into leadership with little or no guidance or training.
3. Supervisors not being supervised well. You can see the trend here. Once an untrained and underperforming supervisor gets elevated, then the supervisory lapses continue at the next level which leads to more poor supervision throughout the organization.
4. Supervisors have continuing responsibility to produce results themselves leading to insufficient time to develop others. Continuing to do technical work may be a job requirement. Additionally, often supervisors choose to continue technical work because they prefer it or don’t trust others to do the work correctly. Hence, the work of developing others doesn’t get done and performance of the employee, team and organization suffers. Successful supervisors find satisfaction in seeing others perform well, seeing results over the long haul vs. the immediate gratification of technical work. They have a tolerance for subordinates doing it their way. They have an ability to trust in others even when mistakes, a normal part of the learning process, are occurring. In short, they choose developing others vs. doing the work themselves.
5. Supervisors are unable to make critical values shifts as they transition from doer to overseer.

As explained, supervisors are often promoted because of their work performance and ability to deliver quality products. They are used to being recognized for their individual performance and value being rewarded for work they have done. It is extremely difficult to shift your values to that of someone who feels rewarded when others are recognized for the work they have done. In fact, this is often in direct competition with the values that got you promoted. To help new supervisors make this transition managers need to reward them for the work of their...