One sunny day you get the good news that you have been promoted and now you will get to have a team of employees reporting into you. While this may sound very exciting, since you have finally become “THE BOSS” & get to have people do your work , this responsibility comes with its fair share of issues. In my 6 years of experience as HR manager, I frequently collect feedback from team members about their supervisors and share it with their bosses as a process for their self improvement. Good bosses are ones that have developed such a strong relationship with their team that they not only manage to extract the best performance from them but have them as their collaeagues in which ever organisation they work in.
You must have frequently heard that “employees do not leave the organisation, they leave only their boss”. The following traits are collation of the feedback which gather from workplace.
1. Excellent knowledge of your core function : There is nothing more frustrating that working with a boss who has very little knowledge of their own function. You cannot be a boss who enters the office and announces “we need to achieve 100% of the target” & pressure the team to perform without knowing how to achieve that 100%.
In order to properly supervise your employees, you must know all of the intricate details of the processes of their jobs. If you do not know as well as you should then get your hands dirty & “LEARN”.
2. Create team bonding : Its your responsibility as a boss to get your team together. If your team is spread across different location go on frequent conference calls/webinars but ensure you get your team together. Ensuring a healthy working relation between your teammates get more productive results & creates a competitive atmosphere to excel at workplace.
3. Praise in public , criticise in private : Most bosses do the opposite. If your subordinate has made a mistake, shield them & privately share your disapproval. Whenever they do an exceptionally good job ensure that you praise them in front of all. You will positively gain the respect from your team.
4. Empower your team member: Give them freedom to take their own initiatives , remember if you don’t encourage to think & act different , your department/function can not score over others.
5. Appraisal is an ongoing process & not an annual activity : Ensure that you share the KRA of the job as soon as the same is communicated from the management team. Don’t give your subordinates an opportunity to tell you that you never shared your expectation with them. Ensure you keep a log of their performance & share on a frequent basis so that their performance rating does not come as a shock/surprise at the end of the financial year. Frequently share your feedback based on outcome alone and not your personal opinion.
6. Avoid interfering in their personal lives: There is nothing more irritating than a bosses who asks personal questions. There are many supervisors who just don’t know where to draw the line while connecting with their subordinates. One such supervisor faced suspension from work when he asked his female subordinate out for a date.
7. Don’t be a barrier for your team members to reach out to other avenues for advise and personal growth
8. Motivate-motivate- motive – remember its your team that enables you to do your work as per your vision hence they have to be motivated and highly charged to deliver the outcome.
9. Be with your team in times of crisis – You customer has asked for a set of deliverables on weekend , you pass the buck to your team members but ensure that you be with them.
10. Share communication from top management with your team – Supervisors are spoke person for the all internal communication
11. Patience-patience & more patience – Your subordinates will test you, make mistakes & repeat mistakes. Do not blow your top . Always keep your cool with your subordinates or they will not respect you. Same goes with your superiors. They will test you to see if you have what it takes to be a good supervisor.
13. Do not demand respect , command respect - As a new supervisor, you must know that your job is harder now than it will ever be in your Supervisory career. You must earn the respect of your employees. Don't expect instant respect or they will dislike you for it.
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