Making simple
mistakes as a new correctional supervisor is common when the road to success is
void of self-discipline and self-development planning. Working on hunches or
gut feelings is no way to demonstrate your value to the organization and
reacting from experiences or “lessons learned” techniques is flawed at its best
because not every problem or scenario is the same thus problem solving should
be thorough and not a cookie cutter event.
The first step in
correcting such behaviors or lack of management skill set is to admit you have
one and that mistakes are showing up way too much in your decision making as
well as your leadership or guidance habits. As a supervisor there will be
mistakes but in order to add value to your team or organization you must avoid
making common errors that may create more difficult situations for staff under
your command.
The first step is
to acknowledge what you know and what skill set you have. Selling yourself
short is better than being overconfident and selling yourself too much to your
boss or team. Once you made a self-assessment of your skill set you need to
make plans to improve your development and commit to learning more while making
the transition from worker to supervisor. It is one basic element that keeps
your feet firmly planted on the ground and allows you a little wiggle room to
adjust your management styles.
Whether you work
alone or as a member of a team you must always be responsible for your own
actions or work. You should immediately set some goals where you want to be in
six or nine months and remain focused on self-improvement during that time
period. Your goals should be geared on how you expect your skill set to
function and direct your subordinates that may have been your former co-workers
as part of a team in the past.
Mentally you must
realign and adjust your relationships when you become a supervisor and acknowledge that everything that was
before has now changed. You must understand the concept that not only are you
responsible for your own work but also the work of others.
Basically, you
need to work on your self-development skills focusing on people skills as you
will need to identify different people with different talents to get the job
done. People skills are sometimes neglected when promoted and must be a main
element of your adjustment in management styles and business skill sets
instrumental in getting the job done effectively and on time.
Secondly as a new
supervisor you must set clear goals and expectations of others as well as
yourself. Effective performance skills begins with clear goals. If you offer your
team no direction employees will have less initiative to work hard and meet
challenges presented to them while on duty. Remember that your goals should be
aligned with your employee goals.
Motivation is a
great tool but one must have a vision of the direction to stay on track of
expectations and measuring success. Leaving your team or co-workers in the dark
is the fastest way to fail your duties and responsibilities to get things done.
Meeting with
staff begins this vision created. Work on acquiring realistic and attainable
goals together in efforts to meet all challenges and organizational
expectations. These meetings should be two fold – it should begin with a vision
of where you want to be and where your employees should be when the job is done
right. In other words, you need to help them to help you and your organization
and motivate them to do their best while working with you on improving the
environment and work place.
It has been said
that the number one reason supervisors fail is because of their inability to
delegate effectively. The first thing a supervisor should recognize is that despite no matter how
hard you work, you can’t do everything by yourself and need the help of others
to get it done. Effectively delegating work impacts your ability to manage time
and the more you manage time the more effective use there is to get things
done.
Share your
talents with those you have confidence in and prepare them for their successive
career development by delegating those things that will allow you to be a
better leader. Mathematically you get more things done in less time and that
leaves you more opportunities to improve things along the way. Knowing which
one of your employees can do the job builds confidence in them and allows them
opportunities to develop their value to the team and organization while
completing assigned work and duties.
How many times
have you heard the phrase “what we have here is a failure to communicate” and
tempers flare because of misunderstandings or not having a clue about what is
going on and what expectations were set on job assignments? Controlling
information is not always a necessity and should be open for discussion among
the team and co-workers. There has always been a conflict between sharing
knowledge and whether knowledge is public or private. The fact remains that if
you don’t share knowledge your value to the team or organization diminishes
rather than increases as it impacts work relationships and quality of work.
Teams can be made
more effectively through empowerment of knowledge and positive communications.
Making an effort to share information with employees is critical for success
and must be done on an on-going basis especially during a time of change in
administrations or operating procedures. It impacts decision making and
employee morale as you endure these changes with a sense of awareness and expectations
from your viewpoint and knowledge.
Learning the
value of making time for your employees and showing you care and trust them to
do the job and do it right is very important. Promotions often lead to
alienation or bad feelings for some but fortunately it is the best time to
change the way people feel about you as you take the role of being their boss
seriously but at the same time make time to coach them, mentor them and guide
them during the course of their careers.
Being unselfish
pays off large dividends and shows your staff you still trust them and manage
them with mutual respect while assessing their individual needs for
improvements and address them in a most positive way without criticism and
harsh words. Remembering that not every employee is not the same you must be
aware some may be highly experienced and require little attention while others
may need to be mentored or guided at certain levels.
Managing is primarily
a people job. It would always be to your benefit to take the time and put the
phone down or unanswered and make time to listen to someone making sure you are
available when they need you. Focusing on them is priceless as it is important to
know what they are thinking and what it is they have to say. The better you
know your employees the easier it is to recognize their achievements and
contributions to the team and organization. This is especially important when it comes to
reduction in force agendas and downsizing of a team or organization.
Promotions or recognitions
of someone’s value is often based on team or organizational success but if can
also be based on a personal award or achievement. Making successful things
happen draws attention to their value and is often rewarded with some kind of recognition
or event. On the other side of this coin is the creation of attitudes that focus
on failures and the unwillingness to learn from such events. Unfortunately
those picked for promotions may in fact not be successful at all but are
carried by their team members and once promoted experience failures due to the
fact they were never really qualified to handle additional responsibilities and work loads.
Last but not
least is taking it all too serious when promoted and changing the way you
conduct business creating different dynamics that once made you successful but
is not setting you up for failure. Attitudes play a big part in managing
people. It can open up doors or close them depending how you interact with your
employees. If you were once a joker and quick to reward or show appreciation
for their work and then do a complete turnaround it may be detrimental to your
relationships and communication efforts.
Tolerance is the
key and moderation should be considered when issues praise or disciplinary
action when things go bad or the need arises to conduct corrective action on a
performance deficiency or personal behavior or misconduct.
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