Supervisors. We’ve all had them. You’ve probably had some that were ok, some that inspired you to be the best you could possibly be, and some that made walking around in wet socks with an itch you can’t reach actually seem more pleasant than working another minute under their leadership. I’m sure we all have feelings about past and current supervisors, but have we ever really sat down and thought about what makes a supervisor bad or good? I can only speak from my personal experience, but for me, these are the three biggest indicators of a poor supervisor:
MICROMANAGING
If you need to micromanage your team, it’s not a reflection of the ability of your team to do their work effectively and efficiently. It’s a reflection of your inability to lead, inspire, and coordinate. Let me say this loud and clear, NO ONE LIKES A MICROMANAGER! (sorry for yelling) If you’re spending all your time checking on your team, when do you have time to get your work done? It’s been my experience that micromangers struggle with time management and meeting deadlines because they’re so preoccupied watching what others are doing. They often have to push their work onto others (while also taking credit for it) because they struggle with balance. In addition, micromanaging doesn’t allow your team creative freedom or the ability to grow. More often than not, your team has a lot of great ideas or unique perspectives, but if they are being micromanaged they don’t have the opportunity to express those.
LACK OF SUPPORT
Another indicator of a poor supervisor is lack of support for their employees. As a supervisor, your role is to empower your team. Your role is to help them grow and develop as professionals. Your role is to be an advocate for them. Your role is NOT to throw them under the bus or blame them for anything that ever goes wrong. An ineffective supervisor doesn’t foster the growth of their team. They expect them to serve under them forever and any thoughts of progressing in their career is looked upon as betrayal. Any good supervisor wants to see their staff win. They want them to get promotions, find better positions, earn recognition, etc.
LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
My final indicator of a poor supervisor is lack of transparency. There is never any reason to keep secrets from your staff. Tell them what’s going on. Keep them informed. If something isn’t set in stone, tell them there have been conversations about XYZ but nothing is set in stone and you will update them once you know more. Finding out things that pertain to your job or department from others outside your area is a slap in the face. It shows your staff that you do not trust or respect them enough to share with them whatever is going on. I can’t even stress the anxiety your staff can feel when they know you are keeping things from them. It’s human nature to start making scenarios in our heads, often the worst case scenario, so when you aren’t transparent with your team, they usually think something is wrong.
There are a ton of other indicators for a bad supervisor such as poor communication skills, no follow-through, or sense of entitlement but now I want to focus on what makes a good supervisor. Here are my top three indicators of a good supervisor:
SUPPORTIVE
The best supervisors I’ve ever had have always been extremely supportive of me. They have been role models and mentors that I knew sincerely cared about my growth, both professionally and personally. A supportive supervisor isn’t going to treat you like you’re some kind of machine. They understand it’s not just work, work, work. They humanize and empathize with you and respect that you will have some great days and some off days. They accept your areas of improvement and do what they can in their capacity to support you. A good supervisor takes care of their team. Unlike a bad supervisor, a good supervisor advocates for their staff. They listen (and not just listen to respond, but listen to understand), they encourage their staff, and create environments where their team knows they can thrive.
RESPECT
We’ve all heard some variation of the age old adage, “you have to give respect to get respect.” This saying holds true even for the supervisor/supervisee relationship. Good supervisors respect their team. They treat them how they would want to be treated. Most of us want someone to treat us with respect, consistency, honesty, fairness, empathy, and kindness so why would we not treat our staff with those same things? I can tell you now, if you don’t respect your staff they won’t respect you. And if they don’t respect you, 9 times out of 10, they aren’t going to do their job to the best of their ability. They may do the bare minimum (sometimes not even that) but they won’t be inspired to go above and beyond and better the organization. I mean..why would they? If their supervisor can’t even give them the basic level of respect they deserve, then why would they put in any extra effort?
SET AN EXAMPLE
Lastly, a good supervisor sets a good example. They do their work with fairness and integrity. They follow policy, procedures, and adhere to the organization’s mission and values. They display all their behaviors they expect from their team. They aren’t just talking the talk. They walk the walk. A good supervisor who leads by example inspires their team to be like them. I’ve had supervisors whom I have modeled a lot of my leadership style after. They showed me through their words and actions what a true leader looks like.
Now these are just a few things that indicate a bad or good supervisor, but trust me this list is not complete. I think it’s really important to remember that when you have a good supervisor, take the good from them. Draw from your positive experiences and use that to become the best supervisor you can be. On the flipside, don’t just let a bad supervisor have been a bad experience. Take that experience as a lesson and remember how they made you feel and make sure you never do the things they did.