what are the top ten qualities of a supervisor?
6810 management skills
Managing a group of people who all have different personalities, abilities and who may or may not interact well with each other is not an easy task and, in my opinion, to be successful you require certain qualities and skills such as:
- Excellent communication skills. You need to relay instructions very clearly so every part is well understood in order to avoid mistakes. You also need to listen carefully to what your employees tell you. A very good way to make sure someone has understood your instructions is to ask them to repeat everything in their own words. To make sure you have received information correctly, you should say "so what you are saying is..." and repeat in your own words. This simple method avoids many misunderstandings.
- Fairness. Human beings react badly to what they perceive as unfair. So if you delegate work to others make sure you are scrupulous in allocating pleasant and unpleasant tasks evenly.
- Good organisational skills are essential. It is your job to coordinate the work and allocate resources. You should know where everything is and be prepared for the task.
- Knowledge. Part of the supervisor's job is to train others so it goes without saying that you should be at least one step ahead of them.
- Accountability. If a mistake is made by one of your team you should acknowledge responsibility every time unless they have deliberately disobeyed your instructions.
- Efficiency. For your department to work like clockwork you should always have the next task ready to be allocated to the right person so no-one spends any time doing nothing.
- Adaptability. Be ready to manage change efficiently as and when it happens even if you don't agree with it.
- Social skills. You should be courteous at all times. When you have to tell someone off, it should be done assertively but politely and never in front of other people. Everyone makes mistakes and nobody needs to be humiliated. Shouting at people is not a good idea as they will become resentful and unhappy. You will get more done with a smile than with rudeness. Don't be afraid to praise your team for a task well done. The carrot always works better than the stick.
- Diplomacy. As a supervisor you have loyalty to the company who pays your wages but also loyalty to your team who are responsible for your results. A difficult balance which requires a great deal of tact.
- Self-discipline. As a supervisor, you should inspire respect so discretion in your private life is essential nor can you tell people off for lateness if you are always late yourself.
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well said...
Many thanks solarshingles. I am, in fact, describing a very good head of department I had when I started teaching and she had all those qualities. I flourished under her leadership and guidance as did all the new teachers who came to her department and we achieved great things individually and as a team. Sadly, I have met many more bad ones than good ones resulting in demoralised and frustrated highly skilled and enthusiastic staff leaving the profession. People are the most important resource of any enterprise and require and deserve good leadership to achieve success.
Martine, I strongly believe in your statement, that people are the biggest asset any enterprise possesses. And also, that there is simply not enough good leaders out there. Without a proper leadership any organizational structure collapses on a long term basis. I also like your good example of your head of department.
In addition, I would suggest the following qualities and skills:
1. Know your employees by name. Make an effort to get to know them on a personal level, i.e. their hobbies, families, culture, etc. However, don't get too personal - unless you are working for FBI, CIA, or police this interest could be suspicious.
2. Start evaluating your employees from the position that they are superb and any mistake they make is just an exception. Nobody wants to work for a supervisor who firmly believes that their employees are inferior.
thank you for answering my request....
Thanks for the tips so that I can evaluate myself.
That's always a good place to start but you need to be very honest with yourself. It's difficult to see ourselves as others see us.
thank you very much for these wonderful information. I got confuse to write an essay about best qualities of a boss, but when I found this, I could write a strong one and now I'm very happy and feel ok.
thanks
I must say your information was very useful to me in writing my thesis for my project.
thanks
Thank You...Perfect..well detailed...n too the Point...
Thank You
thank you martine. this article really help. straigt forward and easy to understand.
thank you very much for providing the information, about how to be a good supervisor..
easy way 2 understand and very useful tips 2 become a good supervisor. thank alot.........
easy way 2 understand and very useful tips 2 become a good supervisor. thank alot.........
Keep up good analysis.iwould like to have more.
Thank you for the well structured insight on the qualities a supervisor needs. I wish all supervisors would read this and apply it, some take advantage of their position, and in return you end up with frustrated and burned out employees!
I'm very glad for fond this the top ten qualities of a supervisor.This is because, I took several times of looking for this gualities
Thank u very much nw i judge my self & i can judge any body.
Thank you martin for your materials about good supervisor qualities,they helped me in my study on how to supervis people in my work place.
thank you for this information it inspire me in my quest for becoming a better supervisor for the company which i work.
thankyou very much,it is very useful
what are the steps that should undergo to improve the quality of supervisors?
Very good and usful
It really useful words and who will flow your valuable point he will get a great opportunity
Thanks so much
By Eka Raj
1st let me say that's a job well done many thanx to that. I really needed that I applying for a new job as a supervisor. thanks
Here, here. I could not have said it better!
Thank u for ur worth discription on significant qualities of supervisor . I have to attend supervisor interview in this week.it helped me a lot to answer question
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solarshingles 4 years ago
Dear Martine, I admire your precise - very punctual and short description of a good Supervisor. I believe, your description could be accepted in any educational material about describing basic leadership skills, as well. Thank you!