Supervisor Plays

Your staff member enters your office carrying a thick folder. “The study is complete,” she says. You begin reading. The background is detailed, the problem is clearly stated, three alternatives are presented, and the final page contains a recommendation. Then you ask one question. “How […]

You are looking for an advanced program for your supervisors. The course title sounds promising. The outline includes leadership, group dynamics, conflict resolution, delegation, problem-solving, decision-making, coaching, counselling, and meeting management. These are important capabilities. Each one can affect team performance, trust, productivity, and results.

You are comparing two train-the-trainer proposals. The first is a one-day course. The outline is simple: adult learning, facilitation, questioning, training methods, evaluation, and a short teaching demonstration. The second course is much longer. It adds communication styles, multigenerational learners, blended learning, difficult participants, presentation

Most basic supervisory training begins with a good intention. The company wants newly promoted supervisors to become effective. It also wants current supervisors to improve their performance. Both intentions sound reasonable. But neither tells the training designer what must actually change. What does an effective

The training catalog offered two options. Basic Supervisory Skills was for new supervisors. Advanced Supervisory Leadership was for experienced ones. The choice looked easy. The company had several newly promoted team leaders, so HR selected the basic program. It covered communication, delegation, motivation, discipline, time

“We need supervisory training.” The HR manager sounded certain. Employees had complained about poor communication. Deadlines were being missed. Managers were solving problems that should have been handled at the frontline. A few supervisors had also become difficult to work with. Training appeared to be

Do not build the program around everything a supervisor could know An HR manager once showed me the proposed outline for a supervisory training program. It was impressive. The program covered leadership styles, communication, delegation, motivation, emotional intelligence, conflict management, coaching, time management, decision-making, performance

Choose the format that will move the work. An HR manager opens two proposals. The first is for a public supervisory seminar. The program has a fixed date, a hotel venue, a list of topics, and a price for every participant. The company can register

On his first Monday as supervisor, Nico arrived before everyone else. He checked the production board, reviewed the unfinished work from the previous shift, and answered two messages before the team entered the room. By eight thirty, one employee had already asked for help with

By the time Liza entered the meeting room, everyone already knew what the conversation was about. Mark was becoming a problem. He had missed another deadline. His reports contained errors. He asked questions that other employees seemed able to answer on their own. When the

“Is everything clear?” “Yes, sir.” “Any questions?” “None, sir.” “Good. I need this before three.” The supervisor returned to his desk believing the conversation was finished. At two forty-five, the employee sent the report. The supervisor opened the file and felt his shoulders tighten. The

The evaluation scores were excellent. Almost everyone gave the workshop a four or five. Participants described the facilitator as engaging, knowledgeable, funny, and easy to understand. Several wrote that they had learned many useful ideas about communication, delegation, motivation, coaching, and conflict management. The HR

During a leadership meeting, the department heads were asked to describe the supervisor they wanted. The first manager answered quickly. “Confident.” Another added, “But not arrogant.” “Firm,” someone said. “Approachable,” said another. The list grew. The ideal supervisor had to be patient but decisive, friendly

When Allan’s name appeared on the shortlist for supervisor, almost everyone agreed. He was the obvious choice. He knew the operation better than most people in the department. He could solve problems quickly, handle difficult customers, and finish work other employees struggled to complete. When

Three weeks after Marissa became a supervisor, her manager was already worried. The team had missed two deadlines. One employee complained that Marissa gave unclear instructions. Another said she had become too strict. The department head noticed that Marissa stayed late almost every evening, yet