Manage your personal and professional development.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This truth also applies to your personal development as well as to your role as a supervisor.
Being deliberate about your professional development will help you achieve your objectives and that of your team.
The tyranny of urgency makes some supervisors neglect their professional development.
Prepare Yourself
Consider the competencies expected of the supervisors in your organization. As you read through the competencies, answer the following questions.
Strengths
What do you like most about being a supervisor?
What are your strengths as a supervisor?
What are some specific examples of when you have demonstrated those strengths?
Opportunities
What are the opportunities for growth your organization offers?
What are the available resources you can use to grow yourself into a good supervisor?
Aspirations
What kind of supervisor do you want to become?
What would you like your direct reports to say about you as a supervisor?
What would you like your manager to say about you as a supervisor?
Results
What do you want to achieve for yourself?
What do you want to achieve for your team?
Find Conversation Partners
Think of 2 or 3 people you can involve in a conversation about your role as a supervisor. You may consider the following:
- people whose management and leadership you admire.
- people who will supportively challenge you to grow and continually improve
- people you believe to be mentors.
Answering the questions I gave you may help you think through your role. Conversations with people will help you examine your answers.
