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Think of a time when you had a really good boss or supervisor.
What made that person a good boss? What made them fun
to work for or easy to learn from? What about that person
helped you be good at that job you were doing? Much research
has been done to identify what makes great managers and
supervisors, and contrary to some conventional thinking,
they do not have 10 special characteristics that are all
the same. Some are organized and some are not. Some are
good communicators and some are not. Some have gone to
years of school and some have not. But one characteristic
that good supervisors and managers do share is that they
have the ability and the desire
and the commitment to help you
identify your strengths and to help you become stronger
and more excellent in those strengths. They are invested
in your potential.
You might be thinking, that’s just
great—I’ve met my boss and I
don’t think she’s staying up nights thinking
about how to help me be good at anything. In fact, I’m
not sure she knows my name and I’m not sure she
even has time to talk to me, much less invest in my success!
Let’s talk about that for a minute. Even though
I think managers, bosses and supervisors can get caught
up in all kinds of “important” stuff, like
paperwork and reports and e-mails and meetings and conference
calls—what I like to call administrivia—there’s
nothing more important than
your success, either to you, your boss, your organization.
Nothing. In fact, we’re counting
on your success!
But that doesn’t let you off the hook. You have
a responsibility in this important relationship, too.
And like any relationship, to make it work, you have to
invest time, communication and commitment. I know that
many of you can relate when I identify one fatal error
to make in any personal relationship—like a marriage
or partnership—and that is to expect the other
person to read your mind. This gets us into all sorts
of trouble—the expecting of mind reading—and
even if you think you’ve been with someone for a
really long time and they can read your mind,
you might be better off not expecting them to, and you
surely cannot expect your new boss to do it! This means
you have to ask for what you need and what you want.
What might this look like? How are you going to go about
it, especially if you don’t know enough to ask the
right kinds of questions yet? You will learn from everyone
you encounter in your job—your peers, your supervisors,
people who work in other units or areas. But one of the
most important learning relationships
is with your supervisor. What if you meet your supervisor,
or you already know him or her, and she seems a little
disconnected? She seems too busy to talk with you, or
he’s rarely around your actual place of work? How
is that supposed to be a significant relationship and
one that may hold the key to your success? How can you
begin to develop that relationship when it doesn’t
seem to you like she wants to have one with you? Well,
99.9% of the people I’ve ever met love to talk about
themselves. You can always start there! Ask, ‘how
long have you been working with this organization?’
or ‘what brought you to work in this field?’
or ‘what do you like best about working here?’
Although this may seem like an insignificant way to begin,
it actually prepares the way for the relationship and
suggests to your supervisor that you’re open to
learning and listening, and that may help him or her begin
to get to know you better, too. This is important, remember,
because their job is to help you develop your strengths
in your new role, and they can’t do that if they
don’t know you.
Initially, you may want to share some things with your
new supervisor so that he/she knows a little about how
you learn or how you like to be supervised. If you know
that you'd like instruction and then you want to try it
before getting feedback, share that. Or, if you prefer
someone show you step-by-step, allowing you to practice
as you go, ask for that. Or, you may be the kind of person
who learns after you can see a model or illustration of
something, ask for that. How do you like to receive feedback?
How do you like to receive praise? One size does not fit
all, and you’re more likely to get what you need
or want by asking for it specifically. This may also pave
the way for you to ask more specific questions along the
way when they come up. You can also ask your new supervisor
how s/he prefers communication. Face-to-face? Telephone?
E-mail? Do you need an appointment? If you don’t
work closely with him/her often, how should you stay connected?
How would they like you to check in with them or give
you updates or ask questions?
In the Ken Blanchard Company's Situational Self-Leadership®
model, students are taught to analyze their
developmental levels with particular tasks or projects.
They ask themselves specific questions about where they
are in relation to their commitment or attitude toward
a task and their level of competence or knowledge in relation
to that task. For example, many beginning learners are
really excited and enthusiastic about the task ahead,
even though they have no idea, really, what to do-they
just want to do it. What they might ask for is direction-help
understanding the steps or techniques or skills in performing
a particular task. So, for example, I may be really enthusiastic
to learn a new skill, like water skiing. I think I can
do it because I like to swim and I've been snow skiing
since I was a kid. Well, anyone who knows these distinct
sports probably also knows that the one thing they have
in common is skis, and that’s about it. I would
be at Developmental Level 1, with regards to water skiing
because I’m excited about it and I have a great
attitude, but I don’t know anything about it. I
would want someone to help me learn the basics, step-by-step.
Once the Blanchard students can perform this type of self
analysis, then they can ask for what they need. Other
times, they may know exactly how to do something, but
they’re beginning to feel as if their heart is just
not in it, or they’re bored or don’t see the
point, this is Developmental Level 3. What they might
ask for is support or encouragement
or a new challenge. In another sports example, I may already
know how to run, another sport I’ve been doing since
I was a kid, but lately, I can’t seem to get my
shoes on and get out the door. I seem to have lost my
motivation or commitment, even though I’m a pretty
decent runner. A good coach would encourage me in different
ways, offer an incentive of some sort or a new challenge.
I don’t need someone to tell me how to run because
I know that, what I need is someone to help me get motivated
to do it! Throughout your career, you will move fluidly
among levels of commitment and
competence, each time you learn
a new skill or task, you’ll begin at the beginning
and you’ll need different types of supervision to
become successful. Good supervisors can give both direction
and support, but sometimes they
may need some help from you—remember they can’t
read your minds—so think about this when you are
communicating with them.
Excellent work should not be a secret, magical thing that only a few obtain and we're not sure how they do it. Excellence for you will be based on you utilizing your own strengths to perform the standards of your job with the help of your supervisor behind you. You have a responsibility to your own potential development and you truly enter in a partnership with your supervisor as you are working together. Get to know your supervisor and be willing to commit to communicating your questions and ideas about your work performance.
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