Mistakes You Don’t Know You Are Making As A Supervisor

Mistakes You Don’t Know You Are Making As A Supervisor

Great Leaders aren’t born, they are made.

They learn how to be good leaders through training, hard work, determination experience, intuition, and effort.

How can you be one?

Even in leadership it is very possible to make mistakes from time to time. However, the power lies in how you overcome them and use them as a stepping stone to make better decisions.

Remember, “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”

Let us look at some of the mistakes you may be unknowingly making to help you improve your leadership style:

1. You are not being a leader:

Naturally,  your  team members will look to you for leadership and guidance. They’ll ask you for assistance on problems, , or expect you as the supervisor to set goals and targets.

If you don’t provide your team with the support they need, they’ll falter and be less productive.  As a supervisor you need to take charge, make decisions, and accept responsibility over your team.

A good leader is one who strives to be a team player rather than one who focuses on micromanagement.

2. You are not communicating effectively:

Communication is an integral process in every organisation, if  its relayed in a wrong or negative way the results can be very detrimental.

A team can only function smoothly if there’s proper communication between everyone involved.

The supervisor should always keep the communication lines open and clear.

They should convey their expectations and requirements to the team members clearly, inform them of all the changes they can expect, and discuss goals and ideas regularly.

As a supervisor, you set the standards for communication,  so it is your duty to ensure that any form of communication in your organisation is handled well.

3. You are Ignoring problems:

Ignoring problems won’t make them disappear, so it’s important to address them immediately.

As a supervisor it is not advisable to  ignore problems that don’t directly impact something specific, and hope the issue will resolve itself.

For example, if there’s a conflict between two members of your team, you shouldn’t wait until they resolve it or until it escalates. If you address it immediately, your team will work smoothly once again and you won’t have to deal with conflicts impacting their productivity.

4. Not Welcoming Feedback:

Gone are the days when a supervisor would be constantly issuing orders and expecting staff members to follow everything to the letter.

A modern day supervisor is one who listens to his/her  employees and takes everything they say into account.

Be a team player, not a dictator!

If you want higher levels of productivity, more innovative solutions to problems, and better cooperation between you and your team, you need to welcome feedback.

5. You have become to friendly with your team:

The line between being professional and friendly is a thin one.

It may hard to notice, but it is crucial to balance when you need to tighten the professional rope between you and your staff and engaging them in a casual way.

A leader can be engaging, friendly, and compassionate, without compromising their authority.

You should strive to create a working environment that employees respect and at the same time does not show that you favour some over others.

6. Reprimanding in Public:

People make mistakes, and sometimes these mistakes need to be addressed and rectified immediately. However, a public dressing down doesn’t help anyone, and only compromises the morale of the team.

If someone on your team has made a mistake, you need to call them to your office and discuss the issue in private, instead of reprimanding them in public.

Understand their concerns and try to find the root cause of the problems in order to help your team members, instead of just scolding them.

Conclusively,  

Being a great leader is not a smooth ride, it does involve making mistakes. The power lies in rectifying them to ensure that you create a  conducive environment for your team members.

Consider training options and mentorships programs that can help you change so as to lead a motivated workforce that will yield results.

Book a spot for you or your team for the upcoming Supervisory Skills Training and empower your team!

To book a spot, email Catherine, the training coordinator, on catherine@corporatestaffing.co.ke and copy muthoni@corporatestaffing.co.ke

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