Supervising MFGT Trainees

Points to Ponder

 ©1994 By Lewis N. Foster

 

Supervisors:

 1.  have a uniquely different type of work from others in the system;

 2.  they plan, organize, staff, direct and control;

 3.  play key roles and apply conceptual skills, human relations, and technical skills;

 4.  are judged by the results;

 5.  are guided by the dynamics of each situation;

 6.  operate best in open systems;

 7.  conform to hierarchal influences;

 8.  contend with, and for, environmental forces;

 9.  span the boundaries of their systems;

10.  integrate scientific, behavioral and management sciences;

11.  let supervisees know the performance that managers and supervisors expect from them;

12.  work with the understanding that performance is limited by perception, potential, and personality;

13.  recognize that an individual's performance reflects his or her personal needs, attitudes, and values.  (These qualities need to be responded to so that conditions can be created that encourage release of each person's potential.);

14.  establish effective one-on-one relationships with supervisees;

15.  understand that relationships with small work groups (rather than individuals) are different and sometimes difficult to create and sustain in a productive manner;

16.  create goals that focus action;

17.  use plans as road maps;

18.  develops plans systemically;

19.  create operational plans to convert strategies into specific timetables by forecasting and scheduling;

20.  provide a mechanism for encouraging supervisees to coordinate personal and departmental plans with organizational goals (management by objective);

 21.  divide work into jobs;

22.  collect jobs into departments;

23.  delegate authority;

24   centralize or decentralize control;

25.  extend authority to support and advisory staffs and thereby create useful, but often, conflicting, relationships with departments that are in the direct chain of command;

26.  staff their department with human resources;

27.  forecast the number and kinds of jobs to be filled;

28.  help recruit applicants and select employees;

29.  orient, train, and help develop supervisees;

30.  periodically appraise supervisees' performance;

31.  direct by motivating, communicating, and leading;

32.  communicate through channels and in networks;

33.  recognize motivational needs;

34.  motivate by providing the means for satisfying needs;

35.  lead with a variety of styles;

36.  set standards to control performance;

37.  use controls at selective and strategic points to increase       the possibility of successful operations;

38.  may use financial controls, revenue and expense budgets, to assure survival and growth;

39.  use operating controls to measure progress;

40.  use human resource controls to maintain satisfactory performance by the work force;

41.  solve problems in a rational sequence;

42.  recognize problems by finding gaps in performance;

43.  generate alternative solutions logically and creatively;

44.  evaluate alternatives with an eye toward risk and uncertainty;

45.  use logic, intuition, or a combination of both, to aid in decision making;

46.  know that information provides the substance for coordination of the supervision and management process; and

47.  know that management information systems provide the necessary information network;

48.  know computer systems accelerate and facilitate information processing;

49.  know decision support systems assist, and personalize, managerial controls;

50.  know statistical analysis adds a valuable mathematical dimension to decision making;

51.  develop a personal style and acquire competencies in: overseeing the work, problem solving, planning the work, informal oral communications, providing performance feedback, coaching a subordinate, creating written communications and documentation, creating and maintaining a motivated atmosphere, time management, attending meetings, self-development, providing career counseling for subordinates, and representing the organization;

52.  learn to conserve time;

53.  learn that delegation conserves time and adds leverage to talents;

54.  encourage participation which enlists the energies of an entire organization in the pursuit of mutually understood and accepted goals;

55.  avoid debilitating stress by maintaining a sense of proportion and balance in respect to both their capabilities and their responsibilities;

56.  assemble resources adequate to meet objectives;

57.  aim to optimize usage and conservation;

58.  apply commonsense principles of work simplification;

59.  maximize with automation and computers; and

60   focus organizational energy with team building.

61.  see good personnel as an asset, not expense, and hire individuals who add value to the organization.

62.  know the positive contributions of the people they supervise.

63.  are always on the lookout for talented people who can outshine them; and then get out of their way so they can make a contribution to the organization.

64.  hire the people they need rather than just making do with the people they have.

65.  reorganize when they realize they have put the wrong people in the wrong position.

66.  make sure everyone knows where they fit into the system.

67.  avoid creating a hierarchical system that puts the preservation of the system before the servicing of clients.

68.  make sure each supervisee feels personally accountable for the success of the agency.

69.  lead in a way that everyone operates as part of a customer-driven (client) team, not only on their own tasks.

70.  help everyone know how their job helps or hinders the performance of others.

71.  understands isomorphic tendency.  The tendency of a dynamic to repeat itself at different hierarchical levels.  Anything done on one level will be transmitted to the next level.

72.  knows that addiction and codependency has a known etiology, is predictable, chronic, progressive, cross-addictive, cross-tolerant, and fatal if not treated.

73.  understands that addiction and codependency manifests certain psychological characteristics in its victims.  They are shame, guilt, denial, blaming, rigidity, anger, minimization, repression of feelings, projection and blackouts or memory loss for family members.  Family members    alter their state through food, sex, work, etc.