There are so many philosophies and theories around supervision, both within Higher Education and outside. But the question I continue to ask is, “What makes a good supervisor?” And I honestly don’t think there is one correct answer. It is not an area of black and white but rather very grey and open to interpretation.
The components provided in the graph are a starting point for consideration. They all prompt creativity and understanding of the supervising position and allow each individual to build their own style. Each component brings about thought and discovery and each individual will process them differently. So, the question I continue to ask is, what is the most important component for you?
As I ruminated, I kept going back to “How do you connect with your team?” I think I lean heavily into this component as it connects to my top strengths of Relator and Deliberative. Knowing my strengths and how I work ties directly into team development. It is very important to know your own strengths and areas of growth to be able to assist both your supervisees and mentees.
Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” So as you go through your own journey of supervision keep these things in mind.
Start at the beginning. Set ground rules and clear expectations from the start. As a supervisor, you should be able and willing to step in at any point. Not only do you need to understand your own job but you need to understand the role and responsibilities of your supervisees. If something happens you should be able to step in and support each individual and the team as a whole. Lead by example. If you show empathy and kindness, your supervisees become more likely and skilled to exemplify the same traits.
If you start at the beginning and things go astray, you will have time to pivot or change courses. This allows the team to stay together through crises, challenges, and triumphs. Through hard times, staff tend to stay together or fall apart. It is important to help the team stay together through discourse and understand the team is stronger than each individual. The team is made up of different strengths and weaknesses. These can show up at different times or points of the year. It is important to prepare for these by building that initial foundation.
Recently our live-on staff moved to an Adjustable Work Schedule rather than the traditional 8 AM to 5 PM. As we were working through this transition, it was apparent that this could only be successful from a team perspective and not from selfish individual perspectives. Everyone wants to work a schedule that is beneficial to their own priorities and preferences. But if everyone worked on the times that worked for them, there could be gaps in office coverage and student needs. Each individual can make their own schedule but there is teamwork needed to ensure the office is staffed appropriately and students are able to connect as necessary. A supervisor is able to see this from the 5,000 foot view and work with individuals to accomplish the task at hand.
And, it becomes easier and more efficient as the team gels and works together successfully. There may still be disagreements and conflict but the stronger the team is, the more willing and able they are to work through the issues and not around them. A supervisor has the ability to develop individuals, foster a team, and recognize accomplishments. And it all starts with the connection to the team.
