stepping up to supervision - always a big adjustment, now a major challenge

STEPPING UP TO SUPERVISION 1

The step up from employee to supervisor hasalways been a big one. Taking on new assign-ments, getting work done through others, shiftingfrom being a buddy to a boss—any one of thesetransitions is a handful. Together, they can beoverwhelming, as any novice supervisor—or first-time manager, for that matter—can tell you.

In the past, new supervisors had some time duringtheir first weeks and months on the job to pick upwhat they needed to know. There were peoplearound—managers, other supervisors—who couldshow them the ropes, and even step in to helpwhen the going got tough.

That was then. Today it’s a new world.

Changes in the workplace have thrust these brandnew managers of other people into positions ofsuch pivotal importance that they have little timeto get up to speed. Nor can they count on otherpeople to show them the ropes. Today’s supervi-sors have to hit the ground running.

This may explain why, according to Achieve-Global consultants, more and more employees areturning down promotions to supervisory posi-

tions. For thesepeople the difficultyof the job outweighsany excitement orpride they might feelin being promoted.Their lives arecomplicated enoughalready.

To learn more about the performance expectationssupervisors face today—and how to prepareemployees to meet them—AchieveGlobal recentlyconducted a survey of over 5001 managers in theUnited States, the United Kingdom, Europe, andAsia.

The results of this survey, together with Achieve-Global’s experience in helping organizationsachieve success, helped shape our position ontoday’s supervisor. We believe that both first-timeand experienced supervisors face a set of responsi-bilities they may not be prepared for—responsibil-ities that may in fact be at odds with the abilitiesand attributes that got them promoted into super-vision in the first place.

STEPPING UP TO SUPERVISIONAlways a Big Adjustment ...

Now a Major Challenge

By Mark Marone, Ph.D., Senior Research Manager and Chris Blauth, Senior Product Manager

For many people thedifficulty of the job

outweighs any excitement or pridethey might feel in being promoted.

1. 273 managers in the U.S., 204 in the U.K., and 35 in Europe & Asia

SOME LONG-STANDING CHALLENGES ...

A new supervisor’s first week on the job is almostalways an eye-opening experience. Havingobserved their own supervisors in action, thesenovices often have a general idea of what’sinvolved. What they don’t know is what super-vising feels like. Their efforts to find their footingare reflected in comments like the following:

• “Guys I’ve worked with for years look at medifferent now. I expected the kidding. What Ididn’t expect was getting frozen out. Maybethis is what they mean when they say it’s lone-ly at the top.”

• “I get pressure to improve production, so I passit on—and get resented for it. But I guessthat’s just part of my job now. You gotta betough on people.”

• “I miss doing my own work; it’s satisfying toknow you’ve done something right. Now Ispend all my time dealing with complaints andemergencies and everybody’s ‘issues.’ It neverends.”

• “Management thinks they can cut back andstill maintain good customer service. Well,they can’t—not unless every service rep worksa lot harder. And then guess who gets thecomplaints? Guess who has to step in and takesomebody’s shift when they don’t feel likeshowing up?”

• “I wish everyone would realize I’m the sameperson I was before I became a supervisor.”

• “No matter how much I go over instructions,some people will mess it up. I never did thatwhen I had their job.”

• “Where’s the work ethic any more, that’s whatI’d like to know.”

Together, these comments describe a kind ofbalancing act starting supervisors must master ifthey are to successfully handle their new respon-sibilities.

... AND THREE NEW REALITIES

Today, along with the “traditional” challenges,there are some new realities AchieveGlobalbelieves all supervisors must contend with:

1. An uncommitted, diverse, and increasinglycynical workforce

2. Constantly changing job duties

3. More demands from the organization—butless support

These realities have raised the stakes consider-ably, cut down on the margin for error, and madethe job of managing other people much morechallenging.

New reality #1: An uncommitted, diverse, andincreasingly cynical workforceIncreasing diversity, an uncertain economy, andchanges in relations between organizations and

their employees have allhad a big impact ontoday’s frontline workersand individual contribu-tors—creating a need forspecial skills on the partof those who managethem.

NEW SUPERVISORS MUST LEARN TO BALANCE ...

Former relationships with New working relationsand friendships and arrangements

Doing work yourself with Getting work done through others

Activities and tasks with Goals and accomplishments

Management’s with Employee needsexpectations

Organizational with Customer requirementsdemands

Representing yourself with Representing the and your peers organization

STEPPING UP TO SUPERVISION2

Supervising today’sworkforce takesspecial skill andunderstanding.


• Older workers. Some older people today are seek-ing to enter, or re-enter the workforce, either tomake ends meet or to stay active during their“retirement” years. Many employees are stay-ing on to maintain their health benefits, and/orto augment their dwindling pensions. Manyothers, having turned down opportunities foradvancement, stay in their jobs longer thanthey might have before. The frequent upshot:an age gap that can complicate working rela-tionships. Older employees may not be inclinedto take younger supervisors seriously. It takes acertain amount of finesse to supervise someoneyour father’s age.

• Worn-out workers. More and moreworkers today have a second (orsometimes third) job—working in afast-food restaurant, for example,or cleaning houses. By the time theyget to their “main” jobs, they’re al-ready tired and stressed out.

• Angry and jaded employees. Supervisors todaycannot assume that the people they managehave much of a commitment to the organiza-tion. Competitive pressures have forced manycompanies to cut back on the perks, benefits,and pensions that were once taken for granted.It should come as no surprise that employeesare often demoralized, distrustful, and some-times actively hostile.

Building commitment and motivation in such aclimate can be a real uphill battle. When itcomes to organizational goals, employees havealways been somewhat cynical. Now they’reoften angry as well. It can be difficult to sell acorporate vision to people who have had theirbenefits cut back.

• Fractured families. More women working, moremen assuming child-care duties, more familieswith child-custody and visitation concerns—these add to the supervisor’s challenge of ac-commodating employees, when necessary, andfiguring out how to cover their jobs when theyare gone.

• More diverse workers. Many workers today differeducationally and culturally from the peoplewho supervise them. This requires special sen-sitivity on the part of supervisors—and extratime. If, for example, some employees don’tspeak the language in which the instructionmanual is written, the supervisor may have toexplain the procedures.

New reality #2: Constantly changing job dutiesNew supervisors are often promoted into super-vision because of their outstanding performanceas individual contributors or frontline employees.

In these positions they may havegained considerable satisfaction fromtaking on a straightforward,predictable, often complex job anddoing it well. As supervisors, theirresponsibilities are harder to defineand more likely to change from oneday to the next. Supervisors today are

used to a clear structure, and when they becomesupervisors, they want to know where the guide-lines are. The job is definitely less structured.

In this fluid environment, measuring success isnot always as cut and dried as it once was. It’snot always easy to know what to do—or whena job is done. It often seems as if it’s never done.

The move up to supervision has always broughtwith it less regularly scheduled, concrete duties—handling emergencies, answering questions, anddelegating work. These remain today—augmented by trends that make supervisory workeven less predictable:

• New processes. As companies streamline theiroperations, supervisors need to spend moretime learning new processes. They may haveearned their stripes as the best operators on thefactory floor. Now, however, the system iscompletely computerized, their jobs don’t evenexist any more, and they suddenly find them-selves scrambling to master the new system.

For new supervisors,a lack of predictabil-ity may be the most

difficult aspect oftheir jobs.


• Less clear-cut lines of authority. Today, the com-mand-and-control approach to getting workdone through others has given way in many or-ganizations to collaboration, influencing,cross-functional partnerships, and joint effortswith outside organizations. Being a good su-pervisor has never been simply about tellingsomeone to do something. These days, howev-er, an effective supervisor needs to be a veryskillful delegater, influencer, and persuader. Toget the resources they need, they must get in-volved in planning with other departments.

• Collateral duties. Many supervisors today havebeen given temporary duties beyond the scopeof their jobs. It’s one way for an organizationto postpone creating and filling a position. Forexample, often production supervisors are putin charge of a special training function in addi-tion to their regular duties.

• Under-supported technology. Although companiesoften tout the benefits of their technology, infact their investment in upgrades and new sys-tems has lagged. What this often means is thatmanual effort may be required to reap the ben-efits the technology was supposed to produce.So, for example, a supervisor may find herselfspending time to manually assemble produc-tion data that was supposed to be captured andaggregated electronically.

New reality #3: More demands from the organization—but less support Pressures to do more with less, and do it faster,are difficult for everyone, but they’re especiallyhard on the new manageror supervisor—especiallywhen traditional sources offormal and informalsupport are no longeravailable. What this meansis that new supervisors not only have to hit theground running, they have to do so on their own.

• Disconnect between responsibility and authority. Evenwhen supervisors are required to step up tonew responsibilities, they may not be given theadditional authority they need. In an effort tocontrol costs, for example, an organizationmay expand a supervisor’s job duties but fail tobump up his or her signing authority.

• Higher-stakes responsibilities. In the absence ofmiddle managers, supervisors may be given re-sponsibilities that managers shouldered in thepast. For example, at an auto manufacturer, acommittee that reviews the progress of a cross-functional team no longer has any membersfrom management—only supervisors, whooften have little familiarity with functions otherthan their own.

• Pressures to innovate. Many supervisors today areunder constant pressure to find ways to cutcosts and improve work processes. Althoughmany supervisors rise to the challenge, theymust often do so without a lot of organization-al support. It’s difficult to sustain this kind ofon-the-backs-of-the-workers effort for a longperiod of time.

• Dotting the ethical “i’s.” Supervisors, like otheremployees, are under pressure to conform tonew or reinvigorated ethical regulations.They’re often under pressure from their superi-ors to check and double-check the accuracy ofkey reports. They also feel pressures (some-times conflicting) to report shoddy workand/or quality lapses.

• Everything is everybody’s job. With organizationsstripped to the bone, everyone’s job has grown.“It’s not my job” has morphed into “It’s every-body’s job.”

• Fewer middle managers. With so many middlemanagement positions having fallen to thedownsizer’s axe, supervisors often have no oneavailable for coaching and mentoring, eitherformally or informally.

Supervisors are expected to domore with less.


• Less formal support. Most organizations todayprovide less technical support, less IT support,and fewer engineering and financial services.Employees eventually learn to work aroundthese gaps. It’s more of a problem for new su-pervisors, who really need the help.

• Dog-eat-dog attitudes. Experienced supervisorswho might once have offered assistance to the“newbie” are now too busy and stressed out todevote energy to any other interests than theirown. Another factor is the internal competitionthat frequent job cuts can produce. Why go outof your way to help a colleague, if in so doingyou might help that person keep his or her jobduring the next round of layoffs, while you loseyours?

WHAT MANAGERS EXPECT FROM SUPERVISORS

To make sure its training solutions are responsiveto these challenges, AchieveGlobal conductedresearch in 2003 and 2004 to zero in on whatthought leaders were saying, and also to identifywhat the managers of supervisors saw as thegreatest training needs.

Here are the issues they identified, listed in theorder of relative importance:

Motivating others. “Motivating is the key skillrequired in business,” said one U.K. manager.Described by another as “getting employees tobelieve in what they are doing,” managers putthis skill at the top of their list. They recognizethat in this day and age commitment, creativity,and extra effort are required from everyone if theorganization is to achieve its goals. It’s notenough for employees to simply do their jobs;they must feel the motivation to go that extramile.

Adapting to new and changing situations—and helpingothers do the same. What new supervisors define asconfusing job responsibilities, managers see asmanaging change. Managers know routine is a

thing of the past. They want supervisors who feelcomfortable dealing with the ambiguity anduncertainty that accompany change. “Frontlinemanagers must be able to adapt to new andchanging situations,” said one U.S. manager.They must also be prepared to “communicatechanges and the reasons for them to the organi-zation’s people.”

Understanding the organization’s goals, and using themto motivate employees and determine work priorities.Managers, who wished they’d known moreabout the corporate big picture when they startedout, see this as even more critical for today’s newsupervisors. They want supervisors who “areaware of the organization’s mission and goals,”who have a “knowledge of the core business ofthe company,” and who “understand the compet-itive environment they are operating in.”

New supervisors are often unsure what theyshould be spending their time on. They want tobe told what to do, but sometimes there’s no onewith the time to tell them—or no one whoknows. The only fixed point is likely to be thedepartment’s or organization’s goals or objec-tives. Everyone, supervisors included, needs tolearn how to use them as their points of naviga-tion—and as motivating descriptions of thefuture.

IF I’D ONLY KNOWN

We asked managers what they wished they’dknown when they first became supervisors. Here’s asampling of what they said:

• The corporate big picture and how to work it

• How to delegate

• How to win people over

• How to manage up

• The difference between earning respect and earning friendship

• How to trust my staff


Establishing productive relationships with theirmanagers. One of the challenges managers cite isthe need for supervisors to work more independ-ently while still keeping their managers in theloop. Often first-time supervisors expect toomuch direction from their own managers. Inreality, senior leaders want supervisors whoreport to them to start exercising their own judg-ment. At the same time, they want to work out aform of communication that keeps both of theminformed so there will be no surprises.

Making a smooth transition into supervision. In thesurvey managers referred to two types of prob-lems for first-time supervisors. On the one handthey cited supervisors who were “above them-selves,” had a “big head,” and an attitude of“their way is the only way.”

On the other hand, they saw problems withsupervisors who “have a hard time jumping inand taking charge,” who “shy away from conflictor reprimanding employees when necessary,” andwho in general “lack the confidence” to do agood job.

Managers want supervisors to “do” less and leadmore. “They need a better understanding of thedifference between leading and doing,” said onerespondent. “They need to learn not to fear trust-ing their direct reports and to give them thefreedom to learn and to fail.” “Technical expertspromoted to management need special coach-ing,” said one respondent.

Managers recognize the difficulty at the humanlevel for first-time supervisors. Respondentsspoke of the difficulty of moving “from being afriend to being a leader.” So, while somemanagers cited supervisors who “maintainedtheir loyalty to their old friends” to the detrimentof the work, others talked about the unrealisticexpectations for instant respect. “Respect, liketrust, must be earned,” said one manager. Theywant supervisors to shift their focus from thework to the people in their workgroups who dothe work—understanding and supporting their

needs, developing their abilities, makingresources available, and removing roadblocks.

Delegating. Managers indicated the skill of dele-gating is vital to a new supervisor’s success—andalso the most challenging. New supervisors andmanagers haven’t necessarily developed peopleskills; their focus too often tends to be on thework itself, and how to do it, rather than on howto assign projects in order to maximize commit-ment and results.

A poor job of delegating can result in a disgrun-tled employee, failed results, and a lot of extrawork for the supervisor. When delegating is donewell, all the pieces of the puzzle come together.Employees are motivated to contribute their bestwork, they feel good about what they are doing,and they often gain valuable skills and experi-ence. Supervisors, for their part, can get theresults they want with the least amount ofeffort—without either over- or under-managingthe process.

Following through on assignments to ensureresults is another aspect of delegating that super-visors need help with, according to the managersin these surveys. Some inexperienced supervisorssimply “dump and run,” assuming the job will bedone, and later become angry when they find outotherwise. Others micro-manage, which in addi-tion to driving the other person crazy, alsocreates a passive employee who will never learnto work independently.

Many managers fault new supervisors for a lackof planning. Novice supervisors often don’trealize how much thought goes into effectivedelegation: Should the task be delegated? Whowould be the best choice? What kind of supportis he or she likely to need?

MAKING THE MOST OF A TEACHING MOMENT

Despite all the challenges facing first-time super-visors and managers, there’s a big positive builtinto this transition: most first-timers soon recog-nize what they’re in for. They are usually veryopen to—and even desperate for—help.

• With so many new and unfamiliar responsibil-ities threatening to overwhelm them, they wantto know where to focus their efforts.

• They need strategiesthey can masterquickly that willhelp them deal withas many as possibleof the problems andissues they are likelyto run up againstfrom the very start.

• They want people skills they can put to imme-diate use—and then build on as they gain in ex-perience and take on more responsibility.

THREE HALLMARKS OF THE SUCCESSFUL SUPERVISOR

Thanks to its research, combined with years ofexperience helping organizations developproductive workforces, AchieveGlobal has iden-tified the three hallmarks most critical to enablefirst-time supervisors and managers to assumenew responsibilities and improve their ability tosupervise the work of others:

• Building personal credibility

• Activating work group commitment

• Engaging management support

Hallmark 1: Building personal credibilityAs organizations become less hierarchical, posi-tional authority means less as a hallmark of lead-ership than personal credibility. Personal credibil-ity is neither an attitude nor a quality. It’s aperception others form of you, based on their

assessment of your actions over time. Once afrontline employee or individual contributorsteps up to supervision, everything they do andsay will be carefully noted by members of theirworkgroup and others in the organization. Dotheir words match their actions? Do they keeptheir promises? Are they willing to take on thetough issues?

There are several ways to build personal credibility:

• Respect others.

• Acknowledge mistakes; admit it when youdon’t have the answer; be willing to learn fromothers.

• Follow through.

• Give others credit.

• Work hard to remove obstacles for your workgroup and to get them the resources they need.

Being known as personally credible helps super-visors achieve success by:

• Buying some slack when he or she may notknow what to do or does the wrong thing—especially during the initial transition to super-visor.

• Making it easier to convince others of new orunpopular ideas or directives. If employeestrust their supervisor, in other words, they’ll bemore likely to buy into what the supervisorsays.

• Earning a novice supervisor or manager theright to exert leadership.

Hallmark 2: Activating work group commitmentThese days, organizations cannot succeed simplyby maintaining business as usual. Creativity andextra effort are required on the part of everyemployee from the president to the frontlineworker. Successful supervisors and managersknow how to activate their employees’ energyand dedication.


THE GOOD NEWS

Most first-time supervisors are opento—and even desperate for—help.


Creating commitment begins with helpingemployees see the connection between their dailyactivities and the organization’s goals. First, ofcourse, you need to know the organization’sgoals yourself and understand the reasons behindthem.

Successful supervisors gain workgroup commit-ment by:

• Creating a sense that the workgroup is doingsomething worthwhile

• Showing how the work of each employee fitsinto the bigger picture

• Making sure employees have clear directions,and know how they will be measured

• Listening carefully to employees, and providingsupportive feedback on their performance

• Including employees in idea-generating and de-cision-making

• Creating a sense of ownership of the work

Fully committed employees will use their owningenuity and dedication to “go the extra mile”to help reach organizational goals. The supervi-sor can spend less time giving directions andmaking sure everyone is doing his or her job, andmore time on higher priorities.

Hallmark 3: Engaging management supportIt’s natural for novice supervisors and managersto focus on their workgroups. Successful supervi-sors, however, know that without a solid rela-tionship with their managers, they can’t count onthe support they need to achieve results.

The best relationships are focused not on “pleas-ing the boss,” but on establishing an alliancebetween partners. Supervisors can help develop a

mutually supportive relationship with theirmanagers by:

• Knowing what’s important to the manager, andworking to support it

• Offering the manager solutions, not just prob-lems

• Periodically clarifying what they need fromtheir managers

• Keeping their manager up to date on any issueshe or she is expected to report on

• Asking directly for help when necessary, ratherthan waiting for the manager to offer it

Supervisors who enjoy strong relationships withtheir managers know they will be supported intheir daily decisions because the manager has aclear and current understanding of the situation.The manager will therefore be more inclined tosupport the supervisor when he or she needsextra resources or to have obstacles removed.

A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE

Even without a crystal ball, it seems clear thatfuture organizations are going to need moreemployees at all levels who can work independ-ently. As long as change continues as a dominanttheme, supervisors will need to rely on the threestrategies of success. These will give first-timesupervisors and managers the traction they needto hit the ground running without losing theirbalance. As they gain experience, they willencounter situations requiring new skills—coaching, resolving disputes, correcting perform-ance, and conducting performance evaluations—but the three hallmarks will remain central totheir success.


ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Utilizing an independent sample of managers ofall levels—managers, senior managers, directors,vice presidents, and the C-level—an on-linesurvey was administered specifically focusing onthe skills required for those new to the frontlineor supervisory role. The survey was administeredboth in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2003 and in Asiaand other European countries in 2004. Surveyswere completed by 273 U.S. managers and 204U.K. managers within organizations employing50 or more. In order to validate findings acrossother geographic areas, a similar survey wascompleted by 35 managers in Europe and Asia.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mark Marone, Ph.D., is AchieveGlobal’s seniorresearch manager. He has more than 13 years ofacademic and private sector experience inresearch and consulting on issues such aseconomic development, corporate strategy, andbusiness policy. His career includes being a senioranalyst with Nielsen Media Research, where hewas responsible for analyzing market data forkey national media accounts. He also served asdirector of research at the Global Business Infor-mation Network, a research firm that providesinternational consulting to businesses in theMidwest. In addition, he spent several years as amanagement consultant with KPMG, LLC, andas a client services manager with SterlingResearch Group, Inc.

Mark has written extensively on topics such ashigh technology industries, economic develop-ment, and corporate strategy in the telecommu-nications industry. He has been a featuredspeaker and presented research findings atnumerous international academic conferences.

He earned a Ph.D. from Indiana University,where he has held several academic posts. He iscurrently an adjunct professor of management atthe University of South Florida.

In 2003 Mark co-authored a book on salesperformance, Secrets of Top-Performing Sales-people.

He is also a member of the American MarketingAssociation and Marketing Research Associa-tion.

Chris Blauth is senior product manager for lead-ership with AchieveGlobal. Since joining theAchieveGlobal product management team, Chrishas been responsible for maximizing revenue fornumerous products through the creation andexecution of product management strategy. Healso guides the organization to develop andmaintain products that meet the training industry’s current and future needs. Chris’ recentaccomplishments include the launch of GenuineLeadershipTM, AchieveGlobal’s newest leadershipproduct system. Chris also launched classroomsales training seminars and an asynchronousWeb-based tool designed to reinforce skillstaught in AchieveGlobal’s flagship salesprogram, Professional Selling SkillsTM. Chris hasalso facilitated AchieveGlobal’s popular salesperformance and leadership courses. Prior tojoining AchieveGlobal, Chris spent seven yearswith Leica Microsystems, Inc., holding financialanalyst and product manager positions. Chrisearned a B.S. (accounting and finance) from theUniversity at Buffalo and an M.B.A. in marketingfrom Canisius College. Chris is a member of BetaGamma Sigma Honor Society and the AmericanManagement Association.


ABOUT ACHIEVEGLOBAL

AchieveGlobal is the world leader in helpingorganizations translate business strategies intobusiness results by developing the skills andperformance of their people. We are a singleresource for aligning employee performance withorganizational strategy through training andconsulting solutions in customer service, leader-ship and teamwork, and sales performance.

With offices throughout North America and apresence on every continent, we serve more than70 countries and offer programs and services inmore than 35 languages and dialects. We contin-ually adapt and translate our programs and serv-ices to meet the needs of global cultures.

©2005 AchieveGlobal, Inc. No. M01068 v.1.0 (1/05)

Strategy to ResultsThrough People