Hey, Look at Me!!

LOOK and LISTEN. When you become a new supervisor your fellow supervisors immediately become your best resource. Don’t overlook them!! You can definitely tell the good ones from the not so good ones. Learn from them all.

I got my Bachelors Degree through Southern Illinois University – in Florida. It was a full program except the instructors weren’t professors that have been in a classroom for 15 years. They were actual working medical directors, finance officers, and administrators. I didn’t get taught with a 10 year old text book. I got the most up-to-date and firsthand information possible. The information that I learned made much more sense to me that way. This is the same thing you’re going to be doing. Take advantage of it.

Look and listen to how your fellow supervisors handle different situations. Note the impact their decisions have on staff, other supervisors, and customers. Compare the “tough guys” and “nice guys”. Do staff want to work for them? Do they want to come to work? Are they productive? How are their attitudes towards staff? Are they working together, or as individuals?

Once you begin to gain knowledge, you have to put it into practice. Keep these four things in mind:
- Take time to assess problems. What works and what doesn’t? Why or why not? Remember that "Rome wasn’t built in a day". Concentrate on the most important issues first.
- Take a close look at yourself. What do you do that helps or hinders staff in doing their jobs? Do you support them and the organizations rules and goals?
- Try out the things you’ve learned from observing other supervisors.
- Step back and watch what happens --- You’ll see the difference you’re making.