Supervisory Skills for New Managers

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bob Mitchell, Integrated Management Group

Tips and tricks for helping new supervisors assume a leadership role within their companies and succeed in the electrical industry

New supervisors play a key role in any organization's growth and development for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that their main responsibility is creating a link between technical employees and upper management. Not only do new managers have a huge impact on the bottom line of most organizations, but they also represent their firms 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making them business agents for their respective companies in a sense.

Businesses, professional practices, health care facilities, and government agencies have learned that success comes to organizations that train and prepare their supervisors in effective leadership skills. Electrical contracting firms are no exception. In order for them to get a competitive edge in today's ever-changing marketplace, these firms must be dedicated to employee development. Traditionally, contractors have placed a high value on the technical skill of their employees, but many have left the leadership skills to trial and error for new supervisors. This no longer has to be the case, thanks to the availability of various avenues of training opportunities these days. No matter how an organization chooses to implement training, it's important to focus on the development of certain key traits in its new managers.

The following core skills are critical for new supervisors:

Effective supervisory skills and best practices.
Knowledge of legal considerations for supervisors on and off the job.
Effective communication and leadership skills coupled with a vision toward goal achievement.
Ability to motivate others toward established company directives.

Let's take a look at how each of these principles is put into action in the real world.

Supervisory skills

Because so many companies have historically relied on the trial-and-error method in this industry to develop effective supervisory skills, supervisors have made mistakes because they didn't know any better or simply lacked the training to make better choices. Some of these supervisors learned from their experiences, improving their leadership skills, while others continued to struggle.

By examining both successful and unsuccessful supervisors, certain precedents have been set. Knowing and adopting commonalities or best practices of effective supervisors provide a more productive work environment, higher morale, less stress, safer work habits, and a better advancement opportunity for supervisors. Additionally, knowing and learning from the mistakes of unsuccessful supervisors can assist managers in overcoming obstacles. Following is a list of the top 10 mistakes most new supervisors make:

Seizing power and attempting to hold onto it.
Failing to solicit feedback.
Delegating without authorizing.
Reprimanding employees in the presence of others.
Supervising everyone the same way.
Keeping the interesting work for themselves.
Siding with team members.
Distancing themselves from those they supervise.
Promoting an “us-vs.-them” attitude.
Engaging in illegal behaviors.

Identifying mistakes before they happen and knowing competencies of other successful supervisors will allow for an easier transition into the new supervisor role. With illegal behavior rounding out the top 10 list, it's especially important to examine the ramifications of such actions.

Legal issues

Supervisors who are not familiar with legal issues may unknowingly break the law. For example, working in an environment with a collective bargaining agreement will only give them guidelines that have been negotiated between the employer and the employee's representatives.