Promotion has new challenges

By ANGELA McCARTHY

You're a good worker and enjoy your workmates. Then you get a promotion to supervisor and find yourself on the other side. How do you cope?

Do you come down hard to show you're boss? Do you turn a blind eye to negative behaviour because you still want to be one of the gang?

Such dilemmas are common, says Vivienne Broderick of Training Matters. She runs one-day introductory supervision programmes for the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which focus on people management, covering assertiveness, conflict management, delegation, and influencing skills.

But the starting point is relationship strategies.

"We are motivated by different things, so each person needs to be handled differently. It is very important to know the person you manage," she says.

Developing assertiveness is also important, says Broderick, who came to New Zealand from South Africa nine years ago.

She finds many Kiwis to be passive-aggressive: "a calm front, but angry underneath. I think it's because they don't know how to say what they want."

We're also reluctant to tell our mates what to do, which can make the transition to supervisor difficult.

"Your role has changed," says Employers and Manufacturers Association education and training services manager George Gerard, who runs leadership supervision courses. "For example, as supervisor you have to police a company regulation that you may have been party to ignoring before."

New supervisors may have been promoted from outside, chosen for their people skills rather than technical nous - and that presents its own hurdles.

Nine months ago, Shirley Field moved from payroll system administrator to supervisor of the kilns, defect saws and packaging departments of Carter Holt Harvey Tokoroa Remanufacturing.

As well as being a new kid on the block with no production experience, Field was the first woman to take up that role and had a team leader reporting to her who had wanted the job.

"People were very wary," she says. "I had to set out to build credibility with my departments to earn their respect."

Her approach? To be as supportive as possible, deciding on time frames collectively and making sure she didn't promise anything she couldn't do.

Good communication is essential, she says. "You also have to be open and honest and able to have a laugh."

Karen Boytes, organisational development manager of Ecopine, a CHH business unit, says traditionally supervisors weren't expected to have people skills and some staff struggle with the idea it's necessary.

But a good supervisor needs knowledge of the job, coaching and mentoring skills, the ability to get staff behind them, and deliver results, says Boytes.

All three trainers say delegation and communication skills are vital. However, because supervisors are ultimately accountable for whatever the department does, newcomers can find it hard to leave others to get on with it.

Good delegation involves agreeing on steps to be taken, ensuring the staffer feels capable, explaining expectations, offering any necessary back-up or resources, and setting up workable timeframes and deadlines.

The "D word" is one Craig Bridgman struggled with when first promoted from branch manager to northern regional sales manager of Century Yuasa Batteries 12 months ago.

"I'm the type to do the job myself. I was shooting out to see a new account rather than sending a rep. Then someone quietly pointed this out to me, which was good."

Time management and prioritising are also biggies, says Bridgman. "It comes together now, but I had to work out a system that suited me. I have three folders, P1, (do now) P2 (do next) and P3 (get to when I can). It works - and I don't just bin P3," he laughs.

Such practical skills are also important because many supervisors feel they're drowning under their work load, says Broderick: "They have to learn to let go. The problem is that sometimes people are identified as having potential, but they're not taught how to supervise."

* The Auckland Chamber of Commerce runs Supervision Essentials on August 15, October 17 and November 28. Contact 580 1470 or check Chamber Training

The Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) runs Effective Leadership Supervision on August 27, September 17, October 15, November 5 and 26. Contact (0800) 800 362 or visit The Employers and Manufacturers Association