Suddenly I'm a supervisor

[Anonymous]

We just had a major reorganization at work and I am now a supervisor of a couple people. I was not asked if I wanted this, I did not apply for it. I was just told, you are now supervising these people. When I talked to them today after the announcement I sensed a lot of tension. How do I prepare for this change? I feel like I've been put in a really tough situation with no guidance. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Don't they encourage you to take leadership/management courses?

I work for a school system, and before moving "up" in the ranks, we must work on our A&S degree (admin. and supervision).

Look around; I'm sure you'll find courses offered through universities or other professional development programs.

Are you required to evaluate them, too? That's a whole other issue b/c you should be familiar with the criteria. But actually, this is the way to start b/c you're working with the end in mind by examining what makes an employee exemplary.

In terms of attitude, you'll always come up against people who will try to undermine your authority - especially if these people have been in the business longer than you have (which doesn't always translate into being better leaders).

You'll also have to find your leadership style, which may take some time. If you end up having a good crew, you'll be able to delegate tasks, knowing they'll get the job done. Early on, however, they'll most likely test you. So step back and do some hard core analysis first. And document - even if it's non-evaluative.

So - 1) Take a course (courses). 2) Become familiar with the evaluation system and plan with that in mind, which may mean gathering some data on performance along the way so that people become aware of their strengths and weaknesses sooner rather than later. 3) Stay organized. Keep a time line of projects with checklists and keep track of performance along the way. Keep the big picture in mind by looking at end goals. So visuals, charts, etc. can be helpful.

Hang in there. They must have seen leadership potential in you to suddenly push you up.

[Anonymous]

I agree with everything PP said. I'll add one thing - don't change anything for now. Keep everything running as it was until you evaluate and do some analysis.

For those trying to test you (and they will), don't let them walk all over you.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for the suggestions! This is much appreciated. I am going to do evaluations and one person is a known problem so I think that's what is making me nervous.

- OP

[Anonymous]

Wait a minute. One person is a known problem? Is someone trying to pass off some unpleasant dealings to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for the suggestions! This is much appreciated. I am going to do evaluations and one person is a known problem so I think that's what is making me nervous.

- OP

Check out the library for the many books on evaluations.

[Anonymous]

Unleash hell!

They will clearly never love you; let them fear you.

Threaten them with the spectre of unemployment lines in the dead of winter.

Make it an evisceration, not an evaluation.

But also a good idea to intersperse your reign of terror with occasional more conciliatory noises - say things like:
"If you play fair by me, I'll play fair by you. But if you take so much as one step out of line I will be down on you like a tonne of bricks!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. One person is a known problem? Is someone trying to pass off some unpleasant dealings to you?

I don't think so. I had a long talk with this person's current supervisor and I'm pretty sure this change wasn't her idea. I won't be doing the upcoming evaluation, but the one after that. Although if issues come up on a day to day basis, which they already have and it's only my first day on this, I will be dealing with those. Sigh.

[stpickrell]

Major re-orgs like this w/o warning? Sounds to me like you're being set up to fail.

I'd start floating my resume around, doubly so if the company's doing cutbacks, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP,
Does the restructuring make sense to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,
Does the restructuring make sense to you?

It does. We've gotten huge but have been relying on the same structure that we had when we were small. This change is supposed to better streamline functions across all our offices instead of having each office with everything localized. Nobody was laid off. At least not so far.

The lack of any warning was shocking. I had no idea this was in the works. I hope I'm not being set up to fail. I can't exactly refuse the new responsibilities. I am looking around but with the job market the way it is...

[Anonymous]

Donuts. I'm serious. I'm a supervisor, and I hold my team to some pretty strict standards. The timelines and the quality of the end product are non-negotiable, but I'm fairly flexible on how they get things done. And, I regularly bring in donuts.