Effective Supervisory Practices: Better Results through Teamwork 4th edition

1. Effective Supervisory Practices: Better Results through Teamwork4th edition Prepared for the Effective Supervisory Skill Building Course

2. Lesson 1 An Orientation to Effective Supervisory Skill Building

3. Learning objectives • After completing this lesson, you should be able to • List course goals and explain how the course will meet these goals • List common characteristics and skills of effective supervisors • Recognize your own strengths and weaknesses as a supervisor • Identify individual learning objectives and/or goals for the Effective Supervisory Skill Building course, as well as some strategies for achieving these goals. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

4. Lesson 1 Notes and Guidelines for Activities

5. Lesson 2 Taking on the Job of Supervisor

6. Learning objectives • After completing this lesson, you should be able to • Describe the need for effective supervision • List skills and characteristics of effective supervisors • Discuss changes in employee expectations and attitudes, and what these changes imply for supervisors. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

7. Chapter 1 The Supervisor’s Job in a Changing Environment

8. “In organizations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions.” • Margaret Wheatly Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

9. Compared with those of the 1970s, today’s local governments . . . • Are more complex • Employ more people with nongovernmental backgrounds • Provide a broader scope of services • Have more influence on citizens’ daily lives • Tend to be flatter organizations, with more emphasis on teams. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

10. 1970s Relatively predictable Power based Competitive Emphasis on independent work Emphasis on “working harder” Today Uncertain Relationship based Cooperative Emphasis on team work Emphasis on “working smarter” How the workplace has changed Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

11. Four factors changing the character of local government • Demographic changes • Technological changes • Changes in legal accountability • Shifts in employees’ expectations and attitudes Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

12. Demographic changes • Increasing cultural diversity • Aging population • Managing a diverse workforce means being more flexible and adaptable, and keeping up with new trends. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

13. Technological changes • Internet and e-mail • Computer advances • Cell phones • These and other technological advances have made possible telecommuting and other flexible work arrangements. • Clarity about expectations and accountability have become increasingly important. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

14. Legal accountability • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) • Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • These and other state and federal mandates help supervisors by providing a standard of conduct and fair treatment. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

15. Legal accountability • State and federal mandates may also • Increase the complexity of managing the workforce • Reduce supervisors’ flexibility • Add to administrative burdens • Diffuse responsibility for the implementation of public policy • Expose local governments to greater risk of litigation. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

16. To protect the organization from lawsuits, supervisors must be proactive. They must keep records, refer to departmental policies and procedures, and focus on objective outcomes and results. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

17. Changes in employees expectations and attitudes • Many employees today • Expect their jobs to fulfill needs for friendship, affirmation, and acceptance • Seek a balance between work and home • View their talents and skills as commodities to be marketed • See their careers as cyclical, not linear • Look for jobs that are interesting, meaningful, and enjoyable. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

18. Top-down hierarchical management is giving way to self-managed teams in which the supervisor plays the role of liaison. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

19. Four fundamental tasks of supervisors • Achieving predefined results and outcomes • Sustaining a spirit of teamwork and cooperation • Continually developing the skills and talents of employees • Fostering a work environment that is flexible but in which accountability is maintained Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

20. To build good working relationships, • Respect and listen to employees • Help set goals • Involve employees in decisions • Communicate frequently • Delegate responsibility effectively • Find the right balance between being “one of the gang” and being the person in charge • Relate to everyone on the work team equally well • Be fair, compassionate, and predictable. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

21. If you are not quite sure how to be a better supervisor, try asking your employees. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

22. To cultivate a management attitude, • Learn the larger goals and processes of the organization • Help employees understand how their work fits into the organization’s goals and processes • Encourage employees to develop a forward-looking attitude. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

23. Do your employees work as hard when you are away from the job site as when you are there? Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

24. Questions for the supervisor to help measure the strength of a workplace • Do I know what is expected of me? • Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? • In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? • Does my supervisor, or someone else, care about me as a person? • Is there someone who encourages my development? • Do my opinions seem to count? • In the last six months, has someone talked to me about my progress? Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

25. Lesson 2 Notes and Guidelines for Activities

26. What are the major entities to which you are accountable? What groups influence your role as a supervisor? Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

27. Entities to which you are accountable • Yourself • Your employees or work team • Your supervisor and management • Citizens and other customers of the local government Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

28. What qualities or characteristics are important for an effective government employee?List and prioritize at least five qualities or characteristics. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

29. Small-group assignment: “Whom Should We Hire?” • Turn to Worksheet 2-3 and read the case study. • Work as a group to come to consensus on who would be the best candidate for the job. • Rank all four candidates, from the most to the least appropriate. Be prepared to defend your decision. • You have 15 minutes. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

30. Small-group assignment:Finding your replacement • You have just been promoted, and your supervisor has asked you to interview candidates to help find your replacement. You are to pay particular attention to supervisory characteristics and skills. • Work as a group to identify skills that are most important in leading your work group. List these on a flipchart. • Then, work individually to develop at least five questions that you would ask applicants during a job interview to help determine whether the candidates would be good supervisors. (Do not share these with one another.) • You have 30 minutes. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

31. What changes have occurred in your community and/or organization? How have these changes affected the supervisor’s job? • Demographic changes • Technological changes • Changes in legal accountability • Shifts in employees’ expectations and attitudes Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

32. Small-group assignment:Changing expectations and attitudes • Discuss your individual responses to Worksheet 2-4. Come to consensus on the top three values, and record these on the flipchart. • Post your responses where they can be seen by the rest of the class. • You have 15 minutes. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

33. Lesson 3 Leading the Work Team

34. Learning objectives • After completing this lesson, you should be able to • Explain the difference between leading and managing • List the essential elements of team building • Explain why leadership is a two-way process • (continued) Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

35. Learning objectives (continued) • After completing this lesson, you should be able to • Identify common characteristics and capabilities of effective leaders • List the three sources of influence that leaders have on the members of their work teams and the three conditions for influence • Identify ways to improve leadership skills and practices. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

36. Chapter 2 Basic Supervisory Skills

37. “We believe that civilized society cannot function effectively without effective government.” • David Osborne and Ted Gaebler Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

38. Competing values framework:Categories of management and leadership skills • Clan skills • Adhocracy skills • Market skills • Hierarchy skills Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

39. Clan skills • Communicating supportively • Building teams and teamwork • Empowering Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

40. Adhocracy skills • Solving problems creatively • Articulating a vision • Fostering innovation Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

41. Market skills • Motivating others • Gaining power and influence • Managing conflict Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

42. Hierarchy skills • Managing personal stress • Managing time • Maintaining self-awareness • Analytical problem solving Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

43. A mission statement is • A clear, succinct description of an ideal future • A call to direct action • A foundation for setting goals. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

44. Questions a mission statementmight address • What is our purpose? • Why do we do what we do? • What are the essential and nonessential elements of our programs and services? • Where do we need to be as a team? Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

45. The purpose of goals • To serve as a target • To state exactly what must be done, who must do it, and when it must be completed • To foster trust throughout a work group or organization • To provide a means for measuring progress • To help set priorities Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

46. When a work group becomes a team, • Workers gain a sense of belonging • The whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

47. The supervisor’s responsibilities as team leader • Involving employees in decision making • Delegating • Identifying and resolving problems • Making jobs more interesting and rewarding • Integrating employees’ personal goals into organizational goals • Evaluating progress • Determining when goals have been met Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

48. Supervisors who identify and resolve problems early on • Are approachable • Budget the time to evaluate potential risks within the context of the work team’s mission and goals, and the organization’s expected outcomes • Actively watch for small signs of trouble • Look for trends or patterns that may indicate that a problem is developing. Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005

49. Chapter 3 Supervisory Leadership

50. “When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’” • Lao-tzu Effective Supervisory Skill Building, @ICMA 2005