Super Employee vs Supervisor
“There are 10 skills that every manager should know. What got them to where they are, will not take them to where they need to be.”
Most people do not start out as managers or supervisors; they start their careers as employees just like everyone else. If you are a supervisor, I assume this is how you started your career as well. But along the way, something happened to you. It’s like something clicked in your mind. You said to yourself… “I am going to be good at my job!” You came to work on time, kept the right attitude and did what it took to become very adept at your job. Like any other perfectionist, you worked hard to master your position. You tackled every problem and figured out the best way to solve each situation. You became so good at solving problems that your co-workers began to come to you with their own conundrums. Managers and supervisors would sneak in and say… “I need your help.” And in your mind you would think… “You sure do!”
You were no longer just a mere employee, a transformation had taken place. You went from being an employee like everyone else, to what I like to call a SUPER employee!
No problem was too difficult. For every situation, you had a method for dealing with that particular problem. One day the powers-that-be came by and said to themselves… “WOW! A SUPER employee! Let’s make ‘em a SUPERvisor.” But they forgot to tell you the big secret…
When you were a SUPER employee, 100% of your time was devoted to doing your job. You handled every problem with he greatest of ease. One the other hand, when you became a SUPERvisor, 80% of your time was now devoted to dealing with people. And dealing with people means dealing with their problems.
Most employees have a life of their own, and they tend to make bad choices from time to time. They will bring their problems to work with them, too, because it’s a part of their life. You could put up a big neon sign at work that read… “Please DO NOT bring your problems to work!” but they will walk right by that sign and think that it doesn’t apply to them.
Whose job is it to handle these problems at work so that your employees stay productive? Welcome to the world of supervisors: You’re It.
Human nature tells us that when we are faced with a problem, we are more likely to lean on what we are good at to solve that problem. What are you good at? You are good at being a SUPER employee. So you tend to lean on your SUPER employee skills to solve your SUPERvisor problems, and that is why you hear managers make statements such as… “By the time I show them how to do it, I can do it myself!”
Unfortunately, when you use a SUPER employee technique to try and solve a SUPERvisor problem, it just makes the problem worse. You see, for every problem there is a “technique” to solve that problem. This has been going on since the dawning of time. Early man grew tired of raw food so they developed “techniques” to master fire. In your life “techniques” have been used countless times. We use “techniques” to make our lives easier or to put it on autopilot.
You learned a lot of your “techniques” from your parents growing up. Your parents used “techniques” on you all the time. Do you remember when you were a teenager and you would go and ask your parents for money? This presented a problem for your parents. They did not want to give you their hard-earned money to go and blow on something trivial. This is when they would pull out some of their techniques to try and solve this problem. See if you remember any of these…
“Mom and/or Dad, can I have some money?”
Technique #1: “Money doesn’t grow on trees!”
Technique #2: “Go get a job.”
I would bet you have used those “techniques” on your children, as well. In management, there are “techniques” designed to solve the problems you encounter with your people.
There are people out there who are experts in the field of management and human behavior. Their job is to design and develop “techniques” that build productivity and reduce problems. These “techniques” are what you, the manager, should know and use on a daily basis. You should be well versed in these “techniques”.
For every problem in management there is a “technique” to handle that problem. When you get to the place where you have a “technique” for every situation and you can dispel problems with the greatest of ease, that is called a “skill”. The more “skills” you have as a SUPERvisor the more valuable you become to your company.
In my audio series “Strategic Management: The REAL DEAL on How to Supervise People” I talk about the top ten skills that companies feel make you the most valuable to them. You must master these skills if you are going to be a true SUPERvisor. These skills are designed to build productivity and reduce problems, and they are a necessity to every manager. Unfortunately, most managers are just Super employees masquerading as SUPERvisors. Make a commitment to learn these supervisory skills today, and increase your employee’s morale, watch your accomplishments soar, and add more value to your work- and you.
The REAL DEAL
Jeff Compton
