Congratulations! You are about to make the move from an individual contributor to supervisor. In this article we are going to discuss 10 soft skills and techniques you must implement in order to be a well-rounded supervisor. 1. Maintain Clear and Concise Communications – You must always clearly explain to your staff what needs to be done. Everyone should know their priorities, when projects are due and why they have to do certain things. Keep an open door policy so people can bring questions when needed. 2. Have The Necessary Expertise – To be able to supervise, you must have a high level of expertise in your area. Nobody wants to work for someone who does not know anything about their products, services, policies or procedures. As a supervisor you were probably promoted because you knew these areas but it is important to keep up with all the corporate changes. 3. Be Able To Delegate – One of the hardest things to do when you make the move from an individual contributor to a supervisor is to delegate. This is especially true when it would take five minutes to do it yourself but thirty minutes to teach someone else Remember, after you taught, and subsequently delegated the process, you will no longer have to do it yourself. Your staff must learn these things because you will have your hands full handling your own work load as well as managing. 4. Have Leadership Ability – Show your staff confidence by projecting that you not only know your staff but yourself as well Don’t hide in your office... get out among your people. It is a good idea to touch base with everyone first thing every morning to get a quick status report and let them know your concerns. 5. Be Organized – Know all your groups priorities and schedules. Keep organized and provide your staff with all the tools they need. Never forget reviews or planned promotions. 6. Accept Change –Corporate America has one similarity: Change. Accept that change is inevitable and embrace it. Once you find out about changes, put a plan together to present to your staff. If you do that, they will not center on the change as much as the new plan. It also helps them feel that there is some corporate control going on in the organization. 7. Always Stay Motivated - Don’t let the staff see you sweat lose your temper or appear disgusted. You must always be upbeat and positive. Employees will have a tendency to match the emotions of their leadership. If you are upset, they will reflect the same emotion. So always be positive with a “can-do” attitude. 8. Have Good Ethics – As a leader, it is important to consistently maintain high work ethics and values. It is very important to be sincere, honest, trustworthy and fair. 9. Build An Efficient Team – The magic to a successful organization is in building a super star team. People can do fantastic things in a team and they start motivating themselves. Remember to understand the importance of mentoring and coaching employees when building teams. 10. Criticize And Praise - As a supervisor you must always let people know how they are performing, one way or another. Without feedback they would otherwise never know. Some people may think they are doing great when, in reality, they are missing the mark completely. Jim Stedt is a partner at The Business SoftSkills Company (GetSoftSkillsNow.Com) located in Santa Ana, California. They provide job readiness and workforce success videos for education, business, prisons and individual use. Training is available online, on DVD, or through an affiliate program. These products are the most complete and concise soft skills training packages now available for the price of an average college textbook.
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