DEALING WITH A DEMANDING SUPERIOR
Your most difficult challenge as a new supervisor may be dealing effectively with your own boss. It is one thing to deal with a superior as a regular employee; it is another ballgame when one management person (you) must build and maintain a strong, open relationship with another. Upper management people can often be more demanding (with vastly different behavioral patterns) than those at the beginning supervisory level. This distinction does not mean you should be intimidated by a powerful person. Three suggestions might assist you in this respect.
Your new supervisor is more of an equal because you are both members of the management team.
You can initiate communications more easily because the traditional employee-boss barrier has been eliminated.
You can often be more assertive (express greater leadership) because you represent the welfare and productivity of your own team.
Your responsibility to your employees in no way means that you have less of a responsibility to build a stronger relationship with your supervisor. Just the opposite! In building these relationships, the following tips may be helpful:
Keep in mind that the more you act like a manager, the more you will be treated like one by other managers.
Be concerned with the relationship between you and your boss, and not with her or his personality. If you concentrate on the relationship, you can (with experience) get along with almost any personality your supervisor may possess, including those with unusual quirks, mannerisms, and styles of leadership.
Demonstrate productivity and quality performance first and good human relations second. You want your department to excel, but you do not want disruptive employees to go over your head by jumping the chain of command.
As a supervisor, you do not want problem employees in your department; by the same token, your superior does not want problem supervisors. He or she may be less apt to intervene and counsel you on your behavior than you would one of your own employees because it is expected that you have outgrown the need.
The more effectively you handle your own departmental problems, the more you will be appreciated.
Hopefully, your new superior will become a mentor and show you the “ropes” of upper management. Your challenge is to give her or him a reason to help you learn and succeed.
Supervisors can employ many relationship-building techniques, depending upon their styles and environments. Near the top of any list is becoming a good listener. Only when supervisors listen can they discover the special rewards their employees seek that will make the Mutual Reward Theory (MRT) effective; only through listening can problems be identified and solutions sought before they grow into major conflicts that destroy productivity.
Supervisors should remain flexible enough to accommodate harmless personal requests (like leaving early to take care of important personal business) when productivity is maintained and problems with other employees can be avoided. Consistency in style is also significant. Employees do not respond well to supervisors who are unpredictable in their behavior or in their expectations of others.
Becoming a good one-on-one counselor (Chapter 10) is another skill all supervisors need to master. The list goes on and on, but nothing—absolutely nothing—is more important than application of the five foundations outlined in the next chapter. They can literally make or break you as a supervisor.