Manual for new supervisors

Determine time frames for commencing and terminating the team, if applicable Write these times down for eventual communication to and discussion with all team members. Determine the type of team Various types of teams have various purposes. Consider use of permanent teams, committees, self-directed teams, problem solving teams, etc. See additional information provided at the end of this section. Determine the membership of the group Consider the extent of expertise needed to achieve the goals, including areas of knowledge and skills.

Include at least one person who has skills in facilitation and meeting management. Attempt to include sufficient diversity of values and perspectives to ensure robust ideas and discussion. A critical consideration is availability -- members should have the time to attend every meeting. Determine the structure of the group Structure includes the number of people in the group, how often they will meet and when and who will be the leader of the group.

Determine the process of the group Depending on the nature of the results to be produced by the group, the process might be focused on open discussion, action planning, problem solving and decision making, generating recommendations, etc. Identify any needs for training and materials For example, members might benefit from brief overview of the stages of development of a team, receive training and packets of materials in regard to their goals and the structure and process of their team, etc.

Plan the first meeting In the first meeting, communicate the goals of the team, why each member was selected, the overall benefit of the goals to the organization, the time frame for the team effort, who will lead the team at least, initially , when the team might meet and where, etc. Have this information written down to hand out to each member. Early on, plan team building activities to support trust and strong working relationships among members Team building activities can include, for example, a retreat in which members introduce themselves, exercises in which members help each other solve a short problem or meet a specific and achievable goal, extended period in which members can voice their concerns and frustrations about their team assignments, etc.

Support team meetings and processes At this point, it's critical that supervisors remain available to provide support and resources as needed. Monitor that team goals are being met. Provide ongoing encouragement and visibility to members. One of the most important forms of support a supervisor can provide is coordination with other supervisors to ensure that team members are freed up enough to attend team meetings.

Conflict Management in Groups. Group Dynamics about nature of groups, stages of group development, etc. Develop an employee orientation checklist and consider the following activities for inclusion on the list. The following activities should be conducted by the employee's supervisor. Before the employee begins employment, send them a letter welcoming them to the organization, verifying their starting date and providing them a copy of the employee policies and procedures manual.

Note that you'll dedicate time for them to discuss with manual with you later. When the employee begins employment, meet with them to explain how they will be trained, introduce them to staff, give them keys, get them to sign any needed benefit and tax forms, explain the time-recording system if applicable , and provide them copies of important documents an organization chart, last year's final report, the strategic plan, this year's budget, and the employee's policies and procedure manual if they did not get one already.

Show them the facilities , including layout of offices, bathrooms, storage areas, kitchen use, copy and fax systems, computer configuration and procedures, telephone usage, and any special billing procedures for use of office systems. Schedule any needed computer training , including use of passwords, overview of software and documentation, location and use of peripherals, and where to go to get questions answered.

Assign an employee to them as their "buddy" who remains available to answer any questions. Meet with the new employee during the first few days of employment to review the job description again. Remind them to review the employee manual and sign a form indicating they have reviewed the manual and will comply with its contents.

Review any specific goals for the position, e. In the same meeting, explain the performance review procedure and provide them a copy of the performance review document. Have one-on-one meetings with the new employee on a weekly basis for the first six weeks , to discuss the new employee's transition into the organization, get status on work activities, hear any pending issues or needs, and establish a working relationship with their supervisor.

Employee Orientation. Employee job training can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e. When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed b. To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort c. As part of an overall professional development program d. As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organization e.

To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management system f. To train about a specific topic. When planning training for your employees, it helps to understand some basics about training. Let's look at four types of training.

Informal training has no predetermined form. Examples are reading books to learn about a subject, talking to friends about the subject, attending a presentation, etc. Formal training has a predetermined form. The form usually includes specification of learning results, learning objectives and activities that will achieve the results, and how the training will be evaluated. Examples might be college courses, workshops, seminars, etc. Note that because formal training has a form, it does not necessarily mean that formal training is better than other forms.

This is probably the most common type of training and includes, for example, on-the-job training, coaching from supervisors, using manuals and procedures, advice from peers, etc.

Probably the most common form of informal training is job coaching. The supervisor, or some other expert at the subject matter or skill, tells the employee how to do something. The employee tries it. The expert watches and gives feedback.

The employee tries it until he or she gets it right. The above approach works best in tasks or jobs that include straightforward procedures or routines. As jobs and roles become more complex, employees often require more formal training. New managers and supervisors often underestimate the value of training. Or, they perceive it as occurring only in classrooms. Or, they assume that because an employee has attended a course, workshop or seminar, than he or she must have learned what they needed to know.

Or, they believe that good training can only occur from highly trained professionals. Supervisors and employees can accomplish highly effective training by following certain guidelines. The following guidelines along with additional advice and resources to fill out your training plan are included in the Complete Guidelines to Design Your Training Plan.

Are there any time lines that you should consider in your plan? Are you pursuing training and development in order to address a performance gap? Or, is your plan to address a growth gap? Or, is your plan to address an opportunity gap?

Get feedback from others 6. Should you conduct a self-assessment? Is a list of competencies, job descriptions or job analysis available to help you identify your training and development goals?

Begin thinking about how much money you will need to fund your plan. Write down your training goals. What new areas of knowledge or skills are needed to reach the training goals. Each of these new areas is a learning objectives. Write down the learning objectives. In what sequence should the learning objectives be attained? Carefully consider -- When you have achieved all of your learning objectives, will you indeed have achieved all of your overall training goals?

What are the best learning activities methods for you to achieve your learning objectives? Do your learning activities include your ongoing reflections about your learning? What observable results, or evidence of learning, will you produce from your learning activities that can be reviewed for verification of learning? Who will verify that each of your learning objectives were reached? Now that you know what activities that will be conducted, think again about any costs that will be needed, e.

How will you handle any ongoing time and stress management issues while implementing your plan? Consider if you need to obtain, or start: a.

Enrolling in courses b. Buying books c. Scheduling time with experts d. Getting a mentor e. Scheduling time with your supervisor, etc. During your training, how will you be sure that you understand the new information and materials? Will your learning be engaging and enjoyable? Are you sure that you'll receive the necessary ongoing feedback, coaching, mentoring, etc.

Where will you get necessary administrative support and materials? Who's in charge of implementing and tracking your overall plan?

Consider having a local training expert review the plan. Are approaches to evaluation included in all phases of your plan? For example, are your methods being pretested before being applied? Do you understand the methods as they're being applied?

Are regularly providing feedback about how well you understand the materials? How will the you and your supervisor, if applicable know if implementation of the plan achieves the training goals identified in the plan? Are there any plans for follow-up evaluation, including assessing your results several months after you completed your plan? Consider costs of trainers, consultants, room rental, books, tuition, labor to pay the employee while attending training, etc.

Employee Training Programs. Self-Directed Learning in the Workplace. Basic Terms in Training and Development. Reasons and Benefits for Training and Development. Basics to Know About Adult Learning. Basic Requirements of Learners in Training and Development. Some Typical Ways of Learning. Some New Ways of Learning in the Workplace. Leadership Development. Supervisoral Development. One of the common problems that new managers and supervisors experience is no clear, strong sense whether their employees are really being effective or not.

The first step toward solving this problem is to establish clear performance goals. Some people have a strong negative reaction toward setting goals because they fear goals as "the law" that must be maintained and never broken.

Some people fear they will not achieve the goals. Others have disdain for goals because goals seem to take the "heart" out their work. Despite the negative views that one can have about goals, they hold certain strong advantages in the workplace.

They: 1. Provide clear direction to both supervisor and employee 2. Form a common frame of reference around which the supervisor and employee can effectively communicate 3. Clearly indicate success, and can facilitate strong sense of fulfillment for employee and supervisor 4. Help clarify the roles of the supervisor and employee.

Performance gaps are identified during the employee performance management process. Ideally, performance gaps are addressed by performance improvement plans. In these plans, goals are established to improve performance, and may include, for example, increased effort on the part of the employee, support from the supervisor, and certain training and resources to assist the employee in their development.

Dedicated employees can greatly appreciate having specific performance goals for them to achieve in order to keep their jobs, verify their competence to their supervisor and accomplish overall professional development. Growth gaps are identified during career planning. Employees perceive certain areas of knowledge and skills that they would like to accomplish in order to qualify for certain future roles and positions.

Employees often appreciate having clear-cut goals that mark what they need to do to advance in their careers. Opportunity gaps are identified when a sudden opportunity arises for the employee. If the employee is highly interested in taking advantage of the opportunity, then he or she will appreciate knowing exactly what they need to accomplish what goals they need to achieve to grab the opportunity.

Training gaps are identified when hiring a new employee, during employee performance management or career planning. Gaps are usually in terms of areas of knowledge, skills or abilities. Training plans can be designed with clear-cut training goals to give direction to the employee and trainer. Whatever the type of goal, it's critical that the employee have strong ownership and commitment to achieving the goal.

These views can be addressed, largely by a ensuring that employees are strongly involved in identifying them, b goals are conveyed as guidelines and that they can be missed as long as there is clear explanation for missing the goals before they are missed, and c the goals are "SMARTER" more on this below.

This acronym is described in this guide, in a subsection listed above, and stands for: 1. Specific 2. Measurable 3. Acceptable 4. Realistic 5. Timely 6. Extending capabilities 7. If goals seem insurmountable to the employee, then break goals down into smaller goals, or sub-goals or objectives.

Goal Setting with Employees. The topic of motivating employees is extremely important to managers and supervisors. Despite the important of the topic, several myths persist -- especially among new managers and supervisors.

Before looking at what management can do to support the motivation of employees, it's important first to clear up these common myths.

Myth 1 -- "I can motivate people" Not really -- they have to motivate themselves. You can't motivate people anymore than you can empower them. Employees have to motivate and empower themselves. However, you can set up an environment where they best motivate and empower themselves.

The key is knowing how to set up the environment for each of your employees. Myth 2 -- "Money is a good motivator" Not really. Certain things like money, a nice office and job security can help people from becoming less motivated, but they usually don't help people to become more motivated. A key goal is to understand the motivations of each of your employees. Myth 3 -- "Fear is a damn good motivator" Fear is a great motivator -- for a very short time. That's why a lot of yelling from the boss won't seem to "light a spark under employees" for a very long time.

Myth 4 -- "I know what motivates me, so I know what motivates my employees" Not really. Different people are motivated by different things. I may be greatly motivated by earning time away from my job to spend more time my family. You might be motivated much more by recognition of a job well done.

People are motivated by the same things. Again, a key goal is to understand what motivates each of your employees. Myth 5 -- "Increased job satisfaction means increased job performance" Research shows this isn't necessarily true at all. Increased job satisfaction does not necessarily mean increased job performance. If the goals of the organization are not aligned with the goals of employees, then employees aren't effectively working toward the mission of the organization.

Myth 6 -- "I can't comprehend employee motivation -- it's a science" Nah. Not true. There are some very basic steps you can take that will go a long way toward supporting your employees to motivate themselves toward increased performance in their jobs.

More about these steps is provided later on in this article. Motivating employees starts with motivating yourself It's amazing how, if you hate your job, it seems like everyone else does, too. If you are very stressed out, it seems like everyone else is, too. Enthusiasm is contagious. If you're enthusiastic about your job, it's much easier for others to be, too.

Also, if you're doing a good job of taking care of yourself and your own job, you'll have much clearer perspective on how others are doing in theirs. A great place to start learning about motivation is to start understanding your own motivations. The key to helping to motivate your employees is to understand what motivates them. So what motivates you? Consider, for example, time with family, recognition, a job well done, service, learning, etc.

How is your job configured to support your own motivations? What can you do to better motivate yourself? Always work to align goals of the organization with goals of employees As mentioned above, employees can be all fired up about their work and be working very hard. However, if the results of their work don't contribute to the goals of the organization, then the organization is not any better off than if the employees were sitting on their hands -- maybe worse off!

Therefore, it's critical that managers and supervisors know what they want from their employees. These preferences should be worded in terms of goals for the organization. Identifying the goals for the organization is usually done during strategic planning. Whatever steps you take to support the motivation of your employees various steps are suggested below , ensure that employees have strong input to identifying their goals and that these goals are aligned with goals of the organization.

More about this later on below. Key to supporting the motivation of your employees is understanding what motivates each of them Each person is motivated by different things.

Whatever steps you take to support the motivation of your employees, they should first include finding out what it is that really motivates each of your employees. You can find this out by asking them, listening to them and observing them. Recognize that supporting employee motivation is a process, not a task Organizations change all the time, as do people. Indeed, it is an ongoing process to sustain an environment where each employee can strongly motivate themselves.

If you look at sustaining employee motivation as an ongoing process, then you'll be much more fulfilled and motivated yourself. Support employee motivation by using organizational systems for example, policies and procedures -- don't just count on good intentions Don't just count on cultivating strong interpersonal relationships with employees to help motivate them.

The nature of these relationships can change greatly, for example, during times of stress. Instead, use reliable and comprehensive systems in the workplace to help motivate employees. For example, establish compensation systems, employee performance systems, organizational policies and procedures, etc.

Also, establishing various systems and structures helps ensure clear understanding and equitable treatment of employees. The following specific steps can help you go a long way toward supporting your employees to motivate themselves in your organization.

Do more than read this article -- apply what you're reading here This maxim is true when reading any management publication. Briefly write down the motivational factors that sustain you and what you can do to sustain them This little bit of "motivation planning" can give you strong perspective on how to think about supporting the motivations of your employees. Make of list of three to five things that motivate each of your employees Read the article How to Motivate Today's Worker.

Notice the list of motivating factors in the section "Assessing Your Approach. Compare your answers to theirs. Recognize the differences between your impression of what you think is important to them and what they think is important to them.

Then meet with each of your employees to discuss what they think are the most important motivational factors to them. Lastly, take some time alone to write down how you will modify your approaches with each employee to ensure their motivational factors are being met. NOTE: This may seem like a "soft, touchy-feely exercise" to you.

If it does, then talk to a peer or your boss about it. Much of what's important in management is based very much on "soft, touchy-feely exercises". Learn to become more comfortable with them. The place to start is to recognize their importance. Work with each employee to ensure their motivational factors are taken into consideration in your reward systems For example, their jobs might be redesigned to be more fulfilling. You might find more means to provide recognition, if that is important to them.

You might develop a personnel policy that rewards employees with more family time, etc. Have one-on-one meetings with each employee Employees are motivated more by your care and concern for them than by your attention to them. Get to know your employees, their families, their favorite foods, names of their children, etc.

This can sound manipulative -- and it will be if not done sincerely. However, even if you sincerely want to get to know each of your employees, it may not happen unless you intentionally set aside time to be with each of them. Cultivate strong skills in delegation Delegation includes conveying responsibility and authority to your employees so they can carry out certain tasks.

However, you leave it up to your employees to decide how they will carry out the tasks. Skills in delegation can free up a great deal of time for managers and supervisors. It also allows employees to take a stronger role in their jobs, which usually means more fulfillment and motivation in their jobs, as well. Reward it when you see it A critical lesson for new managers and supervisors is to learn to focus on employee behaviors, not on employee personalities.

Performance in the workplace should be based on behaviors toward goals, not on popularity of employees. You can get in a great deal of trouble legally, morally and interpersonally for focusing only on how you feel about your employees rather than on what you're seeing with your eyeballs. Reward it soon after you see it This helps to reinforce the notion that you highly prefer the behaviors that you're currently seeing from your employees.

Often, the shorter the time between an employee's action and your reward for the action, the clearer it is to the employee that you highly prefer that action. Implement at least the basic principles of performance management Good performance management includes identifying goals, measures to indicate if the goals are being met or not, ongoing attention and feedback about measures toward the goals, and corrective actions to redirect activities back toward achieving the goals when necessary.

Performance management can focus on organizations, groups, processes in the organization and employees. Clearly convey how employee results contribute to organizational results Employees often feel strong fulfillment from realizing that they're actually making a difference. This realization often requires clear communication about organizational goals, employee progress toward those goals and celebration when the goals are met.

Celebrate achievements This critical step is often forgotten. New managers and supervisors are often focused on a getting "a lot done". This usually means identifying and solving problems. Experienced managers come to understand that acknowledging and celebrating a solution to a problem can be every bit as important as the solution itself.

Without ongoing acknowledgement of success, employees become frustrated, skeptical and even cynical about efforts in the organization. Let employees hear from their customers internal or external Let employees hear customers proclaim the benefits of the efforts of the employee. For example, if the employee is working to keep internal computer systems running for other employees internal customers in the organization, then have other employees express their gratitude to the employee.

If an employee is providing a product or service to external customers, then bring in a customer to express their appreciation to the employee. Admit to yourself and to an appropriate someone else if you don't like an employee -- Managers and supervisors are people. It's not unusual to just not like someone who works for you. That someone could, for example, look like an uncle you don't like.

In this case, admit to yourself that you don't like the employee. Then talk to someone else who is appropriate to hear about your distaste for the employee, for example, a peer, your boss, your spouse, etc.

Indicate to the appropriate person that you want to explore what it is that you don't like about the employee and would like to come to a clearer perception of how you can accomplish a positive working relationship with the employee. It often helps a great deal just to talk out loud about how you feel and get someone else's opinion about the situation. As noted above, if you continue to focus on what you see about employee performance, you'll go a long way toward ensuring that your treatment of employees remains fair and equitable.

Counseling addressing performance problems. Employee Performance Management. Employee Wellness Programs. Establishing Employee Performance Goals. Motivating additional articles about supporting employee motivation. Performance Management basics concepts.

Power and Influence. Rewarding Performance. Be very careful with advice -- People rarely struggle with an issue because of the lack of some specific piece of information; often, the best help is helping the person to come to a better understanding of their issue, how it developed, and how they can identify actions to address the issue more effectively. Giving and Receiving Feedback. Note that if your organization's policies about performance management indicate a specific procedure for handling performance issues, that procedure should be followed very carefully.

Otherwise, a court may interpret your official policies to be modified by how you actually handled a performance issue and you may lose protection from your related policies in court. Note that performance issues should always be based on behaviors that you see, not on characteristics of the employee's personality. Convey performance issues to employees when you see first see the issues! Don't wait until the performance review! Worse yet, don't ignore the behaviors in case they "go away.

When you first convey a performance issue to an employee, say what you noticed and would like to see instead Be specific about what you saw that you consider to be a performance problem. Ask the employee for feedback. Ask the employee if there's any special training or more resources they need to do their job. Explore if the job is configured so that most people would probably fail, and so the job needs to be redesigned.

Tell them that you want the behavior to improve. If they react strongly and claim they will quit, give them a day to think it over. In any case, remind them that you support them in their role. Consider special circumstances: You can usually fire someone if they committed certain gross acts, such as theft, blatant insubordination, a major impropriety, e.

However, if there is poor performance or chronic absenteeism because of potential verified alcoholism or depression, it's best to consult an expert to deal with this situation. Make notes about the first meeting and its results, and keep it in a file for yourself This note may come in handy later on if the performance problem persists. In the case of a corporation, you might mention the situation to your board. The board will likely be a precious and objective asset to dealing with this situation, especially if things with the employee get worse.

If the problem occurs again over the next month or two, immediately issue them a written warning In the memo, clearly specify what you saw, mention the previous meeting and its date, say the behaviors have not improved, warn them that if this occurs again over some period e.

Meet with them to provide them the memo. If you are convinced that the employee is trying hard, but can't improve, consider placing him or her elsewhere in the organization. Attempt to have this meeting on other than on a Friday.

Otherwise, employees are left to ruminate about the situation without ready access to you for at least three days. In the case of corporations, update the board. Addressing Performance Problems. Yearly performance reviews are critical. Organization's are hard pressed to find good reasons why they can't dedicate an hour-long meeting at least once a year to ensure the mutual needs of the employee and organization are being met. Performance reviews help supervisors feel more honest in their relationships with their subordinates and feel better about themselves in their supervisoral roles.

Subordinates are assured clear understanding of what's expected from them, their own personal strengths and areas for development and a solid sense of their relationship with their supervisor. Avoiding performance issues ultimately decreases morale, decreases credibility of management, decreases the organization's overall effectiveness and wastes more of management's time. Conduct the following activities. Design a legally valid performance review process; consider these legal requirements of the performance review process: Patricia King, in her book, Performance Planning and Appraisal, states that the law requires that performance appraisals be: job-related and valid; based on a thorough analysis of the job; standardized for all employees; not biased against any race, color, sex, religion, or nationality; and performed by people who have adequate knowledge of the person or job.

Be sure to build in the process, a route for recourse if an employee feels he or she has been dealt with unfairly in an appraisal process, e. The process should be clearly described in a personnel policy. Design a standard form for performance appraisals and include the name of the employee, date the performance form was completed, dates specifying the time interval over which the employee is being evaluated, performance dimensions include responsibilities from the job description, any assigned goals from the strategic plan, along with needed skills, such as communications, administration, etc.

Signatures may either specify that the employee accepts the appraisal or has seen it, depending on wording on the form. Schedule the first performance review for six months after the employee starts employment Schedule another six months later, and then every year on the employee's anniversary date.

Initiate the performance review Tell the employee that you're initiating a scheduled performance review. Remind them of what's involved in the process. Schedule a meeting about two weeks out. Have the employee suggest any updates to the job description and provide written input to the appraisal Note that by now, employees should have received the job descriptions and goals well in advance of the review, i.

The employee should also be familiar with the performance appraisal procedure and form. Have them record their input to the appraisal concurrent to the your recording yours. Have them record their input on their own sheets their feedback will be combined on the official form later on in the process. You and the employee can exchange each of your written feedback in the upcoming review meeting. Record your input to the appraisal -- always reference the job description and associated formal goals for basis of review Be sure you are familiar with the job requirements and have sufficient contact with the employee to be making valid judgments.

Don't comment on the employee's race, sex, religion, nationality, or a handicap or veteran status. Record major accomplishments, exhibited strengths and weaknesses according to the dimensions on the appraisal form, and suggest actions and training or development to improve performance. Use examples of behaviors wherever you can in the appraisal to help avoid counting on hearsay. Always address behaviors, not characteristics of personalities.

The best way to follow this guideline is to consider what you saw with your eyes. Be sure to address only the behaviors of that employee, rather than behaviors of other employees. Hold the performance appraisal meeting State the meeting's goals of exchanging feedback and coming to action plans, where necessary.

In the meeting, let the employee speak first and give their input. Respond with your own input. Then discuss areas where you disagree. Attempt to avoid defensiveness; admitting how you feel at the present time, helps a great deal. Discuss behaviors, not personalities. Avoid final terms such as "always," "never," etc. Encourage participation and be supportive. Come to terms on actions, where possible. Try to end the meeting on a positive note.

Update and finalize the performance appraisal form Add agreed-to commentary on to the form. Note that if the employee wants to add attach written input to the final form, he or she should be able to do so. The supervisor signs the form and asks the employee to sign it.

The form and its action plans are reviewed every few months, usually during one-on-one meetings with the employee. Note that if the supervisor has been doing a good job supervising, then nothing should be surprising to the employee during the appraisal Any performance issues should have been conveyed when they occurred, so nothing should be a surprise in the review meeting.

You should consider firing the employee only if you have: a given the employee clear indication of what you originally expected from him or her via a written job description previously provided to the him or her ; b have clearly written personnel policies which specify conditions and directions about firing employees and the employee initialized a copy of the policy handbook to verify that he or she had read the policies; c warned the employee in successive and dated memos which clearly described degrading performance over a specified time despite your specific and recorded offers of assistance and any training the number of memos depends on the nature of the problem, but should be no more than three or four ; and d you clearly observe the employee still having the performance problem.

Note that if the employee is being fired within a probationary period specified in your personnel policies, you may not have to meet all of the above conditions.

Take a day or so to consider what you are about to do. Consult with members of your board in the case of corporations. If you still decide to fire the employee, do so promptly both for your credibility with other employees and so as not begin procrastinating about this rather painful, upcoming event. No book is going to have the perfect advice for your situation. No article will cover all the bases. Find a mentor in your industry, your region, or your actual company if possible. No need to reinvent the wheel.

People follow as they are led. Prepare your team to be the best by preparing yourself in the same way. Some of what you need as a manager will be innate. There are other skills, however, you will need to learn and build. Even your natural gifts have to be strengthened. This heading could have been phrased differently.

It could have said that you have to get people to like you. But being respected is more important than being liked. Some employees like ineffectual managers for all the wrong reasons.

According to Psychology Today , the steps to gaining respect are simple:. In time, if you are consistent and honest about how you deal with the team you manage, people will respect you for being fair and reliable. It is hard to respect someone who is easily manipulated because they are overly concerned with feelings of being liked. Your job is to lead, not be liked.

Your ability to be organized is crucial. Disorganization leads to wasted time, lost productivity, and frustration in your team. Your bottom line will also take a hit. Your team needs to be able to work together as a team. If they remain autonomous units who refuse to work together, you will be trying to herd cats to get anything done.

To encourage collaboration among your team:. Successful collaboration gives your team confidence and a chance to exercise their own problem-solving skills. Motivating people is the difference between dragging a horse behind a cart, and a horse pulling the cart. When your team is motivated, all energy is focused on problem solving, collaboration, and forward motion.

No energy is wasted on begging, pleading, and cajoling people just to get the bare minimum productivity out of them. To motivate people :. Without emotional intelligence, much of what is driving or influencing the relationships and lives of your team will be a mystery to you.

Remember, emotion is part of what you use to motivate people. Can you control emotion and make decisions to solve difficult problems that might create negative emotions in those you manage? Critical thinking includes :. Endless books have been written about how to be a better communicator. Absolutely everything you do has a communication component.

According to the Leader Communicator blog , there are five skills you must master:. Every industry requires different management skills. What you need to manage a restaurant is different than what you need to manage a retail store. It means you take every opportunity to learn from those who have been in the industry longer than you, or from your own boss.

Everyone needs friends at work. Unfortunately, the challenges of being a manager of a friend make it an easy way to lose your friend. One of these would be communicate in a negative way.

As supervisors, we will have to let the employees know that we are ready, willing, confident, and able to accept new responsibilities. Good communication helps organizations and their employees achieve their goals. The ability to write and speak well becomes increasingly important as we develop our skills as supervisors. People put things on writing to create reports, letters, and e-mails. Best Practices Manual for New Supervisors.