Dec 30 2008
Supervising People at Work
I admit, there are some people who are just naturally better at supervising people than others. Natural leader types are the best choice when it comes to promoting someone to oversee a group for a number of valid reasons.
They tend to be less shy and less likely to chicken out when the tough calls need to be made. They are the people others turn to anyway when they have problems or questions. They are often at the high end of productivity and work habits to begin with, so have less of a learning curve when they become the boss.
That is not to say that other non-leadership types should not be promoted or cannot be highly effective. The key to having a good supervisor is training and the more individualized the program, the better.
If you have thought about the possibility of supervising people but fear that you will fail or be ineffective, don’t shy away from the opportunity. You may surprise yourself. Just make sure you get the training you need to succeed.
My hubby and I worked a business together and we found out quickly that I was the natural business owner. I believe his was learned from my parents who were also business people. However, we developed very different styles and some of the mistakes he made were devastating to our business. He made a good supervisor, but a lousy owner. Isn’t that strange? It was quite a learning experience.
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