Student Affairs Internship Journal

Cory L. Headley Fall 2009

October 2, 2009

One of the most important skills of being a successful supervisor is knowing when and how to

delegate tasks. The inventory project that I am working is providing me with experience delegating

tasks. I have had the reservations coordinator inventory the reservations equipment, and I have had the

Graduate Assistant for Operations work with the games area Coordinator to inventory the games area.

The ability to be able to delegate is very important for supervisors. The idea of delegation goes a long

with the idea of Joint Effort from this week’s reading. It is the idea of making supervision a cooperative

effort where both the supervisor and staff invest time and energy into the process.

The topic for this week’s journal is to focus on the relationship with the supervisor. I knew of my

internship supervisor through my Graduate Assistantship, but didn’t really know him. My internship has

allowed me to get to know Branden better, and to also see how a relatively new student affairs

professional is handling an administrative position. Through the supervision that I am receiving in my

internship, I am finding a lot of autonomy. It is nice even though I am an intern; I am able to make

decisions, and to provide ideas about the projects that I am working on.

As I reflect on the progress of my internship, I have realized that I am discovering the importance of

the supervising. In order for our departments to be functional we must have good supervision. The

reading for this week also talks about the concept of goal-based supervision. Setting goals is not a new

concept for departments within student affairs. Student Affairs supervisors should use goal-based

supervision as a best practice in their daily supervision duties. By including staff members in the goal

setting process, it allows them to take some ownership, and to help them define their purpose in the

department. In summary, by being inclusive of all staff members in the office you really focus on the

importance of relationship focused supervision.

 Student Affairs Internship Journal
Cory L. Headley Fall 2009

The concept of synergistic supervision is very relevant to my internship experience. This approach of

supervision can be modeled by the relationship that I have with my supervisor. Not only does this

relationship ensure that I am going to be successful in my internship, but it also provides me the

opportunity to learn a skill that I can use with my employees when I enter back into the field.

Over this next week I will be attending our Regional ACUI conference where I will get to network with

other operations staff, and I will also get to discuss with my peer institutions about my inventory

project. I am pretty excited about this opportunity. Stay tuned until next week!