UNIT 2

P1
Andreea Melinda Mirza
The role of a supervisor
The supervisors role is very important, he/she works directly with the employees
ensuring company mandates are met, defining the role and duties of each staff person,
monitoring their job performance, reviewing case specific implementation individually and in
groups, and coordinating work across the department.
Supervisors fulfill many roles, some specific ones such as:

Delegating tasks

Monitoring the teams performance

Assisting the team by performing the tasks with them

Helping with training and development

Completing paperwork

Handling complaints (from both staff and customers)

Helping to hire new staff

Reporting to senior management / personnel when required

Other roles include: educator, sponsor, coach, counsellor, and director.

A supervisor will act as an educator when employees and team members are new,
when he/she is new to a team, when processes or conditions change, and when discussing
performance expectations with their direct reports, when holding or attending meetings,
write and distribute policies, manuals, or other documents, and provide cross-training
opportunities.1
When acting as a sponsor, the supervisor assumes that the employees have the skills
they need to perform their current jobs and work to provide opportunities for them to
showcase their talents and strengths. Additionally a supervisor is expected to support
employee career development, even if it means that the employee will move to position
outside your team2.

1 http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/supervisorfiveroles.pdf
2 http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/supervisorfiveroles.pdf

Supervisors will be coaching an employee when they are explaining, encouraging,

planning, correcting, or just checking in with the employees.3
Counseling is used when an employees problems impact performance and is intended
to mitigate any further action, including formal disciplinary action. The employee should
solve the problem and the supervisors role is to be positive, supportive, and encouraging in
that process.4
Directing is used when performance problems continue and assumes the supervisor
has educated, coached, and counseled. During directing conversations, supervisors should
make recommended alternatives and consequences clear, be calm and serious, get the
company or HR department involved, and make sure the meeting is thoroughly documented.5
Supervisors play a critical role in promoting employee commitment, motivation, and
retention, and are key in developing and nurturing staff. Part of the supervisors role is to
assist the team by performing the tasks with them and also helping with training and
development. The supervisor also has to inspire and motivate its team to push themselves,
and in turn the company, to greatness. To do these, the supervisor must show the way leading
by its own example.
Leading by example
Supervisors must lead with their actions as well as their words, they can effectively
translate intention into reality by acting on the concepts and messages they teach and the
things they say to those around them. If you're in a leadership position, then you know that
you have a responsibility to your team. They look to you for guidance and strength; that's part
of what being a leader is. And a big part of your responsibility is to lead them with your own
actions.6
Leadership is the act of setting the right example for those who follow. Leadership is
about actively demonstrating your belief, not just talking about it. People who say one thing
but do another eventually lose credibility.
There's hardly anything worse for company morale than leaders who practice double
standards witnessing people say one thing, and then doing another always feel like
betrayals. When leaders don't "practice what they preach," it can be almost impossible for a
team to work together successfully. Leading by example creates a picture of what's possible.
When you lead by example, you make it easy for others to follow you.7
When working directly with your customers there are always different situations and
challenges that can arise as people have different needs. The customer support team has to
3 http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/supervisorfiveroles.pdf
4 http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/supervisorfiveroles.pdf
5 http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/supervisorfiveroles.pdf
6 http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-leading-example-31860.html
7 https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_60.htm

anticipate the clients needs and come up with solutions. Just as it happens in every
department, in customer service employees look up to their supervisors for guidance as they
represent the link between them and higher management.
Leading by example is important for businesses focusing on offering a service to their
customers where direct contact with the customers is the main part of the job. This is where
any mistake could possibly be very damaging to the companys image and reputation. It is
easy to see why leading by example is so important in these situation.
For an organization to grow, the people within it also must grow. The way for leaders
to bring a team to a higher standard is by committing to a greater challenge themselves. The
abilities, talents and characteristics of leaders provide a larger foundation on which those
around them can grow, both as individuals and as a group. By being the example of greater
discipline and greater drive, a leader encourages those who follow him to adopt a higher
standard as well.
Good leaders push their people forward with excitement, inspiration, trust, and vision.
If you lead a team that doesn't trust you, productivity will drop. Enthusiasm may disappear.
The vision you're trying so hard to make happen may lose its appeal, all because your team
doesn't trust you anymore.8
Good leadership takes strength of character and a firm commitment to do the right
thing, at the right time, for the right reason. This means doing what you say, when you say it.
If your team can't trust you, you'll probably never lead them to greatness.9

8 https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_60.htm
9 https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_60.htm