Supervisory Leadership

How does a middle manager prevent or correct abusive behavior and identify problems among the supervisors?

The answer is good supervision, which is just as much the manager's job as it is the supervisor's. It's the one-on-one part of leadership.

One key is that the company should be evaluating the supervisory on his/her supervisory work. That includes two things: how well the supervisor's team accomplishes the mission; and, how well the supervisor cares for his/her people.

If the system is in place to do that then the manager can do the following things.

Set clear expectations with the manager about what is expected along both of those dimensions. What are the performance targets? The development targets? And, critically, how do you expect the supervisor to behave?

The manager needs to show up a lot. Being around the supervisor and the troops is the most effective way there is to know and be known.

The manager needs to give the supervisor feedback on how he/she is doing. If either performance or behavior are unacceptable, the manager needs to give notice, document and discipline if necessary.

There must be clear and candid communication about expectations and about the performance or behavior that's being evaluated. Supervisors that prove they can't or won't either deliver performance targets or conform to behavioral norms should be fired.

You may reprint or repost this article providing that the following conditions are met:

• The article remains essentially unaltered.
• Wally Bock is shown as the author.
• The notice Copyright 2007 by Wally Bock or similar appears on the article.
• Contact information for Wally is included with the article. You may refer readers to this Web site as a way to meet this requirement, or use the information on our contact page.

Any other reprinting or reposting requires specific permission which is almost always granted. Click here to request permission if necessary.

Got a supervisory leadership question for Wally? He'll answer as many questions as his workload permits and put the ones with most universal interest on this site. By asking your question you agree that it may appear here at some future time. Your name and affiliation will not be used on the site in conjunction with your question.

To ask Wally a supervisory leadership question, click here to go to our question form.

Return to Top | Site Map | About Wally Bock | Contact Us
Media Center | Speeches & Training | Sign Up for Our Newsletter

© 2006 Wally Bock. Click for Contact Information.