The 9 Skills Every Great Supervisor Needs

A post from our Leadership and Team Management blog

If you're a supervisor or team leader, chances are you feel you don't always get the respect you deserve. In fact, some lower-level staff often think supervision is easy. Outsiders, too, may look at the organization's figureheads – the top bosses and the young talent – and think "these are the people driving success."

They couldn't be more wrong. The fact is, an active staff supervisor will deal with more responsibilities in an hour than many other employees handle in a week.

A supervisor often supports their team members in a range of roles, which means they need to understand lots of different jobs, and how to solve all the problems associated with each one.
A good supervisor also motivates through leadership. They make sure their team has the tools to do their job, and the confidence to do it brilliantly. Without a supervisor, things can break down fast!

None of the above is easy. But then, you probably know that – and you might be doing it already!
Or, perhaps you're a newly-promoted supervisor - and you're working hard to develop the skills you need to be a truly great one.  There are a great number of training providers out there, but we've heard good things about Acuity training, so they're probably worth a look.

But whatever you decide to do, we've broken down this important specialism into 9 essential skills that every great supervisor needs. Check if you already have them; identify the ones you need to work on - and above all, learn how to use them!

1. Good communication

This is without any doubt the most important skill on our list, which is why we've put it first. You can possess every other skill in abundance – technical, mental, or strategic – but if you can't connect with your team, you're inviting failure. And having good communication skills will help you in your personal life, too.

A supervisor's job is ultimately to support the team. You need to give them what they need to excel at their job, whether that is a pep talk, advice, or a telling off. Everything you give them requires good communication. Great supervisors are, undoubtedly, great communicators too. Make sure you:

• Speak regularly to every member of your team, whether at employee review meetings or in informal work settings
• Tell your team about problems, successes, and new methods
• Stay respectful and supportive

2. Being proactive

As a supervisor, your team needs you to:

• Set standards
• Give direction
• Provide support when things go wrong

That means you need to be one step ahead of your staff, and be ready with instructions and answers.
In other words, you must be proactive. So make sure you:

• Plan ahead
• Solve problems as soon as you spot them

3. Creativity

Ever heard someone say, "no two days are alike in this job"? You might have said it a few times yourself!  As a supervisor, you're constantly challenged by new events -- and problems. That means you need to be creative in solving them. To be a creative problem solver you must:

• Be open to new ideas
• Keep your mind on your job – think about how to improve performance, even when away from work

4. Quick Thinking

Two things make the modern workplace hectic for most people: constant change, and the quest for higher performance. As a supervisor, this is especially true: you must be ready to grasp new ideas fast, and juggle multiple problems at once. The skill of quick-thinking is essential, and great supervisors demonstrate it by:

• Being alert to new challenges
• Addressing issues as soon as they arise

5. Technical expertise

At the heart of the supervisor's role is the need for a conscientious expert - someone who can make sure the team's work meets the high standards required. That person is you.

In this case, technical expertise doesn't mean having a grasp of IT systems: it means that you know how things work in your team. Great supervisors have comprehensive technical knowledge of each role they support. This requires a high-calibre individual – but nobody ever said being a supervisor was easy ... so make sure you have:

• The right qualifications
• The experience needed to measure help improve performance

6. Being a continuous learner

Standards and technologies change over time. So, to remain an expert, you must never stop learning or refreshing your knowledge.

A great supervisor should:

• Stay abreast of current trends, by reading relevant journals and studies
• Update their training and qualifications regularly
• Always be on the lookout new ideas that can benefit the team

7. Having self-control

Things get heated in every workplace - when work pressures are high, when personalities clash, or when colleagues disagree on the right way forward. In these situations, the staff you supervise may lose their tempers and resort to arguments and name-calling, and it's up to you to sort this out.
If you have your own issues with anger, the charity Mind has help and advice available, and of course, we run our own anger management courses!

A great supervisor sets the right example by having self-control. When things get heated, you bring the focus back to work by keeping a level head. Check your self-control by making sure you:

• Don't lose your temper unnecessarily
• Bring something positive to every interaction – and never start or escalate negative situations

8. Listening

As we said earlier, being a supervisor is a support role. You serve to lead! So it's not just about telling people what to do, or what they did wrong. You also need to help your staff to solve problems and become better at their job.

That means being a good listener. Make sure you:

• Are approachable and your team know they can talk to you
• Listen carefully to team members' needs
• Act on team members' requests in a way that helps improve performance

9. Being even-handed

Finally, good supervisors always reward their staff fairly. When something goes wrong, you need to make sure the person responsible knows how to improve next time. But as their supervisor, you must also take responsibility. And when you achieve success, a fair supervisor shares the credit with the team. You'll gain a lot more respect in this way.

A fair supervisor:

• Is just as ready to give praise as to accept it
• Accepts responsibility when things go wrong
• Only uses disciplinary measures as a last resort

Conclusion

Being a great supervisor requires more intelligence and guile than most people realise.
As we've seen, your skills make everyone else better at their jobs. And without a great supervisor, morale and performance suffer.

But when a supervisor is pro-active, communicative, supportive and fair?, well, that's when a team can really succeed. So if you learn the nine skills described above, you'll be well on your way to greatness.

Take a look at our supervisor and team leader skills training page for more inspiration.