Jean Roberts

It seems that the skills associated with supervision and delegation are being de-valued through the increasing use and dependence on their mobile phone, and the increasing number of meetings at which their attendance is either required or expected. Many people in senior positions in nonprofit organisations make themselves available to their teams 24 hours of every day in every week ­ and attend numerous meetings without assessing their use or usefulness. 

This behaviour by a Manager or Team Leader can undermine the functions of: 

a) Supervision 

• when a manager is constantly available to their team members, there is less need for a team member to take responsibility for decisions or actions
• managers frequently leave their mobile phone on in meetings, and either speak to their caller while still in the meeting, or interrupt the meeting to leave the room to do so: either way, the manager’s attention can be interrupted to the extent that increases themanager’s level of stress or frustration
• team members can fall into the habit of phoning their manager at any time on any day to ask for direction or permission, thus avoiding the need to be supervised.

b) Delegation 

• when a manager is constantly available to their team members, there is less need to take time to delegate authority or responsibilities (which usually involves the skill of negotiation as well)
• managers frequently attend meetings that could be delegated to their team members, allowing the managers to do what only themanager can and should do
• team members can fall into the habit of phoning their manager at any time on any day to ask `what do I do next?’

There is a general lack of readiness and willingness in workplaces (whether for  profit or nonprofit) to take responsibility for projects that may involve calculated risks, in particular where a project requires negotiation and maintenance of long-term partnership agreements. 

Hence these notes to remind people at all levels of an organisations about the use and usefulness of the skills of supervision and delegation. 

The key to success for any organisation is good management, and the key to good management is the supervisor.   Supervisors get things done through the efforts of others.   A supervisor must: 

• understand people,
• be able to motivate them,
• be an energetic leader,
• be a good planner and allocator of work,
• be wise and just in making decisions,
• be knowledgeable about technical aspects of the work, and
• be able to serve as an effective liaison between management and staff.

Supervisors engage in several functions:

1. Planning 

• planning the work and establishing objectives
• knowing what you want to achieve and how it will be achieved

2. Organising 

• deciding what activities need to be accomplished to get the job done
• grouping and assigning these activities to individual members of staff
• giving staff the necessary authority to carry out the activities in a coordinated manner

3. Staffing 

• securing qualified staff to do the work
• motivating and supporting staff

What are a supervisor’s responsibilities? 

Responsibility to the Board as employer  

• the Board has the responsibility to provide a safe and secure working environment for all employees, supervisors have the responsibility to ensure satisfactory work performance from their staff, in order to achieve the purpose for which the organisation has been established.

Responsibility to the CEO  

• the CEO is responsible to the Board for the management of the total operation of the organisation’s programs and services
• each supervisor is responsible to the CEO for a specific area or function of the total operation of the organisation

Responsibility to staff  

• staff invest their time, energy and skills in their job, and are entitled to expect respect from their supervisor

Negotiation in supervision 

1. Communicate your ideas to your staff 

• know what message you want to get across to your staff before you start talking
• make sure they are hearing what you think you are saying!

2. Receive and analyse the reactions and responses of others 

• listen carefully to questions and comments which could imply that  your message is unclear, unacceptable or inappropriate.
• ask `open’ questions… start each question with `what, why, how,when, where, or who’ to check that what you are hearing orunderstanding is what is really being said.

3. Gather knowledge of the needs, wants, resources, strategies and priorities of your staff 

• Make sure you fully understand their current workload, what resources they have to work with, and how they prioritise and plan to achieve their responsibilities

4. Show respect for the image and reputation of the organisation and for the trust and openness necessary among staff to achieve the organisation’s objects  

• present yourself as a responsible representative of the organisation to staff, to service-users and to the wider community
• treat your staff as you would like to be treated
• uphold the philosophy and purpose of the organisation at all times

Leadership in supervision

The qualities of a good leader:

1. the desire to do and be the best you can
2. displaying a sense of responsibility
3. being willing to work diligently
4. the ability to relate to and feel for others
5. the ability to show a contagious enthusiasm
6. being honest with yourself and with others, ie having a high sense of integrity 

Connection between leadership and supervision 

While most people recognise that leadership is a part of supervision, they sometimes fail to see that supervision is not the same thing as leadership. 

Supervisors must make plans, establish a satisfactory organisation, motivate staff to be effective and efficient, and establish a monitoring system. A leader does not necessarily do the same things. 

A leader is expected to get other people to follow him/her.

A supervisor is expected to perform all of the functions associated with supervision and be a good leader. A strong leader may not be a good supervisor, but a strong supervisor must be a good leader.

Communication and supervision 

Communication is the passing of messages and information -
a) to and from one person to another
b) to and from one person to a group
c) to and from one group to another group 

It involves listening, questioning, explaining, clarifying, encouraging, facilitating, challenging, convincing, verifying, comforting and supporting. 

Messages can be conveyed or passed -
a) in writing
b) in conversation
c) by behaviour
d) by attitude
e) through personal values and preferences
f) by silence 

Effective communication is passing the right message or information and achieving the right effect, impact and outcome. 

Face-to-face communication: 

These basic factors in face-to-face communication carry the following percentages
of impact in determining the effectiveness of a communication: 

• words = 7% of impact
• tone of voice = 38% of impact
• body language = 55% of impact

Therefore listening, questioning, explaining, clarifying, encouraging, facilitating, challenging, convincing, verifying, comforting and supporting must include the right words, the right tone of voice, and the right body language. Otherwise, chances of effectively communicating with the other person or group of people are slim. 

For instance, a task or request can be expertly prepared. If it is not effectively communicated to the person or group responsible for carrying it out, then the desired result will not and cannot be achieved.

The tools of effective communication are: 

• questioning
• listening
• expressing

You must think through what you want to communicate, be prepared to question or be questioned, listen to what is being said or implied – and what is not being said – and use the appropriate method to express your message. 

Where you need to impart specific information, instruction or detail, or where a record of the content is required, it is wise to use written communication. Always check that you’ve written what you need to say in a manner that readers will read what you want them to read, know what you want them to know, and be able to do what you are asking them to do. 

It is easy to assume a level of knowledge and understanding in a reader or listener that is simply not there. Easy, too, to assume a commitment to your ideas or instructions for action and change when it is simply not there. Misplaced assumptions can be at worst dangerous, at best unproductive. 

Your style of verbal communication is worth checking too, as to tone and emotion, language and emphasis, method of addressing, amount of information presented without written material and the skills of the listener to question and listen.

Delegation and supervision

Effective delegation means knowing exactly what is required, by whom, from whom, for what purpose and in what form. It means giving the right job, in the right way, to the right person, at the right time, with the right instruction. 

Delegation is the key to organisation. If you don’t delegate, you won’t have an organisation, you’ll have a one-person operation. A supervisor does not personally tell every employee what to do, but may well be responsible for seeing that everything is done. Since the job of a supervisor is to see that her/his area of responsibility operates smoothly through the efforts of her/his staff, s/he must delegate authority to the appropriate people in order to get the work done. 

Another point to remember is that authority should only be delegated to a person who has both the knowledge and the competence to carry out the delegated task. If s/he has information about the job but is not competent to do the job, s/he should not be given the authority. Likewise if s/he has competence to do the job but does not have sufficient information, s/he should not be given the authority. If you delegate authority to a person who has neither the competence nor the information, you will probably get poor results.

Accountability and supervision

When delegating tasks or responsibilities, a supervisor needs to explain the accountability that accompanies the delegation. Accountability is a requirement to report on or justify actions related to specified matters, ie to carry the blame or the credit for things done or said. 

In each delegation, the person or group must know and understand: 

1. the results for which they are accountable, and
2. to whom and by when they are accountable. 

They must also be given the necessary authority, time and resources to achieve the results according to the (preferably) written requirements of the delegation.

Time management for supervisors

1. Don’t procrastinate
Make up your mind with due speed, but don`t make snap judgements… then tell your staff what you want done. If you haven’t made up your mind or are still thinking about it, you obviously don’t know what you want done and your staff won’t know either. So nothing gets done. 

2. Be specific
When making an appointment, look at your diary and set a specific time. Remember to allow ample time to prepare yourself for each appointment and make certain that you have all the information you need to achieve the purpose of each appointment. Also make sure you have sufficient time to travel to appointments and arrive on time. 

3. Don’t trust your memory
Jot down reminders of things you need to do. If necessary make yourself some `things-to-do’ sheets… one for each day, one for each week and one for each month. Then, as you think of something that needs to be done on Wednesday, write yourself a note on the appropriate sheet. When that day arrives, pull the sheet out to see what you need to do. When you’re away from your desk, always carry a pocket pad and pencil to jot down reminders. Then put them on the appropriate sheets when you return to your desk.Use the exception principle
This principle will make your work easier by calling to your attention only those things that need your attention or action. As supervisor, tell your staff what is required of them in terms of deadlines, quality of work and efficiencies. Make sure they have the appropriate authority, competency and information to fulfil your requirements. 

Also tell them to call on you if and when their deadlines, quality or efficiencies are at risk. This means that only exceptions are called to your attention… that if you are not called upon, you can assume that everything is OK.

4. Delegate – examine everything you do and ask yourself questions like: 

• is it necessary for this to be done… can it be eliminated?
• if not, who is the best person to do it, so that I can do things that only I can/should do?

If you don’t have a staff member who can do it, can you train one to do it. By systematically going through your job in this way, you’ll probably find that you’re doing some things that can be eliminated and that you can assign much of what’s left to your staff. 

You may think this is passing the buck. But remember, you can’t do it all. That’s why you have people helping you. People won’t think you are lazy: neither will you lose control of your job by delegating. As a supervisor, your job is to get things done through other people. 

5. Think before you act
Don’t be the type of supervisor who always manages to jump into the middle of every problem and thrash about furiously, not really knowing what you are doing or what should be done. Be willing to take the time to think and plan what needs to be done… rather than diving in headfirst in an attempt to be seen to be doing something. At times like this doing nothing is better. If you take the time to reflect on your work, you’ll probably see shortcuts and timesavers that you would not otherwise discover. 

6. Use telephones, emails, and electronic communication wisely – especially when conveying instructions or messages
Spending as much as 25 or 30% of the day this way is not uncommon for supervisors. Try to limit any calls to three minutes, jot down the important things you need to say or ask during call before you make the call, and make sure you all necessary information on hand before making any call. 

7. Tackle the tough jobs first
Those who postpone the tough jobs soon find them piling up and they really get behind in their work. Check your priorities. Do you put off the tough or unpleasant jobs as long as possible? They may be physically easy to do but you just don’t enjoy doing it… like a monthly report. Break these down into manageable units of work – and tackle the tough or unenjoyable jobs first, when you feel at your best.

8. Start the job
Even if you can’t finish a job in one session, make a start. An unfinished job is much more of a motivator than an unstarted job.

9. Plan tomorrow today
Never leave your workplace until you have looked over what you have to do tomorrow and made plans about how it will be done, when it will be done, who will do it, and so on. You will find that when you come to work in the morning, nothing motivates you better than having a plan of action for the day. Without a plan, you’ll waste time trying to get something done. 

9. Analyse your work every month
Review every job that you do at least once a month to see if it is necessary, if it can now be eliminated or if it can be combined with another job. See what you can do to rearrange or cut down on a job. Take time to analyse your work in order to eliminate some of the unnecessary activities and improve the work sequence of others… and you’ll be more effective in using your time.

11. Each day, set aside some time to think
It may be only 15 minutes at the beginning of each day, but set it aside without interruption. Use this time to think through your job, to look ahead at what needs to be done. Try to think in broad terms of planning your work, improving your work-style and in general trying to work smarter, not harder.

12. At the end of the day, review what you have done.
Ask yourself why you have to do each job. Could all or part of some jobs have been done by someone else? If so, make plans at that time as to how you will handle them next time. Then stick to your plan.
Meetings should not be held for the sake of holding meetings. On the other hand, major decisions should not be made without sufficient information and consultation, but meetings are not the only way to gather information or consult with a variety of people. 

13. Meetings 

Where people are willing to give up their private time, and to interrupt their day-to-day duties, it is easy to ignore the value and importance of time. Keeping a check on the number and length of meetings is a major tool in effective time-management. 

a) Every meeting, no matter how large or small should have a specific purpose and outcome 

b) All people involved with a meeting should be convinced that the meeting is necessary 

c) People whose attendance is necessary for the meeting’s success must be available: everyone should know the purpose, venue, time to start and finish, procedure and desired outcomes before the meeting. 

d) All information required to ensure that the purpose of the meeting will be achieved should be available in time to be read before the meeting begins. 

e) The agenda should be agreed to and the duration of meeting confirmed at the start of the meeting. If the meeting is not a regular meeting, a chairperson and note-taker should be appointed. 

f) When any decision is made, it should be minuted clearly and expressed correctly. 

g) Each decision should be examined as to - 

• actions required
• person/s responsible for each action required
• a deadline for each action
• how and when the responsible person/s will report back to the group

h) Each person present at a meeting is responsible for the quality of that meeting… this responsibility does not rest solely with the meeting chairperson.