Supervisoral Development Planning
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.
Adapted from the Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision.
Simply put, supervisory development is an effort (hopefully, planned in nature) that enhances the learner's capacity to be a supervisor. Supervision often includes conducting basic management skills (decision making, problem solving, planning, delegation and meeting management), organizing teams, noticing the need for and designing new job roles in the group, hiring new employees, training new employees, employee performance management (setting goals, observing and giving feedback, addressing performance issues, firing employees, etc.) and ensuring conformance to personnel policies and other internal regulations. A critical skill for anyone is the ability to manage their own learning. The highly motivated, self-directed reader can gain a great deal of learning and results from following the suggestions and using the materials in this section.
NOTE: Supervision is a management role -- areas of knowledge and skills required by new managers often include those required by new supervisors.
(Note that there are separate sections about Management Development Planning and Leadership Development Planning.)
Sections of This Topic Include:
Preparation
Optional: Suggested Readings from the LibraryBefore Supervisory Development, Get Impression of What "Supervision" Is
What Does Supervisory Development Look Like?
Strong Value of Self-Directed Learning
Informal Activities to Learn About Supervision in Organizations
Attempt to Go Beyond Reading Books ...Ideas for Activities to Learn About Supervision
Customizing Your Own Supervisory Development Program
Preparation for Designing Your Supervisory Training PlanDetermining Your Overall Goals in Supervisory Training
Determining Your Learning Objectives and Activities
Developing Any Materials You May Need
Planning Implementation of Your Supervisory Training Plan
Evaluating Your Supervisory Training Plan and Experiences
Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan
General Resources
Additional Information for Nonprofits -- Auditing Personnel Management PracticesBasic Guide to Supervision and Personnel Management
Preparation for Learning
Optional: Suggested Readings from the Library
To gain broad perspective on supervisory development, the reader would benefit most from first reading the following information.Introduction to Organizations (read documents referenced from the section titled "Basics")
Basic Definitions and Roles in Management
Training Basics -- Ways to View Training and Development
Training Basics -- Getting Most from Training and Development
Before Supervisory Development, Get Impression of What "Supervision" Is
The first place to start learning about supervision is to get some sense of what supervision is -- in particular, understand get an impression of the areas of knowledge and skills recommended for effective supervisoin in organizations. Review information in:Basic Overview of Supervision
Skills and Practices in Organizational Supervision
What Does Supervisory Development Look Like?
If you read the information in the section Training Basics -- Ways to View Training and Development listed above, you learned about training programs that are informal and formal,and other-directed or self-directed. Supervisory development programs come in all of these combinations, as well. You can learn about supervision in informal "programs", for example, by reading some articles, discussing supervision with a friend, etc. You can attend formal training, for example, a course, seminar or workshop. At this point, it might help you to get some perspective on the nature of supervision development programs by looking at some. SeeSamples of Supervisoral Development Programs
Strong Value of Self-Directed Learning
The ability to manage one's own learning is an increasingly critical skill. Bouchard explains, “Over the years, it has become increasingly clear that traditional approaches to [training!] program design and delivery in the workplace and in associative organizations present some important weaknesses. Problem areas include: coping with the short life span of useful knowledge; passing down acquired competencies to succeeding cohorts; accommodating the demands of productivity while providing for a continuity of learning; [and!] enabling learners to pursue activities that correspond to their learning styles and needs” (in Self-Directed Learning in Organizational Settings (working paper), Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, p. 1).This topic in the library provides an excellent opportunity
to begin managing your learning. To learn more about self-directed
learning, see
Strong Value of Self-Directed
Learning in the Workplace
Informal Activities to Learn About Supervision
Attempt to Go Beyond Reading Books ...
There are a wide range of everyday and on-the-job activities from which you can learn about supervision and even enhance your supervision skills. Informal methods can include, for example, reading books, having discussions with friends, on-the-job training, keeping a diary with thoughts about supervision , etc. One of the more insidious ways to avoid learning to supervise is by reading lots of books about supervision, rather than actually implementing any of the advice offered in any of them. You're not likely to develop much for supervision skills merely by reading, talking or attending a course unless you actually apply new materials and methods, and continue to reflect on what you're learning along the way.Ideas for Activities to Learn About Supervision
One of the most effective and reliable ways to learn is to do so consciously, in a planned fashion. Therefore, be sure to consider customizing your own supervisory training plan. Complete guidelines are provided in the next section, Customizing Your Own Supervisory Development Plan.The following table includes numerous ideas for activities from which to learn about supervision.
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Get guidance and assistance: Readings to consider: Skills to practice: |
Some workplace activities for learning: Other sources for learning: Capturing your learning: · Also consider Ideas
for Activities to Learn About Management |
Customizing Your Own Supervisory Development Plan
Your are much more likely to learn useful skills in supervision if you develop and implement a training plan. The following sections will guide you to develop your own complete, highly integrated (and performance-oriented) supervisory development plan. Each section includes reference to particular sections in the Complete Guidelines to Design Your Training and Development Plan (hereafter called the "Guidelines"). That document includes guidelines for you to identify your overall training goals and the learning objectives and activities to achieve the goals. Guidelines are also provided for carrying out the learning activities and evaluating your entire learning experience.Preparation for Designing Your Supervisory Training Plan
Read the following two initial sections of the Guidelines (up to "Determining Your Overall Goals in Training") and then return to the next section below.Directions to Use "Complete Guideline ..."
Preparation for Designing Your Training Plan
Identifying Your Overall Goals in Supervisory Training
Purpose of this Section
This section helps you identify what you want to be able to do as a result of implementing your training plan, for example, qualify for a certain job, overcome a performance problem, meet a goal in your career development plan, etc. Learners are often better off to work towards at most two to four goals at a time. There are a variety of ways to identify your training goals, depending on what you want to be able to accomplish as a result of implementing your training plan.
Begin Identifying Your Training Goals
- Consider Performance Gaps, Growth Gaps or Opportunities
Gaps
Performance gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to improve performance and are usually indicated during performance reviews with your supervisor. Growth gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to reach a career goal. Opportunity gaps are areas of knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of an upcoming opportunity. - Conduct Self-Assessments
The following online, self-assessments may help, as well, by helping you assess certain areas of your own supervisory abilities.
Needs Assessments for Management Training and Development - Collect Input From Others
Ask others for ideas to improve your supervisory skills. Try get their input in terms of behaviors you can show. Consider input from performance reviews. See
Performance Reviews / Appraisals
[360-Degree Employee Performance Reviews / Appraisals|Performance Reviews: 360-Degree] - Reference Lists of Areas of Knowledge and Skills Needed
in Variety of Roles and Function
Competencies are lists of the general abilities needed to perform a role. Consider the following list.
Suggested Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Needed by Supervisors - Reference Books and Other Materials About Management
There is a vast amount of information available regarding supervision and management skills. See
Various Suggestions for Knowledge and Skills Needed in Management - Look at Goals and Objectives of Supervisory Development
Programs
The following programs might give you ideas for training goals, etc. Be careful not to simply adopt goals without first considering if they'd really be useful to you.
Samples of Supervisoral Development Programs - Don't Forget to Supervise Yourself!
Developing skills in supervision involves changing yourself, stretching yourself. Therefore, you may want to include developing skills in:
Basics for New Managers and Supervisors to Management Themselves
Self-Confidence
Assertiveness
On to Refining and Writing Your Training Goals in Your Plan ...
The Guidelines provides additional advice for identifying your training goals. Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled "Determining Your Learning Objectives and Activities " and then return to the next section below.Determining Your Overall Goals in Training
Determining Your Learning Objectives and Activities
Purpose of this Section
The purpose of this section is to identify the various learning objectives you should achieve and learning activities you should undertake in order to achieve the overall training goals in your plan.
Identifying Your Learning Objectives
Carefully consider each of your training goals. What specifically must be accomplished (that is, what objectives must be reached) in order for you to reach those goals? Which of these objectives require learning new areas of knowledge or skills? These objectives are likely to become learning objectives in your training plan. To get a stronger sense for learning objectives, see Basic Guidelines and Examples for Writing Learning Objectives.
Identifying Your Learning Activities
Learning activities are the activities you will conduct in order to reach the learning objectives. The activities should help you work toward your training goal, accommodate your particular learning styles, be accessible to you and be enjoyable as well. The following link might help you.Ideas for Activities to Learn About Supervision
On to Refining and Writing Your Learning Objectives and Activities in Your Plan ...
The Guidelines provide additional advice for identifying your learning objectives and activities. Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled "Developing Any Materials You May Need" and then return to the next section below.Determining Your Learning Objectives and Activities
Developing Any Materials You May Need
Developing materials might include, for example, getting books, signing up for courses, reserving rooms, getting coaches, etc. The Guidelines provides additional guidance to develop any materials you may need. Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled "Planning Implementation of Your Training Plan" and then return to the next section below.Developing Any Materials You May Need
Planning Implementation of Your Supervisory Training Plan
During implementation, you should think about whether you're really understanding the materials or not, need additional support, etc. The Guidelines provides additional guidance to you during implementation of your plan. Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled "Planning Quality Control and Evaluation of Your Training Plan and Experiences" and then return to the next section below.Planning Implementation of Your Training Plan
Evaluating Your Supervisory Training Plan and Experiences
Evaluation includes assessing and making value judgments on whether you achieved your training goals or not, and on the quality of the process to reach those goals. Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled "Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan" and then return to the next section below.Planning Quality Control and Evaluation of Your Training Plan and Experiences
Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan
Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines.Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan
For the Category of Supervision:
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
For Supervising Yourself, See
Personal Development -- Related
Books
For Developing Individuals, See
Training and Development
-- Recommended Books
For Supervising Teams, See
Facilitation and Teams -- Related
Books
General Information About Supervising Other Individuals
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best employees for your business. Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or employee), other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem among employees of small businesses. Many materials in this Library's topic about staffing are adapted from this book.
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision With Nonprofit Staff
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best staff members for your nonprofit. Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or staff member), other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem among nonprofit staff. Many materials in this Library's topic about staffing are adapted from this book.
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
Also See
Human Resources -- Recommended Books
Leadership -- Recommended Books
Management -- Recommended Books
