Tips for Supervisors
1. Always be respectful.
2. Meet with your team weekly and walk around your area daily to stay in touch with your staff and to be accessible to them.
3. LISTEN, truly listen, to your staff. Instead of presenting your side right away, ask questions about their perspective.
4. Praise your staff both privately and publicly and spell out the specific behaviors for which you commend them. Share the glory.
5. Thank your staff every chance you get.
6. Show you care when you learn about challenging circumstances in your staff’s personal lives, and take action to help as much as possible.
7. Ask your staff for input— suggestions and observations they have about situations in their work area.
8. Frequently point out the significance of your staff’s jobs—the impact they have on lives within the facility and in the community, possibly for generations to come.
9. Point out your staff’s strengths and play to their strengths.
10. Give negative feedback positively and respectfully. Describe the inappropriate behavior and its consequences without attacking the person’s character or abilities, and then ask for alternative approaches.
