After working in corrections for 12 years (and being a supervisor for 11 of those) there are many things that I have learned. Some good. Some bad. Some really bad. At first I thought it would be fun and only later did I realize the mess that I had gotten myself into.
No one officially trained me to be a supervisor. Unofficially, there were two: Dave and Nick. The things I learned from them I will never be able to forget. The taught through “tough love” so to speak and some of the advice that they gave me has proven invaluable over time so I figured I’d pass it on as well.
- Listen to your staff. It’s not just about hearing the words that are coming out of their mouth but listening to what they really have to say. Yes, as supervisors we make the decisions but we can’t be everywhere at once. Our staff are the ones working the facility and in reality all we are doing is supervising them and intervening only when necessary. Our staff know the heartbeat of that facility better than we do in the majority of cases.
- Support your staff. There is nothing more demoralizing to staff than the feeling of not being supported by their supervisors, from the Warden right on down the line. As a supervisor, one of our primary responsibilities should be to support the people that work for us. We can’t operate a facility without them. We could not do our job without them. Staff need to feel supported and know that they can count on us.
- Take the opportunity to teach. Believe it or not, we are all teachers. As supervisors we have to understand that we are replaceable. None of us will stay in our current position forever as much as we'd like to. There are staff that want to learn how to do your job. We have to understand that they are not trying to force us out, but want to promote in their own right and learn from those of us who are in those positions. We need to take the time to teach those who will replace us one day how to do things right and have them learn from our mistakes.
- Allow your staff to make mistakes and encourage them to make decisions. Did we do everything right as we were growing up in the profession? No we didn’t. As supervisors we tend to give a lot of orders since we are ultimately responsible for everything that happens on our shift. However, do WE have to make every decision? No we don’t. On occasion we can allow staff to make decisions that we would normally make. Sometimes they will get it right. Sometimes they will fall flat on their face. It is our job to make sure that they learn from it. If it involves a decision that can affect facility security, ask them what they would do and have them rationalize their answer. If the answer that they give you is wrong, wait for them to finish their answer and then start throwing in counter-arguments and see how they respond. Yes, they will get frustrated but they will also learn. Encourage them to learn on a daily basis.
Some people have a hard time with this concept. They do not want to pass on information and/or knowledge in a possible attempt to make themselves indispensable. Just remember that we can be replaced at any time.
- Take a vested interest in your staff. If staff truly believe that you have an honest interest in them, their productivity will increase dramatically. Morale improves and they show up to work. Learn something about the people that work for you. We need to stop looking at staff as a commodity or a consumable item and start treating them as a valuable resource.
- Lead from the front. Very few things can be more demoralize to staff than having a supervisor that is not a leader. There is a huge difference between a boss and a leader. A boss tells you what to do. A leader shows you how to do it. Don’t sell yourself and your staff short. Be a leader.
- Praise in public ad condemn in private. Give credit and praise when it is needed and do it publicly when possible. If you must give a good ass chewing, ALWAYS do it in private. It is between you and the staff member, not everyone else.
If you ever decide that you want to become a supervisor, I can tell you that it’s one of the most gratifying yet challenging things that you can ever do. Whatever you do, don’t beat your head against a corner…it hurts.
Editor's note: Corrections.com author Bryan Avila started working as a Police Officer in 1994 while attending Norwich University in Northfield, VT. In 1999 he began working for the Vermont Dept of Corrections while still working as a Part-Time Police Officer. In 2007 he left public service until 2009 when he began working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He is currently a Correctional Training Instructor- Sergeant of Correctional Officers, at the TDCJ Region I Training Academy located in Huntsville, TX.
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