What are 7 fundamental skills or competencies that supervisors must develop to do an effective job?
Stopping problems before they get out of hand; Setting up goals and reching them; Building a team and keeping it going; Giving workers a say about their job; Being a leader; Making jobs more interesting and rewarding; Coaching workers to improve their skills
Describe three ways to stop problems early
Catch problems early through empathy and a sixth sense; Look for patterns or clues of trouble; Budget time to talk and plan to avoid problems
Setting a goal means deciding ______, _____ and ______. It also means setting _____.
What, when and by whom; priorities
Before you and your work team formulate goals and objectives, it is helpful to determine what?
Your unit's mission; Reason your unit exists; Future of the unit; The unit's principles or values
T/F: Supervisors should set only short-term goals
False. Supervisors should set both short-term and long-term goals
T/F: It is said that goals determine progress.
True
When attempting to reach goals, what can be done to make work more efficient?
Grouping similar tasks together
T/F: Supervisors should help employees build personal goals on the job, but refrain from getting involved in their goals off the job.
False. Supervisors should help employees build personal goals both on AND off the job.
Supervisors should bring work and personal goals together as __________.
Incentives
The most successful supervisors are leaders of _______.
Closely knit work teams
What two things happen when a team is formed?
A sense of belonging; The whole becomes greater then the sum of the parts
Who is the best source of job-related information and why?
Workers, because they do the job
When you give workers a say about their jobs, they develop a sense of ______.
Ownership
Managing through others is known as ________.
Delegating
When supervisors delegate authority to employees, what are three positive by-products?
Employees feel valued; They feel their job is more interesting; They operate under self-control
What is the most effective control a supervisor can have?
Self-control on the part of the workers themselves
T/F: Delegation results in a loss of authority.
False
True delegation involves giving workers only authority related to _____. This is the authority to decide _____.
work; how the work should be done
If workers do not have the knowledge for delegation, what is to be done?
Train the workers, then delegate accordingly
In which five areas should supervisors involve their employees?
With self-managed work units, the supervisor becomes a ______ and a _____, verses a _____.
facilitator and coach; controller
Authority assigned by the organization is known as what kind of authority?
Formal authority
Authority which is based on your knowledge of what is done in your work group is known as what kind of authority?
Expert authority
T/F: It is necessary to be an expert in every situation to have expert authority over your work group.
False
Authority that is earned from workers through their acceptance of you as their leader is known as what?
Leadership authority
T/F: Workers will select their own leader, who may or may not be the supervisor.
True
There is no way to build a true work team if you have not earned what?
The position of a leader
What is one of the most important skills a supervisor needs to work more interesting and challenging for workers?
The ability to redesign jobs
A study in the early 1970's found that workers rank _______ as the most important out of 25 factors associated with work.
interesting work
Studies have found that workers want more of what in relation to work?
More control over their work
What is considered an excellent way to make work more interesting for employees?
Cross train them or have them cross train each other
What are two requirements for good coaching?
An agreed-upon work plan; Positive, continuous feedback from supervisors
Effective supervisors watch for ____ of trouble in order to deal with them before they grow into serious problems.
small signs
T/F: A goal is a target.
True
A group is a simple collection of individuals, but a ____ is a group of people who trust and count on one another to help with the work.
team
Employees whose supervisors seek their ____ on jobs will generally perform them most effectively, efficiently and economically.
advice
In short, employees want more ____ to tackle their jobs on their own and more information to enable them to do their work better.
authority
Good ____ requires that workers have an agreed upon work plan and positive, continuous feedback from supervisors.
coaching
Supervisors who are _____ have employees that confide in them and speak frankly. These employees will inform you of early warning signals.
approachable
_____ are the values that your work team considers worthwhile. These principles should be reflected in the goals that you set, your "Mission Statement".
Guiding principles
A ____ is a target. It is an exact statement of what must be done and what must be completed.
goal
_____ must be set when establishing goals.
priorities
When you bring personal goals of the worker together with the organizational goals, the result is _____.
motivation
T/F: A supervisor does not delegate his or her authority as a supervisor.
True
Delegation should only be given to employees or teams that are ____ at their jobs.
experts
T/F: It is not enough to have expert authority or the formal authority given by your organization. Effective supervisors must have Leadership Authority.
True
It is difficult to get early warning signs of trouble from workers unless you have earned their ____ and ____.
acceptance and respect
Younger workers will rebel against work that is ____ and ____.
monotonous and meaningless
What (4) positive results come from cross-training your employees?
Cross-training lets your employees learn each other's jobs; It provides back-up for your work team; It teaches them new skills; It keeps the job challenging and interesting
Postive feedback requires that the supervisor praise both ____ and ____ in addition to helping correct mistakes.
good work; improved work
Instead of negative feedback, supervisors should show how to _____ and how to learn from these errors.
