Supervisor Roles, Styles, and Duties

Name: Supervisor Roles, Styles, and Duties
Author: Timothy Hornseth

Now you’re a supervisor. What’s next?

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(gentle inspirational music) In these lessons, you'll get the details on what your new role as a supervisor is going to be like. You'll gain a basic understanding of your new role, learn to choose a supervisory and discover the major responsibilities of becoming a supervisor. Whether you've been newly promoted, or hired from outside your company, a new supervisor has many things to learn. How you carry yourself, interact with others, and make your initial decisions can have long-term impacts on your team. This may sound nerve-wracking, but you're actually in the timeframe known as the honeymoon period, where your mistakes are quickly forgiven if you realize and act on them quickly. As a new supervisor, you're in a unique position. You manage a team of employees, and are the point person for communicating information from upper management. But you're also channeling information and concerns from employees back to higher management. This can create some tricky interpersonal relationships, since it's likely you were once part of the team prior to being promoted. It can be challenging to transition from coworker to boss, but these growing pains aren't exclusive to you. While you're adapting to your new authority, your team members are doing the same. Redefining your role with the team takes some overt measures. You can't just assume that your former coworkers will automatically accept your new position of authority. What kind of measures can you implement to help define yourself as the new team leader? That all depends on how you were hired. Was there a posted opening that encouraged an internal application? Was it a merit promotion? Are you managing a brand-new team composed of people who don't know each other? In each case you, can take certain steps to define yourself as the team supervisor. You can do this in a group, or on an individual basis. It's also a best practice to define the duties of your position to your team members. For example, for employee evaluations, will you be delivering the evaluations, or will you just have significant input in assessing the employee? As the new team leader, you'll have day-to-day supervisory authority, but how far does that extend? You could also talk about how you're involved with hiring, terminations, scheduling, workflow, and other duties. This keeps your employees informed and knowledgeable about how far your authority extends. It's essential that you deliver this information with tact and professionalism, because it's important that your team perceives you as an aspiring leader, and not as someone demanding obedience. This is crucial for building a functioning, efficient, and effective team.

Intermediate Provider : Timothy Hornseth 5 Lessons · 15m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

As a new supervisor, it’s important to have a good working knowledge of what your new role is going to involve. In these lessons, we’ll discuss your new place in your organization, with a focus on defining yourself and your duties to your employees. You’ll discover different supervisory styles, like authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire, and how you can utilize each one. Finally, you’ll learn about the typical duties of a supervisor, including the ins and outs of working with your new subordinates, as well as working with upper management.

What You'll Learn

Define what it means to be a supervisor and understand your new place within your organization
Identify the three supervisory styles—authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire—and know when to use each
Choose and apply an appropriate supervisory style for different situations
Understand the common duties of a supervisor
Work effectively with your new subordinates as well as with upper management

Key Takeaways

As a new supervisor, having a good working knowledge of what the role involves is important for defining yourself and your duties to your employees.
There are three supervisory styles—authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire—and each can be utilized depending on the situation.
A supervisor's typical duties include working with subordinates as well as working with upper management.
The course covers your new place in the organization, with a focus on defining yourself and your duties to your employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for new supervisors who want a good working knowledge of what their new role involves.

What supervisory styles does the course cover?

The course covers three supervisory styles—authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire—and how you can utilize each one and when to use them.

What will I learn about a supervisor's duties?

You'll learn about the typical duties of a supervisor, including the ins and outs of working with your new subordinates as well as working with upper management.

What topics or lessons are included?

The lessons include Understanding Your Role (Parts 1 and 2), Choosing a Supervisory Style, Knowing Your Duties, and a Test Your Knowledge assessment.

What skills does this course help develop?

The course helps develop skills such as delegation, supervision, career development, defining roles and responsibilities, management styles, and user roles.