How to Be Supervised/Managing Up
What is the first step you should do when you make a mistake at work?
Admitting to your supervisor that you’ve made a mistake
Three things you should bring up with your supervisor
Expectations
Projects/Assignments
Work conditions
Schedule
1:1 meetings
Dress and behavior code with students
Special events
Relationship with others in the unit
Better information for understanding the functional area better
Reporting lines
What is synergistic supervision?
It is an interactive, collaborative process in which the supervisor and supervise make vital contributions. Its cooperative nature allows joint effects to exceed the combination of individual efforts.
Due to COVID-19, your supervisor is not able to fill a few staff positions in the office. As a result, they have taken on some of the vacant positions’ responsibilities. Unfortunately, this also means they have very little time to supervise you. You like your supervisor and recognize that they are just really overwhelmed. How should you proceed to manage an overwhelmed supervisor?
Be sensitive and supportive
Recognize what your needs are
Identify external resources
Consult with the supervisor about learning opportunities
Consult with your faculty supervisor (if needed/able)
What three things need to be kept in mind when building a relationship with your supervisor?
The relationship is unequal in relationship to power, status, and expertise
Maintain boundaries to avoid the development of dual relationships & allows for critical evaluation
Build trust by having open honest and non-defensive interactions/communication
What are the seven possible roles a supervisor can/should hold?
Teacher
Limit Setter
Enabler
Role Model
Sponsor
Evaluator
Mentor*
How can you prepare yourself to receive feedback in your position?
Be reflective (does it match your perception or does it not?)
Build a trusting relationship with your supervisor
Be patient - take time
What are the four stages of staff development (internship edition)? Double points if you can explain what each stage is...
Induction Stage - Gaining entry into the internship setting (orientation)
Acclimation Stage - Building confidence in your abilities, gain clarity, receive initial feedback on performance & attitude
Application Stage - Using theory in practice, gaining more autonomy, application of skills acquired from the classroom
Closure Stage - Detailed feedback on performance, application of internship skills to career plans
What is good supervision based on? (Hint there are 7 things)
Trusting and supportive relationship
An organizational structure that allows space for both learning and independence
Theory-based practice
Open communication and candor
Mutual respect
A practice that emphasizes ethics standards
Accountability
You and your supervisor are still getting to know each other. This semester you are having a challenging time balancing school, personal, and work commitments. With a recent restructure in the office, you have noticed your supervisor lean more on you to complete additional mundane tasks and programs. You are feeling overwhelmed but are struggling to identify solutions. You’ve tried to talk to your supervisor about your feelings of being overwhelmed and they seemed resistant to your feedback. What do you do next?
Get insight from trusted individuals
Be solution-oriented
Identify external support
Lean on your job description - ask how the additional work relates to the job description
Be reflective - Is this the hill you need to die on?
You have been in your role for a few months and feel pretty comfortable with all of the job responsibilities. You know how to do your job and have “learned the ropes”. You are starting to realize that you just don't like your job. You find the tasks to be annoying and not challenging. While other graduate assistants are learning a lot in your office, you are unimpressed with your experience. You have a meeting with your supervisor who happens to share that they have noticed your disinterest with the job and role. They described you as “checked-out, bored, and dispassionate”. They are disappointed with your attitude and motivation and feel that students are noticing your lack of care. The feedback and your performance are impacting your supervisory relationship, which used to be pretty solid. What do you do?
Reflect on what parts of your job you like and dislike
Talk with your peers in the office about why they like their job
Identifies additional opportunities that could interest you
Ask your supervisor if there is a possibility to adjust your job responsibilities
Identify the possibility to change internships
In your internship, you start talking with a non-traditional student worker who you recently met and you learned that the student is a parent and returning to college to finish their degree. A few days later, you arrive to the office and realize that the front desk is not currently staffed. You noticed that the student you met recently is supposed to be working. Your supervisor asks you to document the student for the missed/late shift. Which potential problems should you be cognizant of when considering student supervisory relationships?
Age differences
Dealing with diversity
You are nearing the end of your first semester in your internship and you and your supervisor have been working well together. Often, your supervisor shares how well you are doing in the job and when you ask for feedback it is consistently positive. You have noticed that your supervisor has been more distant and short-tempered recently. During the performance appraisal, your supervisor begins bringing up a number of areas in your performance that need improvement. The feedback seems inconsistent with the feedback you received throughout the year. You are unsure if there is something you’ve done or if it is “personal”. What do you do?
Take time to reflect on your own performance (think before you act)
Request examples and specific behaviors
Ask to generate alternative ways to do actions that did not meet expectations
Reset your expectations - Request timely feedback
You and your supervisor have built a great relationship. You often feel you can talk them about anything (personally or professionally) and you feel like they “treat you like an equal”. It is not unusual for both of you to share about your weekends and personal lives. As a result, you feel very comfortable with them. You have noticed that they have lightly joked with you that some people may perceive as flirtatiously. Because of the close relationship, you have joked backed but not thought anything of it. After a large-scale program, your supervisor invited you to grab drinks at a local restaurant. You are already going out and think of it as a casual chance to celebrate. Before heading out, your cohort mate mentioned that they heard your supervisor had a previous romantic relationship with their past GA. You start thinking that some of these “casual encounters” may have been more. What do you do?
Decline/Rescind the invitation
Decide how you feel about the relationship
Have a conversation with your faculty supervisor
Based on how you feel, you either should wait to explore the relationship AFTER the internship is complete and/or communicate with the supervisor about uncomfortable interactions
Consult HR as needed
You supervise an RA staff. During a one-on-one conversation, one of the RAs, Terri, shares with you that they feel really uncomfortable when Mark brings up their experience with navigating race. The RA you are talking with identifies as white and Mark identifies as Asian. You are aware that race issues have been coming up a lot on campus and nationally. Terri has asked you to help them by telling Mark it is “unprofessional” to discuss race at work. What do you do?
Gain understanding
Share the interactions with your supervisor
Think about the various roles that a supervisor can hold… which roles apply here
Identify resources
Familiarize yourself with policies around racial discrimination
Ask for help