YD Scuba Diving Forums banner

what makes a good supervisor ?

2K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  Paulus 
The type of people/person you are supervising, and also the industry you work in makes a huge difference. I run a large department which is heavy machinary based. The workforce is exclusively male, working class and almost exclusively unionised. It can be very hard/impossible to motivate people in this environment. However, there is one quality which you most definately need. The workforce need to respect you and your abilities. If you don't have their respect (even begrudgingly) then you don't have their loyalty. Everything after that is a matter of style.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 672
thats another good point. The ability to smile, nod and walk away whilst inside you want to destroy the Humber bridge with your bare hands is a very useful skill. Thats why a manager needs a private office. You need somewhere to vent frustrations. There is actually a hole in a partition wall in my office where "somebody" took out his frustrations upon it. It is now patched up with a piece of MDF, with a sign on it saying "please respect your walls".
 
I work in a very pressured environment. I recently started an ex Navy Submariner, who hails from Ashton (near Wigan, if you know the place you'll know why I mention it). After a few months he stated that he was considering rejoining the Navy as there wasn't as much pressure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 672
I think that we manage in different environments and pressures. In my "Industry", the ability to first do your job, then the job of everyone working for you is a must. I haven't worked in your "Industry" so cannot comment upon it. The industry I work in is also a very long standing, traditional industry which is currently in decline. To change said working environment would cost more than the company is ever likely to recoup by making the change. Training is non-existent, motivation is money based (and there have been no pay-rises for 2/3 years, we also earn less in real terms than we did 20+ years ago.) The machinary is (well) past its scrappage date. Despite these limitations, we are still producing, despite several other (more professional) competitors folding recently. We are also still quite profitable. The management style we are pressured to adopt may be old fashioned, but it still works in this environment. There is no Bullying or Harrassment. We don't coerce and we don't pressurize people, but what we do expect is a basic level of competence. If this competence is not forthcoming, then we "retrain". If retraining does not work, then we have no option but to replace. This is a long process, but is vital if the staff (200+) want to continue working in a declining industry.
With respect to your "respect" theory. In this industry, if you can't do the job of the people you are asking to do the job, then you would never know if it could be done better, more efficiently and more importantly, safer. I hope my staff respect me. They know that I respect them.
cheers
Danny.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 672
Its amazing how sometimes it can just build up over month and then one moment of anger taken out on a static unfeeling object can release it all. People always tell me how even tempered I am. They are shocked when I tell them about the "wailing wall".
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top