To learn more about the role of a supervisor, you will interview someone in a supervisory position; your selection cannot be yourself or someone in the class. Identify someone you think is an effective supervisor. It can be someone from where you are currently employed or someone from another organization. Gather responses to the questions listed below and document your supervisor’s answers to the questions listed below.
Briefly introduce your supervisor (i.e., supervisor’s name, title, employer, and years of experience as a supervisor; also explain why you choose this particular supervisor).
1. How did the supervisor acquire his/her position? What background/preparation did the person have; e.g., formal education, company-specific training, etc.?
2. What traits, characteristics, and/or skills does the supervisor think are most important to being an effective supervisor? (Consider the supervisor’s responses in terms of what’s been covered in this class in formulating your response to this question).
3. When this person first became a supervisor, what was the most surprising discovery about the assignment to the supervisory position; provide examples with explanations?
4. Ask the supervisor to describe a typical day. Find out what percentage of time each day is spent on the five functions of a supervisor (e.g., think of a pie chart where you explain the percentages the supervisor spends on each managerial function).
5. What are the most rewarding aspects of being a supervisor, why?
6. What are the biggest challenges of being an effective supervisor, why?
7. Ask the interviewee to describe a situation that he/she did not handle well and how it contributed to their being a better supervisor today; what the consequences and what did they learn from the experience. (This experience could relate to either the supervisor’s current employment or with a previous employer).
8. Ask the supervisor to share a situation that he/she handled very effectively and how it contributed to their being a better supervisor today; what were the benefits associated with the experience. (This experience could relate to either the supervisor’s current employment or with a previous employer).
9. What advice would the supervisor give to a newly appointed, first-time supervisor? (Identify and explain at least five different advice suggestions, including an explanation of each and why the advice is important to a new supervisor).
10. Reflect on the information you gathered in the interview and the material covered in this course, specify a criteria that you plan to use to specify supervisor performance. Summarize your thoughts in light of the interview specifically pertaining to what you learned from the interview. Formulate your response around the following two (2) questions:
• What makes a supervisor effective in their job?
• What differentiates an average supervisor from an exceptional supervisor?
Note: Responses to introduction must be a minimum of 25-words, questions one through seven must be a minimum of 50-words in length, responses for questions eight through nine must be a minimum 100-words in length, and response for question ten be a minimum of 350-words in length.
