Just as the supervisor must focus on communication which is a two way street, he/she must also become a student at heart.  A chant that I often use in workshops is have everyone repeat: “For my company to grow I must grow.”  This simply means that they must be teachable and eager to learn more about their job, technical issues, management skills and yes, even from their workers.  With newer technologies appearing more and more frequently, the supervisor should be reading trade publications (both hard print as well as websites such as this), attending vendor sponsored workshops, earning and renewing certification credentials and staying focused on growing every day.  One person stated it quite well when they said: “It is not a crime to be ignorant; however it is a crime to stay ignorant if there are resources available to learn and grow.”

Another danger that supervisors need to be aware of is failing to accept and embrace change.  We all love progress but few of us are comfortable with change when it impacts our lives directly.  We oftentimes go through the four stages of change: 1) Denial, 2) Resistance, 3) Exploration and 4) Acceptance.  Usually denial and resistance has more to do with not understanding what is happening than why.  As we explore change, we are able to analyze what is happening and can find creative ways of accepting it as an opportunity to grow.  With acceptance, the fear and confusion is behind us and we are ready to get on with our lives.

If anything, we should be agents of change in the sense that we should b e not satisfied with the status quo and push to improve productivity, workers’ environment our own personal status.  More in future articles on this important subject.  

Your comments and questions are always welcome. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean…

 

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678.314.2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.


posted on 10/31/2013