Joe’s Leadership Blog

Three Star Leadership has a great post up asking What Do You Do With the Rest of Your Leaders?  One of the leadership groups really hit home for me.  I’ve seen this in many Youth Development organizations and lived through the lack of supervisory skills training.  .

“Sergeants need training in the skills they need for the supervisory parts of their jobs. They know the technical stuff, but they rarely get supervisory skills training and are often put in the uncomfortable and failure-prone position of supervising the people they’ve worked with for years while they’re also transitioning to a new role. Sergeants also need what all leaders need: support and feedback.”

The easiest way to start the leadership process for ‘sergeants’, or anyone new to management is to read The One Minute Manager.  It is a very quick read, but very helpful.  Even if all they get out of the book is the One Minute Praising and One Minute Reprimand, the book is worth it.  Here’s the One Minute Praising (which less people take the time to do):

1.                  Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing.

2.                  Praise people immediately

3.                  Tell people what they did right-be specific

4.                  Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps the organization and the other people who work there.

5.                  Stop for a moment of silence to let them “feel” how good you feel.

6.                  Encourage them to do more of the same.

7.                  Make it clear that you support their success in the organization.

Blanchard encourages the manager to involve how people feel.  This has worked for us.  Staff have told us that they are invested because we are invested in their success.  The $14.93 for this book will go much further than money spent on most training programs.  It helps if the supervisor has read the book to and asks for feedback and discussion rather than just handing someone the book and hoping they read it.  Again, it is a very quick read and is not an intimidating textbook for those with limited education.  On the flip side, I have a Master’s degree and still found it very useful.