Supervisory Expectations

"It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously." - Peter Ustinov

     One of the larger adjustments I have had to make during training for my new assistantship is becoming a supervisor and learning the responsibilities that role entails. I've never truly been "in charge" or anyone. Yes, I've been in a position to tell people what to do, and long ago when I was an assistant instructor for karate classes there was no question of "who's in charge?" But I've never held the complete responsibility of supervising another person in their professional tasks - it has always been much more of an advisory role.

     I remember thinking very specifically about the differences between advising and supervising before my interview weekend, and it was an exercise our leadership development coordinator had us do during training as well. One of my colleagues used an analogy that stuck with me: advising is guiding someone, whereas supervising is steering them. In some situations, you do not have to follow a guide. Sure, it is usually in your best interest, but the most they can do is show you the path, and it is up to you to take it. If someone is steering the jeep down the path, though, the only way for you to not go down the path is to jump out.

    What interests me about this adjustment is not that part of the analogy, though. I am honestly fine with my small staff of RAs being required to take the path I choose, or else "jumping out." It is my being required to choose the paths that has been the largest adjustment. In my advising roles in the past much has been chosen or set for me, while in this new supervisory role I am responsible for setting list after list of requirements and expectations for my staff. I have set "Staff Expectations," "Training Expectations," "Duty Expectations," and so on, and every time I have finished a list there has been this foreboding feeling of having sealed someone's fate for the next academic year. 

    To get past that feeling I remind myself that this experience is all part of my journey of professional development, and so I take the supervisory responsibilities that much more seriously. I double- and triple-check those expectations, invite questions and comments on them, and envision how conversations concerning them will go. And - much more importantly than my own growth - I always consider my staff's professional growth and how my expectations will steer them on their paths. Because only guiding them would not be taking the full responsibility entrusted to me as their supervisor.

Quote Citation: BBC News. (2004, March 12). Ustinov's comic touch. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3578959.stm

Photo by: Me