Evaluating Leadership Qualities – 5 Supervisory Skills To Consider
From the CEO to the Project Manager, all leaders supervise someone. That is, all leaders need to ensure that their subordinates have the capabilities and opportunities to do a good job. But how do you measure whether someone is effective at supervising others? Here are five supervisory skills you can use:
Ability to Analyze Strengths and Weaknesses: Have you had a situation where the leader needed to recommend someone for a job? What about assigning tasks to subordinates? Consider how effective the leader was in these instances.
Effectiveness at Identifying and Providing Training: Whether the job is technical or not, there will most likely be instances where all employees need some training. So consider whether the leader gives everyone an opportunity to participate in training.
Success in Developing and Enhancing Skills: It is one thing to provide training. It is quite another to create opportunities for employees to apply what they have learned. That is what development is all about. Consider what the leader does in this area. Does he or she provide opportunities for transfer-of-learning or cross-training? What about allowing employees to try out new tasks or maybe even train others? These are all areas for consideration.
Effectiveness in Scheduling and Coordinating Work: Do the right employees receive the right work at the right time? This is a basic question that can go a long way in determining how effective your leader is at assigning work to employees.
Capabilities in Identifying and Setting Performance Goals: Do employees know what they are expected to do and when? Are employee performance goals linked to organizational performance goals? These are just two questions that can provide insight about the leader's ability to manage priorities and achieve results.
Leaders Must Possess Supervisory Skills
Leadership is not just about telling others to do a good job. It is about ensuring that subordinates have the capabilities and opportunities to do a good job. This means that, among other leadership qualities, leaders must also possess supervisory skills. So the next time you have to evaluate a leader (or critique your own performance), add these five skills to the list.
Ability to Analyze Strengths and Weaknesses: Have you had a situation where the leader needed to recommend someone for a job? What about assigning tasks to subordinates? Consider how effective the leader was in these instances.
Effectiveness at Identifying and Providing Training: Whether the job is technical or not, there will most likely be instances where all employees need some training. So consider whether the leader gives everyone an opportunity to participate in training.
Success in Developing and Enhancing Skills: It is one thing to provide training. It is quite another to create opportunities for employees to apply what they have learned. That is what development is all about. Consider what the leader does in this area. Does he or she provide opportunities for transfer-of-learning or cross-training? What about allowing employees to try out new tasks or maybe even train others? These are all areas for consideration.
Effectiveness in Scheduling and Coordinating Work: Do the right employees receive the right work at the right time? This is a basic question that can go a long way in determining how effective your leader is at assigning work to employees.
Capabilities in Identifying and Setting Performance Goals: Do employees know what they are expected to do and when? Are employee performance goals linked to organizational performance goals? These are just two questions that can provide insight about the leader's ability to manage priorities and achieve results.
Leaders Must Possess Supervisory Skills
Leadership is not just about telling others to do a good job. It is about ensuring that subordinates have the capabilities and opportunities to do a good job. This means that, among other leadership qualities, leaders must also possess supervisory skills. So the next time you have to evaluate a leader (or critique your own performance), add these five skills to the list.