¶ … Supervisory Strengths
One aspect of this supervisor's character and managerial style that has always been strong is his ability to communicate on an interpersonal level, and also to large groups of people. He excels in giving direction in a clear and precise manner, and dispensing advice in a friendly and supportive fashion. He is also a good listener, which makes him able to understand when a subordinate does not clearly understand an assignment, needs emotional or practical support, or is having a personality conflict with another member of the staff. He understands the wisdom of not "focusing on what you want to say to get your point across," and instead turns his "focus on what you want the other person to hear" (Reh, 2007, "Getting your point across").
Sometimes this type of consideration can be as simple as just asking, 'what don't you understand,' rather than merely repeating the directions over again, if the person looks uncertain. Asking people...
He gives positive as well as negative feedback, and the feedback is specific and constructive. This supervisor sets specific deadlines, employs a hands-on approach by monitoring progress and never tries to micromanage small decisions (Reh, 2007, "The lesson of the red horse"). Employees are allowed to have a sense of ownership about their work, but they never feel as though they are fumbling around in the dark, without a clear idea of what to do next. He is also approachable, should a conflict arise, which prevents potential delays or setbacks from becoming too great to solve.
Supervisory Weaknesses
Unfortunately, although the supervisor's interpersonal skills are strong, the actual, technical knowledge he has about the various projects he oversees is often weak. This has resulted in him setting inappropriate timetables for certain complex projects and also a lack of awareness about the types of expertise that is needed, when assigning certain members of the…
