21 Things New Supervisors Should Do

1. Have periodic discussions with your boss regarding the priorities of the job. Don't simply rely on your job description. Most job descriptions are obsolete within weeks of their creation.



2. Learn what it takes to get fired in your organization.



3. Study and gain an expertise in your responsibilities. If you are doing just enough to get by then some day you won't.



4. Listen carefully to your subordinates. Odds are, many - if not all - of them know more about various aspects of the job than you do. Respect their level of expertise until they give you reason to think otherwise.



5. Don't take yourself too seriously but require basic respect.



6. Recognize that although your team may be very capable, you were placed in that job for a reason. You bring a perspective that the team may lack. Know what it is.



7. Don't badmouth upper management to your team. It won't score points with either side.



8. Shield your employees from unnecessary hassles from the outside.



9. Make sure that your employees eat or rest before you do.



10. Learn how to walk into a room and sense the morale of the occupants.



11. Ignore trivial infractions unless they are linked to a major one and never ignore a major one.



12. Act promptly to squelch factions.



13. Avoid sarcasm. It will gain you little and may cost you much.



14. Strive to build a workplace in which trust is the centerpiece. This requires both integrity and competence because without either then trust cannot be given.



15. Evaluate all of your actions to determine whether they are merely superficial or are capable of making a real achievement.



16. Give a sense of urgency to important tasks. If you don't convey it, where will it be found?



17. It is nice to have both but, given the choice, pay less attention to form than to substance.



18. Treat everyone with courtesy.



19. Never permit turf concerns to overwhelm the concern for the mission.



20. Don't tolerate bigots, bullies, and jerks.



21. Lead by example. Always.