Supervision
Let’s talk about what drives us CRAZY!!!
Your Interests in Supervision…
 Professional Staff
 VC’s expectations for supervision, method for effective
supervision, dealing with difficult employees, working
as a team, professional dev., staff apathy, providing good
customer service, range of supervisory styles, use of case
studies, employee expectations and goal setting…
 Student Staff
 Motivation, delegation, empowerment, project mgt.,
receiving feedback, confrontation, buy-in to dept.
mission and goals, performance incentives, multiple
supervisors…
And the VC sez…
-“Let them know you’re paying attention.”
-“If we expect students to be a community, we must
model community.”
-”With the title comes responsibility.”
Today’s Session…
 Fundamentals of Good Supervision
 Developing the Team
 Keeping Pace
 Supervising Students
 Student Development Theory
 Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning
 CASK
 Research on Supervision in S.A.
Supervision Fundamentals
 Establish clear expectations and define the culture
 Seek synergy between person and the environment- “FIT”
 Describe performance evaluation process, and provide
frequent feedback (esp. for new staff)
 Confront poor performance QUICKLY, in consultation with
AVC Glossl/HR, and through periodic evaluative process

Follow all HR policies and procedures to the letter
 Address poor work acumen and poor work habits
 Counsel and coach individual team members, and help them
separate the personal from the professional
 Show appreciation for top performers
 Have faith that your boss will “do the right thing”
to develop the team
 Communicate up the chain!
Fundamentals…
 Supervisors need to stress that young staff members
learn their work while getting to know themselves
(Temet Nosce)
 Be friendly without being a friend, and value being
respected over being liked
 Know a little about where your staff have
been and where they are going
 Discuss their career goals
 Good supervisors get “out and about”
Fundamentals…
 Learning styles/personality inventories may be useful
 Apply self-exploration/probing techniques (ask
supervisee, “How do you think it’s going? What is
going well? What is not? What are your biggest
successes, challenges & headaches so far?”)
 Establish mentors for new staff (but sometimes this
complicates supervisory relationship)
 Apply different approaches to each staff member
(don’t color each canvass with the same brush)
Fundamentals…
 Establish a bright line between personal and
professional…balance respect for personal life with value
for accountability.
 Encourage cross training and autonomy
 Fellowship Programs
 UNCW
http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/pdc/FellowshipProgram.htm
 GW
http://gwired.gwu.edu/sass/Resources/ProfDev/Fellows/
How do we “Develop the Team?”
 Communicate expectations
 Confront inappropriate behaviors with confidence
 Use the FULL CASK model
 Counsel and coach
 Reward excellence
 Professional development
 New resp’s
 Encourage advancement
 What else?
 Keeping Pace…
 Practice the “Laws of Control”
 Observe the “Hawthorne Effect”
 Work for work’s reward
 Remember who benefits from our work
 Provide positive references for those who earn them
 Others…
Supervising Students
 Have we taught students the game, or assume they
already know how to play and know the rules?
 Acclimate them to the experience and your expectations




from day one, both in groups and as individuals
Teach them how to be a successful employee; tell them
what the organization values
Teach them the basics (punctuality, attire, work ethic,
“being present,” phone etiquette, customer service…)
Make connections to their career aspirations
Share “Top Skills” employers seek (Thom Rakes)
“Failure is instructive. The person who really
thinks learns quite as much from his failures
as from his successes.”
-John Dewey
 Tell them what they will be evaluated on

Use the CASK Model
 Measure their defensiveness (supervise the individual)




Sandwich approach
Teach them about evaluative feedback, your role as an
objective supervisor (not personal)
Seek their input and estimation of strengths and limitations
Teach “introspection”
 Brush up on Student Development Theory
Key SDT Concepts
 Optimal student development requires an environment with a
proper balance of challenge and support.
 Behavior is a function of the person and the environment.
 Understanding “holistic learning” is essential, including taking
an overall, inclusive approach concerning physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual factors that affect health.
 Developmental tasks are skills and competencies that are
mastered and acquired by an individual as he/she gains
increasing mastery over their environment.
 Crisis often results from disequilibrium (when one does not
have the skills to manage a situation).
Erik Erikson’s (1959) Life Span Model
(Eight Stages of Development)
1.
Infancy (birth-2)…Basic trust versus mistrust between mother and child
2.
Toddlerhood (2-4)…Autonomy versus shame and doubt (potty training)
3.
Early School Age (5-7)…Initiative versus guilt (masturbation)
4.
Middle School Age (8-12)…Industry versus inferiority (school work)
5.
Late Adolescence (18-22)…Individual identity versus role diffusion
(adolescence)
6.
Early Adulthood (23-34)…Intimacy versus Isolation (marriage)
7.
Middle Adulthood (35-60)…Generativity versus stagnation (parenting)
8.
Late Adulthood (61- )…Integrity versus despair (dealing with death)
16
Arthur Chickering’s Seven Vectors
(1969; Linda Reisser in 1993)
Introduced “vectors” as series of developmental tasks both having
direction and magnitude. One may work through more than one
concurrently, but each stage is the central focus at any given time.
Implies fluid motion of development.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Developing competence
Managing emotions
Moving through autonomy toward independence
Developing mature interpersonal relationships
Establishing identity
Developing purpose
Developing integrity
Five Elements of Identity Resolution
1)
Experimentation with varied roles
2)
Experiencing choice
3)
Meaningful achievement
4)
Freedom from excessive anxiety
5)
Time for reflection and introspection
18
Erikson
(1959)
Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning (1964)
 Still a great model for student development and staff
supervision and “informal evaluation”
 Three domains of learning are cognitive, affective,
and psychomotor.
 The Cognitive domain involves knowledge and the
development of intellectual skills.
 The Affective domain includes the manner in which we deal
with things emotionally, and our attitude.
 The Psychomotor domain includes physical movement,
coordination, and the use of motor skills.
 Adding domain of communication= CASK.
Student Affairs: Creating
Experiences for Life
Research on Supervision in S.A.
 A common cause for attrition of new SAPs is job
dissatisfaction resulting from role ambiguity, role
conflict, role orientation, role stress, job burnout,
work overload, and perceived opportunities for goal
attainment, professional development, and career
advancement (Berwick, 1992; Conley, 2001).
 Brown (1987) stated that attrition from low morale
requires constant training of new professionals.
Creamer and Winston (2002) stated that a principal
factor for attrition is the quality of supervision
received in the first one or two jobs. Effective
supervision of new professionals can reduce the
propensity of new professionals to leave.
 The culture of the H.E. organization has the unique
potential to influence a new professional's retention
because they encounter a host of issues with entry into
the profession (Ellis, 2002; Hamrick & Hemphill, 2002;
Marsh, 2001) and need orientation and socialization
both to their field of work and to their employing
institution (Amey, 1990, 2002; Katz & Tushman, 1983).
An effective model of supervision that provides the
necessary orientation and socialization to student
affairs and higher education is one way to reduce the
attrition of new professionals.
Tull, Ashley. (2006). Journal of College Student Development
9.4; 465-480.
 Supervision is defined as directing others, overseeing their work,
inspecting their performance
 “Good supervision” fosters personal growth and professional
development in staff
 Supervision in S.A. is the helping process designed to support staff as
they work to promote organizational goals and to enhance personal
and professional development
 Few practitioners have received adequate preparation as supervisors
(Schuh & Carlisle, 1997)
 Many entry-level supervisors in residence life lack basic supervision
skills and confidence to supervise (Winston & Fitch, 1993)
 Without proper training, supervisors wing it and rely on their own
supervision experiences (good or bad)
Ward, S.R. & Javorek, M.E. (2003, spring). “Applying theory to practice:
Supervision in student affairs.” NASPA Journal 40(3): 77-92.
Discussion / Q&A
Clip Art from:
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/steering_wheel.asp
http://www.istockphoto.com/illustration.php?gclid=CLXt_72ws6AC
FRJinAodfDzWSw
http://hubpages.com/hub/Gary-Larson
http://fx.worth1000.com/contests/2455/unauthorized-far-sidetribute-5
Purpose of
Performance Goals
 Performance goals:
 Communicate
expectations
 Set measurable
standards
 Provide a pathway to
improvement, growth,
and opportunity
 Motivate employees to
perform at their best

Appreciative Inquiry
Purpose of
Performance Goals (cont.)
 Performance goals:
 Provide a fair and objective basis for compensation and
other rewards
 Target training and coaching needs
 Create a focus for performance appraisals
Criteria for Effective
Performance Goals
 Job related
 Specific
 Relevant
 Challenging
 Measurable
 Prioritized
 Observable
 Individualized
 Attainable
 Flexible
 Reasonable
 Written
The Goal-Setting Process
 Set performance goals with employees

Early and review periodically
 Monitor performance

In the moment and during formal & informal evaluations
 Document observations

Positive, neutral and deficiencies
 Evaluate performance

Use a method that is clear and concise (SWOT/CASK)
 Discuss performance with the employee
 Set new performance goals together

Clearly defined with timeline
Individualizing Performance
Goals
 Review job
descriptions and
hiring
specifications
 Review past
performance
 Compare
performance with
organizational and
department goals
Individualizing
Performance Goals
 Consider physical or
environmental
limitations
 Take team goals into
account
 Think about the
employee’s career
growth
 Consider your manager’s
goals and your own
performance goals
(cont.)
Setting New Goals
 Goals not achieved
during the
previous period
 Career
development goals
 Changing
company or
department needs
 Additional training
or coaching needs
 Next level of
achievement
Measuring Job Performance
Goals
 Understand the value of measuring job
performance effectively
 Be consistently objective and specific and
focus on behavior and strengths
 Select appropriate criteria for measuring
performance
 Keep complete and accurate records of your
observations
 Conduct objective, useful performance appraisals
Why is Measuring
Job Performance Important?
 Provides foundation for performance
appraisal system
 Supports quality and productivity
improvement
 Allows you to identify high and low
performers
 Gives employees valuable feedback
Also…
 Offers sound basis for managerial
decisions
 Identifies training needs
 Assists in coaching, counseling, and
disciplining employees
 Helps avoid discrimination and bias
 Helps employees follow HR policies
What Does Measuring
Performance Involve?
 Basic job standards
 Individual performance
standards
 Department goals
 Observation
 Evaluation
Objective and Specific
 Record facts, not impressions
 Focus on performance and
behaviors, but also on
attitudes
 Make specific observations
& give concrete examples
Measuring Results
 Focus on accomplishment
of goals or responsibilities
 Clearly define expectations
 Document actual results
 Recognize that the employee
has control over and impact
on results
Combining Measurements to
Describe Overall Performance
Getting a true picture
Motivation
Relevance to job
Incorporating knowledge
Rating Systems
 Numerical rating scales
 Descriptive rating scales
 MBO
 BARS
 SWOT
 CASK
Be Fair and Consistent
Use the same measures
Apply the system
to everyone
Back up your
measurements
Explain the system