The Need for Quality First Line Supervision

At the heart of every successful organization is excellent first line supervision. The discipline and accountability forms the basis for stability and consistency and hence continuous improvement throughout the organization. The people you place in the first line of supervision are the key to your success, or lack thereof. There are four key points when developing quality supervisors:

1. Develop the supervisors you have and put systems in place to create new leaders.
2. Give them responsibility and hold them accountable for their performance.
3. Continuously evaluate your talent and reward the best performers.
4. Involve people in their work and allow them opportunities to develop.

One of the key mistakes made consistently throughout all industries is promoting based on the skill level of completing a task. It is important to understand that promotion to team lead or supervisor should be based on skills that a leader needs such as initiative, organization, and most importantly the ability to motivate a team and hold them accountable for reaching targets. Following that one step further, your existing supervisors need to have the responsibility for reaching goals and targets and the management must hold them accountable. It is how great organizations execute to a high level every day. Each person is held accountable for achieving what needs to be done in their area.

This could mean a complete overhaul of your evaluation and promotion process. Don't be frightened because that is what is necessary to continuously evaluate your talent and reward the best performers. Promote those that understand where you want to bring your organization and are willing to work hard to make sure you bring it there. It may mean setting up specific tasks or projects to give people the opportunity to show the skills required. It definitely means you should be cross-training and rotating your employees regularly to stimulate growth and improvement and give you the chance to see them in different roles. It gives them the chance to be involved and develop and you the knowledge you need to promote those best suited to leading and not those best suited to doing.