Comments on: 3 Things Being a Supervisor Has Taught Me About Being an Employee

By: Pamela

Pamela — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:55:34 +0000

Great post. There are great examples in the comments, too. I've worked as the manager of a company for over a year now. Here are few bits of advice I would give (in addition to what's already been given): 1) Don't point out the mistakes of others in public (in a group, during a staff meeting, etc.). Criticize in private, praise in public. 2) You are not always going to like your boss's management style. This is something you need to learn to deal with. You don't have to like it, but you do need to cope with it and do what your boss tells/expects you to do. 3) On a similar note, there will always be co-workers who do the absolute minimum required to get by, who don't do their jobs well, or who are difficult to get along with. This is part of life and it's another thing you just have to learn to deal with. You can only control you, though, so do the best job that you can. Pamela’s last blog post: Enough hair for five dogs

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Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:08:50 +0000

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By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:00:35 +0000

I also work in libraries & use to supervise student workers. The points you make are very true. I also practice: (1) never ask someone to do something you’re not willing to do yourself. This really goes far with student workers. If they know or have seen you do something they do they realize that their work is valued too. They aren’t just a warm body. (2) The end result is what matters. On certain tasks in the library setting is does matter how things are done. However with some tasks it doesn’t matter in what way or order something is done. I feel this gives the student worker accountability for a job. Telling them: this is the end result I want, I don’t care how you get there as long as I get the correct end product. It shows that you trust them & their skills to produce the result you want.

Thanks for all of your great posts!

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:23:10 +0000

Don't be a whiner/complainer. There's a difference between addressing department problems and just complaining about everything that's going wrong. I've been on both sides of the coin and I've recently been reevaluating the way I phrase things. At work we have an open door policy, so when we see an issue we address it. But, I feel like I'm the only one that sees issues and addresses them, which makes me feel like I'm complaining. That stuff comes back around on review time if you've constantly focused on the negative. Now I really make a concerted effort to also focus on the positive and how we can keep that working smoothly. Kristy @ Master Your Card’s last blog post: Weekly Round Up

By: mrsmicah

mrsmicah — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:33:23 +0000

@Alice great example. I’ve worked for a number of people and they all have little things that make them happy. I gave the assistant we’re keeping for the summer some positive feedback on a few little things he did once and he’s kept them up. It’s much appreciated.
@Craig true. Even if you’re good at your job, not having ambition and willingness to learn means that you’re probably not going to excel. Fortunately, I like to learn new stuff. Good thing too, since I was told in the interview that this position would be somewhat dynamic over the next year, as the library transforms.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:26:50 +0000

Another thing I would add is wanting to learn more. Being an employee you should want to learn more, or have more responsibility. Boss likes that. Craig’s last blog post: The Ways to Combat Whooping Interest Rates

By: Alice

Alice — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:55:09 +0000

Find out what’s important to your boss, and do it. For example, I worked for several years in a flower shop. I was on my own for most of the day, and could let my work bench get as messy as I liked/needed. But my boss liked things tidy, so 15 minutes before I expected him I would tidy up, sweep, pile the mail neatly, etc. He really liked that.