What do you look for in a Supervisor?

[Aeroguy]

Morning All

I was having a conversation with a few of the guys on the floor the other day, and we started talking about what makes a good supervisor.

So here's the question for the moment, what qualities do you think makes a good supervisor? Additionally, if you were looking to hire a CAM dept or Shop floor supervisor, what qualifications would you be looking for in a guy ?

 

Cheers

[Guyinthedesert]

I think a good supervisor is someone who is an expert in what they are supervising. Unfortunately, the guy who knows what he's doing is rarely the guy who gets promoted to supervisor.

[RaiderX]

I could be doing it all wrong but as a supervisor I always told my employee's I was not their boss I was their coach. meaning I was there to support them in succeeding in what the team needed done. I tried my best at being an expert but found it was much more realistic to find experts in individual skill sets and know who they were and when to consult with them (get them involved). I have a very diverse background but do not and never will know it all.

 

JM2C

Doug

 

Am a very big believer in Empowerment to perpetuate personal growth makes good employee's excellent employee's

[Del.]

Just find the most highly overrated person on the floor and you have a supervisor. It also helps if they are an alcoholic and are willing to screw the company out of money by acting like they are doing something by being at work all the time.

[YoDoug®]

I think just because you are good at doing something doesn't automatically mean you have the leadership abilities to effectively manage a group of people doing what you are good at. Just like becoming a good programmer takes time and requires learning, so does becoming a good leader. IMO, the biggest failure a company can do is put someone without proven leadership experience and/or training into that role and just expect them to be successful on their own. Most often they just become reactive managers that spend their time "putting out fires", rather than becoming a proactive leader that understands the companies/departments goals and works towards achieving those goals.

[rogkick]

Well...it depends on what type of "Supervisor". Good people/team managers do not need to be technical experts, a broad understanding is all that is required. And then an ability to get the most out of individual peoples skills is key.

And on the other side of the trench....a good person/team member in the eye of a supervisor is one who listens, does what is required, and is proactively trying to improve.

Lots of machinists are xxxx managers...and lots of managers are chronically poor machinists....its a fine balance.

[djstedman]

In my experience if the person in charge doesn't have the ability to recognize and solve problems on the floor then thier people / leadship skills will most likely not help much.

 

If they are willing to listen to the people with the technical skills that helps, but only if they can recognize what information is in fact reliable and worth acting on and what information is not.

 

Often a person without the requisite skills will not listen to a skilled employee because they don't recognize the value of the ideas being brought forth, or they don't have the nerve to risk implementing changes that may require a costly investment.

 

As an example, I have seen in the past where a supervisor allowed much of the tooling in the shop to decline in quality to save money, his replacement came in and spent a lot on quality tooling (mostly to replace things the previous supervisor would not) and we saw overall quality and on time delivery went through the roof while scrap percentages plummeted. The first guy couldn't recognize that sometimes saving money up front costs you more in the long term, the second guy came in, realized the problem and made the call to do something about it.

 

People skills are great but in a Machining environment its critical that the supervisor can have the technical proficiency to be able to recognize problems and address them and be able to understand how that effects the skilled guys on the shop floor.

[rogkick]

fair point...but another important factor..is how far up the food chain the supervisor needs to interact with. He(She ?? ) also needs to balance medium/long term business necessities with the daily requirements of the shop floor.

But I guess, its like that topic comparing a good machine and a crap machine....its situation dependent.

 

As for the scenario with the "allowing tooling standard to decline"...that's unacceptable, and probably a good reason why progressive companies rotate people through positions.

[CJep]

I think it helps to be a good negotiator and have thick skin like a baby sitter, when having to deal with personality conflicts.

[Newbeeee™]

A good listener, someone who will argue your cause with management and who will lead by example

[mkd]

"ability to be an a$$hole...when needed"

entrepreneur i worked for would lead via abuse, wanted the same ability in managers.

leader and managers have different definition.

i quit, M-Fer!!

[Newbeeee™]

^^^haha - yep, worked for an owner who called all the machine shop boys 'button pushing wankers'.

How to motivate your staff!

[crazy^millman]

Being a good boss really comes down to so many different things hard tO say what iS the most important. Repect and being able to walk the walk while talking the talk is important. Technical experience is important, but not required since who can one person really know everything in a company? I say be familiar and understand it, but I do not need to be an expert on grinding cutter to supervise that department along with other departments. I at one time have well over 100 people and many different departments reporting to me. Being a person that needs to make decision has always been easy for me and I am okay with making mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and grew and still grow form those. Integrity is something missing in a lot of bosses and owners. They will do anything to make a buck and short cut and cheat and this creates a workforce that will follow that example. People complain about someone being moral and having standards yet will get upset when someone cuts corners and lets things go they shouldn't but lead with the wrong example. People who will follow a leader and look for everything they can to see what they can and cannot get away with. A good manager does that they manage the people hold them to a standard and keep trying to hold themselves to a standard. The thing I always liked about making parts is the blueprint is the standard and if I make parts that met the standard I am good. Take the English language and the word like. It can be used in many different forms ofr speech and depending how it is used and what come before it like a noun or verb it then changes. Ye what what did he just say. :headscratch: 1+1=2 and no matter what language you speak a micrometer will give the same results on the same part every day of the week. I can see a scrap part and go okay they hole through that wall in the wrong place makes it scrap. Why did that happen what can we do to learn from that and imporve the process? Now if someone shows me that 10 times and never learns the 1st step they are doing me or themselves any good. Problem is how to do manage that? How do to teach and educate the work force to learn and grow? I hated the baby sitting part of being a boss. He has 4 rgas and I only have 2 rags he got an extra hour of overtime and I did not. He got promoted and I did not. What do you mean I need to keep my area clean and care about what I do? Those parts of being a boss are more the waork and we need ot cut this thin wall Titanium Part that cost $100k what do we do? No one has ever made a good one of these what do we do? We are thinking about putting in a $2.2 million cell system how do we go about that. Those are a lot eaier for me to wrap my brain around. I had someone tell me years ago you like to walk the walk, but can talk the talk. I have always tried to be personable, but reasonable as a boss. Did I make mistakes oh yeah and do thing wrong oh yeah and when I did I took responsibility for them. I have had those that never wanted to take responsibility and I would not tolerate that. You make a mistake own up to it and learn from it. You keep making the same mistake and never learn from it and sorry, but there is the door. I quite having to manager people years ago and much happier not having to manager people. I do not mind doing it and have done it in some shape form or fashion since I was a young man. It is not something I really ever wanted to do, but was something I always got thrown into. I see a problem and I try to fix the problem. I see where something needs to be done and I do it. That may be something and simple as replacing the toilet paper in the bathroom to we need to move everything out of the shop and into our new building. I know what needs to be done I have the experience doing it and I was hired in job to provide my knowledge. No one ever paid me to be stupid they paid me to do my best job and sometimes that requires me to disagree and tell even the owner to my direct boss they are wrong. Does not mean I will not do what I am told, but means I am going to tell them that is stupid or I disagree. I have scrapped parts per my owner’s instructions and got myself fired for not willing to do what I consider illegal or unmoral. I answer to God for my life first and my family and what kind of father am I if I am willing to do something immoral or illegal? Yes I need to work, but I have always felt like I can get a job that is easy I cannot get another life. I have run small companies with 6 people to full machine shops and small still has its problems and big still has its problems. Scrapping a $5 part in a small shop seems like the end of the world and scrapping a $70k in a big shop isn't. Neither of them felt good and really upset me that it happened under my watch, but it does happen. How do you deal with it how do you move forward and how to do make a team work as a team? That is the key and good managers figure out the strengths and weakness of the team they put the right people in the right places and let things move trying to build and manage the team. Sometimes you have to put on the A-hole hat I have wore it many times and fired my share of people and hired my share of people. Made good choices there and bad choice on hiring, but I never fired anyone that did not fire themselves. I will bend over backwards to help anyone, but there are someone people you just cannot help. I have had people with drug problems, gambling problems, tempers and other things. I have had my life threaten more than once for firing someone. Part of the territory when it comes to managing people.

 

What makes a good boss is the question it really comes down to what makes a person stand out? What make a leader become a leader? You are willing to humble yourself, learn, look, listening and gather information and use everything to do what is needed. You have to be able to make snap decision, think things out and find a balance between all the different personalities out there. Be hard headed, softheaded, lemon headed, mellow, stuck-up, outgoing and understand all the different hats a good leader is willing to wear. I had a guy been with a company 20 years tell me he was not going to mop the floor in the middle of his 6 hour run time. Most people would have fired him on the spot I then went and got a mop bucket and showed him I was willing to humble myself to do what I told him I wanted him to do. All the employees and the owner where thinking he got the best of me. I was done and he was impressed with how hard I worked and how clean I got the floor. I told him if I asked him again to do something and he refused he was fired. If I needed to do his job I did not need him. He never questioned me again nor did anyone else and that was my second week as the Shop Foreman. Those 2 hours of my time did more to show people what I was about than 20 meetings and others things ever would have done. I had to prove myself a couple more times on the machines, but everyone figured out quick I am a doer and much as I am person telling them they need to do their job. Bosses I have respected are the ones that are willing to do as much says what needs to be done. A good boss makes the effort to connect maybe not all the time but try’s to connect and puts the right people in place to connect with the employees. It is not an easy question and so much to cover and think about this only scratches the surface and I never considered myself a good boss. I just always tried to treat people how I wanted to be treated, give them respect and do everything I could to do my job the best I could within my abilities. When you do that and keep that the direction I think anyone can do a decent job, but some people are just better at it than others just like any job.

 

Okay will stop my thoughts there.

[Del.]

Good post Ron. I am like you when it comes to following orders. If they tell me to do something, I do it, unless it is unethical or illegal.

[TK-32™]

Excellent post Ron.

[rogkick]

This reminds me of a workplace psychology topic from University....made me laugh when I read into it a bit more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect <---- We all know someone

......................................................................................................

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle <---- We all know a few of these

 

Just a light hearted view at the picture

[Del.]

"Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence."

 

 

Funny!!!

[Guyinthedesert]

Also, if the guy is related to the owner, then he's sure to be a "Great" supervisor

[neurosis]

Also, if the guy is related to the owner, then he's sure to be a "Great" supervisor

 

Bahahahah!

 

@crazy

 

Holy Fu$K you can write a novel when you want to.

 

Good post.

[Newbeeee™]

Crazy feelin better

[Justin Beebe at Folsom Tool]

This is a subject that I find fascinating and one that is unfortunately overlooked not just in our industry but in every industry worldwide. I am a firm believer in the fact that everything rises and falls on leadership. Leadership ultimately determines a person’s level of effectiveness, and how good any company can be at what they do. If you look at any successful company you will find that they have the right leaders in the right positions. That being said here are some of the qualities that I believe make a good leader. I don’t have time to touch on them all.

 

If you want to be a good leader the first person you need to learn how to lead is yourself. This means you don’t have any destructive habits, you are punctual, you have the highest integrity, you have a positive attitude, you will do whatever it takes to get the job done, and above all people can trust you.

Secondly you have to connect with the people you are leading. Many leaders or supervisors rush right into their offices each morning and fail to communicate with the people they are leading. It’s much better to slow down, and talk to people as you pass them. Find out how their weekend was, how their families are, and if you can do anything to make their jobs easier or make them more productive. If you want to be a good leader you genuinely have to care about people and like people. Above all make yourself accessible so people can approach you for help at any time during the day.

 

Thirdly you must be highly competent in your industry. People respect competence and I have found one of the easiest ways to get people to follow you is to help them become better at their trade. This doesn’t mean you have to be an expert at everything but the more you know about your industry the more respect people will have for you and the more you can help people. This leads to another point which is just because you are an expert in your field doesn’t mean you have to do everything and micro manage everyone. My philosophy is to surround yourself with good people, give them the correct training, and then let them do their jobs. Stay out of their way unless they need your help.

 

A good leader is also a good communicator who can communicate the company vision and what needs to be done to accomplish that vision.

 

Good leaders are secure in their own ability and because of this they try to make everyone around them better. They do not hoard power instead they empower others. I’ve worked in shops where leaders have felt threatened by individuals who show potential and either hold them back or get rid of them all together. They would rather take a talented person and hand him over to the competition than let him excel and become and asset to their own company.

 

Above all a good leader must produce results and be able to get the people working with him to produce results.

 

Like I said earlier, this is a subject that I find is often neglected especially in our trade. Many people spend their entire career learning the technical side of our industry and never learn the leadership side. You can only be so effective by yourself no matter how much talent you have. When you train other people to be good at their jobs, and to be good leaders you multiply your talent exponentially.

[rogkick]

Well put.

[Guest]

Being relatively new to the management side of the business (2 years), there's a lot of good stuff here for me. Thanks guys!

 

A couple of guys keyed in on something that bears repeating and expanding upon; empowerment. If your employees are not empowered to handle the tasks given to them, your company will not ever be all that it can be. Obviously there is a trust factor, but if an employee has shown the ability to be be trusted, give them more responsibility. While I was "only" an AE, my boss basically told me "do whatever it takes to take care of the customer period, they are why we exist".

 

As a manager, you have to let people make some mistakes. Obviously not the big ones that can cripple a company, but certainly the ones that once they are made, the person can grow from them and become better at what they do. The old adage "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted the first time" is true. Show me the person that has never made a mistake, and I'll show you someone that has a huge closet full of skeletons.

 

JM2CFWIW