Etiquette for Supervisors

Overview/Description
 Some supervisors seem to be able to energize their employees to give their best efforts. Other supervisors have to engage in a battle of wills to accomplish the simplest tasks. What's the difference? According to a 19th-century management thinker, a supervisor: "has the power to make employees happy or unhappy; and to make their jobs a pleasure or a burden. A supervisor's power lies in words and looks, things so intangible they are impossible to measure." In other words, supervisors increase their own effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of their subordinates simply by the way they conduct everyday tasks. In short, they do it by applying simple etiquette. In this course, the learner will explore the special etiquette of being a supervisor, the etiquette of one-on-one interactions with subordinates, the etiquette of listening as a supervisory tool, and the supervisor's role in sharing information between his subordinates and the rest of the company.

Target Audience
 Human resources professionals, members of training organizations, and both new and experienced supervisors

Expected Duration
3.0 hours

Lesson Objectives:

The Special Etiquette of Being the Boss

  • recognize the importance of establishing behavior and performance standards.
  • differentiate between examples of core courtesies, team building, and fraternizing.
  • identify ways for supervisors to communicate behavioral expectations to subordinates.
  • choose examples of how supervisors can use critical leverage points to set behavioral standards.

    • Leading One-on-one

  • recognize the importance of using etiquette to work with subordinates individually.
  • apply appropriate steps to clearly communicate work assignments to subordinates in a given business situation.
  • identify the most effective ways to deliver corrective messages.
  • apply appropriate methods to correct errors by subordinates in a given business scenario.
  • identify ways to make praise more effective.
  • analyze a business scenario to determine whether a supervisor is praising subordinates' work effectively.

    • Listening to Lead

  • recognize the importance of using good etiquette when listening to subordinates.
  • choose statements that describe effective ways for supervisors to implement open-door policies.
  • apply correct etiquette for listening to subordinates' suggestions, requests, or complaints in a given scenario.
  • analyze a supervisor's strategy when handling a subordinate who has willfully violated work standards in a business scenario.

    • The Leader as Messenger

  • recognize the importance of proper etiquette when relaying information between subordinates and the rest of the company.
  • determine whether supervisors should pass given examples of company-related information to their work groups.
  • choose the appropriate audience for sharing information about members of a supervisor's work group.

    • Course Number: COMM0184