#Whattraining? Reflection and Competency Development in Supervising Staff in Student Affairs Tuesday, March 12, 2019 | 10:10am – 11:00 a.m. 304 ABC - LA Convention Center Aja C. Holmes, Ph.D., Senior Associate Director, Residential Life CSU-Sacramento aja.holmes@csus.edu

Outcomes Reflect on your experience with supervision Become more knowledgeable on Competency Based Supervision Discuss some common areas of concern Begin to develop your own supervision style Supervising professionals can be a lot like being a parent. There’s lots of time spent together which can include: laughter, tears, and at some point probably conflict

Why supervision, you ask? How many people have had a bad supervisor before? Most student affairs staff receive very little training on how to supervise professionals Peter Principle It’s a big part of the mid-manager job Often left up to me to figure out Deer in the headlights Supervision often has a direct impact on the effectiveness and satisfaction of employees “Employees don’t leave organizations, they leave supervisors.” The so-called Peter Principle holds that in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence. This phenomenon is famous in the field of team management and is more common than we think. In many modern organizations, good employees are rewarded with promotions without anyone stopping to consider whether the person is prepared to carry out other duties. “People who do their job well are promoted to positions of higher responsibility until they reach their level of incompetence.” In other words, the best workers rise and rise until they hit their ceiling, leaving behind roles in which they had achieved excellence. There are many examples in real life. An excellent teacher who becomes a poor director, a great technician who becomes a bad manager, a prestigious surgeon who isn't so good at directing a hospital, a successful athlete who fails when coaching a team, etc. This paradoxical phenomenon was popularized by sociologist Lawrence J. Peter and it's unfortunately quite common. Ortega y Gasset detected something similar in the early 20th century when he said: “All civil servants should be demoted to the level immediately below theirs, as they have been promoted to the point of becoming incompetent.”

Research Graduates 2011 Needs of New Professionals Current supervisors Their story Assistantships with no supervision component No coursework devoted to supervision Needs of New Professionals Using their job description Making supervision a priority Holding staff accountable Evaluation Current supervisors Importance of effective supervision on staff All ranked informal experiences much higher than formal training Communication is key Style changes informally change over time None were familiar with the Synergistic Supervision Model or Competency Development Model

See a Need, Fill a Need High attrition with the first 5 years of employment, partially due to inadequate supervision (Tull, 2006) Poor supervision of new professionals associated with negative outcomes (Roser and Javinar, 2009; Winston and Creamer, 1998) Limited opportunities for professional development Increasing complexity of student learning needs, institutional challenges associated with desire for more intentional supervision (Cliente, et al, 2005)

Reflection Reflect on the following: My definition of supervision… My supervision strengths are… My supervision weaknesses are…

Interactive Discussion Pull out a business card Write on the back of the card: An area of supervision that you would like to work on in the next 3 months Discuss that area with someone next to you in the room Why this area?

Supervision Style Guided Questions Culture around supervision and staff development Goals of supervision? (personal, professional, organizational) Organizational structure or processes exist to support quality supervision? (selection/orientation/training/professional development) Incorporating supervision into your division/department/area/campus mission and vision statement

Supervision Style Guided Questions Define and identify the individuals you will be supervising? (Identify the individuals/group characteristics, high ability, low skill etc.) Characteristic of the supervisors in your organization? (skills, values, attitudes, knowledge, style) Evaluate your supervision? (assessment, evaluation, one on one, informal conversation) Information needed about your supervision style (Support, communication style etc.)

Competency Based Supervision An approach that uses the ACPA/NASPA/ACUHO-I Competencies to help supervisee develop in specific area or areas followed by a self- assessment, informal and formal evaluation. Utilize action plans as way to track their development Using a common set of language and terms

Competency Based Supervision Identify 1-8 competencies they would like to improve Decide on a timeframe: 3 months, 6 months, semester, year. You and your supervisee identify ways to develop those competences Supervisee does a self-assessment Informal and formal evaluation of their development

Competency Based Supervision Identify Choose Competencies they want to strengthen Time 3moths Semester End of Academic Year Development Specific opportunities for development Assessment Self Informal and Formal Evaluation

In Practice Identify Time Development Assessment Budgeting Want to be a better at budgeting and the aspects that go along with budgeting Time Fall Semester Take the fall semester to develop their budgeting skill set Development Meeting with the department Budget Analyst Very organized with their budget Increase their programming budget Assessment Self Give a monthly report at 1-1 about how they doing Able to explain that job of the Budget Analyst Informal and Formal Evaluation

Tips, Tricks and Ideas Maximizing the one-on-one This is sacred time, it’s the time where its just you and your employee Create a standard 1-1 form so that you are prepared for one-on-one, but be flexible with agenda items Use the competency development model so that your 1-1 can be where goal setting and growth is discussed Caring about your employee as a person Finding balance Being an advocate Holing your staff accountable Use Productive Self- Reflection Clear directions and expectations help get task accomplished Time, place and manner when giving both praise and criticism

Tips, Tricks and Ideas, cont. Older employee and they have been at the institution longer that you Using their institutional knowledge to help reach the goals of the department Be upfront- point out the elephant in the room Work as a team on some projects Staff Development when there is no money Drive-in conference Cross campus development Visiting with partnering campus for training

Interactive Discussion, cont. With that business card: Exchange cards Email follow-up on April 15, 2019 Inquire about their progress Ask about their opportunities to develop in the area of supervision

Developing an Action Plan Specific Tasks Timeline Develop staff appraisal 1.Read the HR information on Staff appraisals 2.In my next one-on-one with my supervisor, I will ask for tips on how to develop staff appraisals 3.Read 1-2 articles on staff appraisals April 15, 2019 Check-in on my Friend I met at Dr. Holmes Presentation  Send an email check- in!

Thank you! Shupp, M. R., & Arminio, J. L. (2012). Synergistic supervision: A confirmed key to retaining entry- level student affairs professionals. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 49(2), 157- 174. Tull, A. (2006). Synergistic supervision, job satisfaction, and intention to turnover of new professionals in student affairs. Journal of College Student Development, 47(4), 465-480. Winston Jr, R. B., & Creamer, D. G. (1997). Improving staffing practices in student affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Winston Jr, R. B., & Creamer, D. G. (1998). Staff supervision and professional development: An integrated approach. New Directions for Student Services, 84, 29-42. Zenger, J. H., & Stinnett, K. (2010). The extraordinary coach: How the best leaders help others grow. New York: McGraw-Hill. http://www.staffingpractices.soe.vt.edu/supervision.htm Questions: aja.holmes@csus.edu

See you next year in Austin, Texas! Thank you! See you next year in Austin, Texas!