Leadership, Management and Supervision

Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D.

Institute for Nonprofit Organizations

University of Georgia

Basic Definitions

• Leadership: drawing people together to identify shared values and goals and then formulating plans to achieve them

• Management: overseeing activities to carry out plan and accomplish goals, including planning, organizing, delegating, and coordinating activities

• Supervision: guiding production and procedures of staff to accomplish a delegated goal or objective

• Overlap of skills• Distinctions made in larger organizations

Components of Leadership

• Envisioning situations that are in line with values, vision for the future

• Engaging others in shaping vision• Deciding together on our shared goals• Identifying ways to attain them

– Inspiration rather than authority– Motivated by vision and purpose– Problems resolved by referring back to shared

vision

Components of Management

• Planning: identifying ways, means, and resources to accomplish goals

• Organizing: creating structures and assignments to pursue goals

• Coordinating: overseeing the application of people and resources to accomplish goals

• Monitoring: assessing progress toward goals; rearranging applications of resources to refine pursuit of goals

Core Skills of Management

• Planning, goal setting• Problem-solving and decision-making• Delegating• Motivating• Sustaining communications• Facilitating meetings• Ensuring accomplishment of goals

– Monitoring staff performance– Removing barriers to performance

• Managing oneself, improving interpersonal skills

Components of Supervision

• Guiding the activities of staff to accomplish delegated goal or objective

• Identifying tasks and roles needed• Developing effective teams• Ensuring that the right competencies are being

applied to tasks• Seeing that problems are resolved• Monitoring and refining staff/team performance• Conforming with organizational policies

Core Skills of Supervision

• Translating delegated goals into action, including:

• Conducting feasibility studies to refine work plan and to identify required resources and skills

• Mobilizing the right mix of people and skills to accomplish components of delegated goals

• Team building• Ensuring understanding of work objectives and

tasks• Facilitating meetings, sustaining progress• Monitoring progress toward goals and objectives• Trouble-shooting, resolving problems & conflicts

Managing Staff Performance

• Def. Processes that provide effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organizational success

• Emphasizes strategic goals and application of organization’s resources to accomplish them

• Integrates all aspects of the organization into coordinated activities to accomplish goals

• Encourages behavior that fosters good working relationships and ongoing improvement

• Provides ongoing means for continuous quality improvement

Performance Management seeks to ensure that staff members

• Understand what is expected of them and how their work leads to organization’s goals

• Have the skills and abilities to deliver on those expectations

• Meet those expectations• Are actively engaged in designing and

implementing work tasks• Sustain positive relationships• Receive feedback on their performance• Have opportunities to improve performance

(Re)Designing the Organization

• Start with a solid mission statement and clear strategic plan

• Identify the skills and resources needed to accomplish strategic goals

• Specify the activities needed to attain goals• Group up those activities into clusters for individuals/

teams• Establish structures of coordination and accountability

– Depict positions in chart, showing lines of accountability

• Delegate objectives and tasks, making sure that everyone understands expectations

• Sustain clear communications• Monitor and evaluate results, use feedback loops

Key Components of Strategic Planning

• Goals: large, overall preferred results for the organization in the future

• Mission: goals must be consistent with mission• Market: planning must engage important internal and

external audiences, seeking their views and involvement• Strategies: the overall methods or processes for

accomplishing the goals• Objectives: specific accomplishments that must be

completed to reach the goals; major milestones along the way

• Criteria: indicators of successful accomplishment of objectives and goals

• Implementation: delegation of tasks to people who will complete each objective

• Evaluation: monitoring progress toward goals

Basic Steps in Strategic Planning

• Identify factors relevant to future of organization• SWOT analysis

– Internal strengths and weaknesses– External opportunities and threats

• Identify alternative futures for organization• Weigh options and draw conclusions• Set goals• Establish strategies to accomplish each goal• Specify objectives along way to each goal• Identify indicators of success for each• Allocate responsibilities and time lines• Communicate the plan widely• Address barriers and celebrate successes

Project Planning I• State the problem (not the solution) clearly so everyone

involved has the same, accurate understanding of the issue to be addressed and solved.

• Identify the goal to be attained, solution (so the problem is resolved), how it is linked with mission.

• Specify what the team needs to do, a framework or structure to organize work, tasks linked by structure, clear enough that person assigned task will know what to do.

• Identify set of activities that together will accomplish the goal, with time ordering so they are completed in sequence and on time for subsequent tasks. Set times for beginning, milestones for accomplishment, project completion.

• Organize into sequence diagram, flow chart (project management software is available for this: Microsoft office has one; see also www.viewpath.com and www.iteamwork.com )

Project Planning II• Task allocation: assign specific tasks to individuals who

have competencies to complete them. Include some stretching so people will develop/grow.

• Resources: ensure that needed resources are available on time for each task.

• Record-keeping: set up procedures to keep track of tasks, assignments, due dates.

• Communications: set up procedures for monitoring work, reporting on tasks, supporting collaboration, alerting others to barriers, testing for quality

• Plan for errors and handling problems along the way: convene team to address and resolve.

• Protect team members from other demands on time.• Disseminate and celebrate results.

Problem Solving

• Impulse is to react in ways that have been used before• Satisficing: looking close to familiar solutions, selecting

easiest one (fewest demands) to apply• Instead, seek to understand why you and others think

there is a problem• Ask what do we see, where, how occurring, when, with

whom, why, own role in it?• Seek to frame the issue in ways different from past• Engage others in examining definitions and potential

solutions• Set priorities in addressing components

Further steps in problem-solving

• Examine potential causes for the problem; ask for views and advice from staff, peers, managers, outsiders

• Brainstorm to identify creative alternative approaches to solving it in long term, including asking others views, opinions

• Screen alternatives for feasibility, likelihood of long-term resolution, risks and benefits, potential consequences

Further steps in problem-solving

• Identify the best solution, test with others

• Identify what situation should look like when solution implemented

• Specify steps to be taken, by whom, with what resources, in what time frame

• Communicate plan to others

• Monitor implementation, evaluate results, refine plan as needed

Delegation

• Assign responsibility for accomplishing a goal or objective to a member of the staff

• Allow that person to formulate activities needed to accomplish assignment– Builds motivation– Increases competencies

• Risk of assuming “Why bother? I could do the work in much less time.”

Steps of delegation

• Delegate whole tasks to individuals/ teams• Select the right person/team for tasks• Clearly specify results expected, not the

methods for accomplishing them• Make sure recipient understands and agrees

with assignment• Agree on criteria for monitoring progress, times

for reporting & feedback• Maintain open lines of communication• Set up means for addressing problems/ barriers• Evaluate and reward successful performance

Communications

• Everyone should submit periodic progress reports to supervisors

• Hold regular meetings with staff to discuss progress on assignments, with individual/team summaries, open feedback

• Learn to listen actively; ask for clarification, check to see if others understand your point

• Demonstrate practices of open communications, asking for and giving feedback

• Encourage staff to initiate discussions when tasks accomplished or barriers encountered

• Solicit views of ways to deal with barriers; invite others to help solve problems.

• Spread news of successes; show appreciation for others

Risk Management

• Def: Steps to ensure that critical assets and resources are protected from loss or damage

• People – Screen applicants, clear job descriptions, fair reviews, adequate

compensation, prevention of discrimination and harassment– Responsiveness to problems, complaints, grievances– Policies on conflicts of interest, whistle-blowing– Policies on giving public information

• Property and resources– Careful accounting and regular audits– Monitor and ensure workplace safety– Insurance (liability, D&O, property)– Policies on document retention, access, and destruction

Managing Meetings I

• Meetings are costly in staff time, so must be productive• Decide specifically what should be accomplished with

meeting• Identify who should attend, based on purpose of meeting• Decide on meeting agenda and work plan (structure,

format)• Make sure agenda to engage participants early and

actively. What do you want them to do and why?• By each agenda item, indicate the type of action sought

(decision, vote, brainstorming, assignment) and time estimates for each item

Managing Meetings II• Invite participants, providing clear statement of meeting

purpose and expectations for participants• Make sure that agenda and background materials are

distributed to participants well in advance of meeting• Open meeting with summary of purposes, making sure

everyone understands expectations• Clarify ground rules (such as participate actively, stay

focused on topic, maintain momentum, get to closure)• Make sure someone takes notes and distributes them• Clarify own role in meeting; model the behavior you want

others to follow

Managing Meetings III

• Manage the time carefully, keep the process moving• Make sure that extraverts don’t crowd out the introverts

by calling on silent ones and reminding those who have spoken

• Ask participants to help you keep track of time• If time gets out of hand, ask participants for input on

resolution• Do periodic checks on satisfaction, suggestions• Check your conclusions with group on conclusions and

delegated tasks• Leave 10-15 minutes at end for open evaluation• Try to end on time and on positive note

Presentations• Identify the goals and purposes of your presentation,

what you want to accomplish with this audience• State clearly the top 2-3 things you want these listeners

to hear and take away.• Start presentation with brief overview of the purposes

and plan of the session, why topic is important for them.• Maintain positive tone, engagement with audience, use

humor when possible, give examples of key points• Make sure that handouts or slides address key points,

use consistent format. Check out computer in advance. DO NOT read slides or handouts.

• Maintain eye contact, talk a bit louder and slower than usual in conversations, stand still, use gestures, smile

• Invite questions and feedback.• Conclude with restatement of the major things you want

audience to take away.

Managing Yourself I

• Keep the mission in mind always.• Set priorities among tasks (urgent vs. important).• Recognize own signs of stress. Tell others and ask for

feedback• Monitor own time and work hours; take responsibility

for personal rest and renewal• Set personal growth goals and follow plan to attain

them.• Get and use a mentor or coach. Ask for help.• Always tell the truth, keep your promises, build trust.• Learn to delegate, as it builds others’ competencies• Understand your own style of learning, approach to

power and to problems, dealing with criticism and conflict.

Managing Yourself II

• Develop emotional intelligence• Communicate with staff, supervisors, partner, mentor

(err on the side of too much)• Learn and practice active listening• Give constructive feedback to others on the spot; don’t

let discontents fester• Resist impulse to jump in and “fix” things• Address underlying issues, not crises• Identify aspects of work that are satisfying• Know when to stop, quit, leave. Prepare successors and

stay aware of “founder’s syndrome.”• Recognize and celebrate own accomplishments

There is never enough time! Signs of poor time management

• Staff meetings last too long and accomplish too little• I’m spending too much time on e-mails and the telephone• My time gets consumed by unimportant things• My staff does not work productively when I’m not in the office• I tend to get too involved with too many projects at once.• There are always so many interruptions.• I need to make so many urgent decisions that I cannot study them

all• I’m just a hands-on manager and like to be involve with everything• If there are problems, I can always finish the job myself.

Principles of time management

• Planning– An hour of planning can save many hours of

implementation– Start the day by deciding which issues are the

most important and put them first– Save smaller issues for late in the day– Avoid accepting others’ definitions of each

problem as a crisis– Someone else’s procrastination isn’t my

emergency

More on time management

• Organizing:– make responsibility congruent with authority– have people report to only one supervisor

• Staffing:– Match person with task to optimize motivation– Orientation for newcomers can save time later– Learning from training programs should be reinforced

on the job– Expect people to take initiative and responsibility for

solutions, not just identifying problems

More on time management

• Leading– If it cannot be changed, don’t waste time on it– People adopt the organization’s culture, so lead with

solutions, not just complaints, and expect other to do same.

– Focus on policies not complaints– Make sure plans are clear about tasks and responsibilities– Don’t take on tasks that could be delegated to others– Delegate responsibility for whole tasks, not just parts– Communicate expectations clearly– Keep your eye on the long-term future

More on time management

• Decision-making– Distinguish issues from causes– Focus on underlying issues, not complaints– Build on what works– Indecision is in fact a decision, one that wastes

time– Decisions should be made at the front lines, not

executive office, wherever possible– Decisions should be made by those who have the

most information in the issue.

Emotional Intelligence

• Identifying emotions: the ability to perceive and recognize emotions in oneself and others

• Using emotions: the ability to generate and feel emotions in communication

• Understanding emotions: the ability to understand emotional information, how they arise and combine

• Managing emotions: the ability to regulate expressions of emotions in oneself and others so as to promote interpersonal understanding and growth.

Personal Emotional Competencies• Self-awareness of one’s own inner states• Recognition of how one’s emotions influence attitudes

and communications• Self-confidence in one’s own worth and capabilities• Self-management and control of one’s own feelings,

impulses, resources• Trustworthiness in maintaining personal honesty and

integrity• Conscientiousness, taking responsibility for personal

performance• Adaptability, flexibility in handling change• Initiative, readiness to act on opportunities• Achievement-orientation, internal readiness to improve

or meet higher standards of excellence

Social-emotional competencies

• Social awareness of others’ feelings, needs, concerns• Body language: reading voice, movement, gestures, eye

contact, volume, posture, silence, timing• Empathy: sensing others’ feelings, perspectives, taking

active interest in their concerns• Organizational awareness: reading a group’s emotional

currents and power relationships• Service orientation: anticipating, recognizing, acting on

consumers’ needs and interests• Social skills in inducing desirable responses in others• Developing others: sensing others developmental needs

and bolstering their competencies

More social-emotional competencies

• Leadership: inspiring and guiding others, using effective tactics for persuasion

• Communication: listening actively and openly and sending convincing messages

• Change catalyst: initiating and managing change in relationships

• Conflict management: negotiating and resolving disagreements

• Teamwork and collaboration: working well with others toward shared goals; creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals; show appreciation to others for accomplishments.

Staff Motivation• Motivating others starts with motivating yourself.

Enthusiasm is contagious. What energizes you?• Find out what motivates other individuals (ask, listen,

observe, recognize differences)• Note important distinction between satisfiers and

hygiene factors• Link assignments and rewards with individual

motivations, and keep fresh on this as work and people change over time

• Align tasks with mission and goals of organizations, and help others stay clear of those links. “Here’s why you and your skills are so essential for our success.”

• While positive relationships are important, make sure policies, assignments, and procedures are clear and fair to everyone

• Recognize and celebrate successes in variety of ways

Performance Appraisals

• Provide informal feedback on performance when first noted in work. Don’t allow negative build-up.

• Design formal appraisal method based on job description, assignments, and expectations

• Use standardized forms, available to everyone• Include closed-ended ratings and space for

comments• Announce schedule to everyone, then stick to it• Remind individuals of scheduled reviews• Invite individuals to offer changes to job

description and to evaluation forms

More on Performance Appraisals

• Record accomplishments, exhibited strengths and limitations, recommendations for improvement

• Use observed behaviors of that employee, not hearsay or rumor

• Invite employee’s input, self-assessments, accomplishments, needs for improvement

• Provide honest, constructive feedback based on own observations

• Disagreements are acceptable; note them• Nothing should be surprising if you have given informal

feedback as work has proceeded• Allow employee to add own statement at end of form• Conclude with next steps for improving performance,

resources, and expectations for demonstrating change

Firing

• Should come only after several attempts to change behavior, with documented feedback and warnings to employee and based on specific personnel policies

• Take time to talk with supervisors and managers about step, gathering ideas and suggestions

• Meet with employee promptly and speak clearly, constructively, avoiding blaming

• Document decision in letter to employee with copy to personnel file

• Restrict employee’s access to organizational files and resources