Tips and Tricks for Effective Library

Supervision

Instructor:

Gail Griffithgailg@carr.org

An Infopeople WorkshopFall 2005-Winter 2006

This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project

Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the project, go to the Infopeople website at infopeople.org.

Introductions

Name Library Position One or two words that describe the

best supervisor you ever had

Workshop Overview

Supervisory Style and Motivation Coaching for Development

Performance Reviews

Disciplinary Procedures

What’s a Supervisor’s Primary Job?

Getting things done through people

Just a reality check!

Does that mean you need them more than they need

you? Hmmm… That’s

interesting

Even the Best Supervisors Have

Biases

Blind spots

Bad days

(That’s the bad news….)

The good news? We also have

Skills

Experiences

Inspirations

All Contribute to our Supervisory Style

And there is a link between supervisory style and employee motivation, as we’ll see

Where does motivation come from?

Accel Team

Research on Employee Motivation Says These Factors are Critical

High expectations Treating people fairly Setting work-related goals Effective discipline Satisfying employees’ needs Restructuring jobs Basing rewards on job performance

Something to Think About

How does your supervisory style affect the motivation of the people you supervise?

Hersey and Blanchard

Situational Leadership

Four stages of employee development each stage has different needs

Four supervisory styles each style makes different

contributions Challenge:

match supervisory style to employee’s development needs

Hersey and Blanchard

Stages of Employee Development

D3Capable But

Cautious Learner

conscious competence

D2Disillusioned

Learner

conscious incompetence

D4Peak Performer

unconscious competence

D1Enthusiastic

Beginner

unconscious incompetence

competence

consc

iousn

ess

Hersey and Blanchard

Supervisory Styles

S3Coaching

Low Direction, High Support

S2Supporting

High Direction, High Support

S4Delegating

Low Direction, Low Support

S1Directing

High Direction, Low Support

direction

support

Hersey and Blanchard

The Best Match

D3 Employee: Capable Yet Cautious

S3 Supervisor: Coaching

D2 Employee:Disillusioned Learner

S2 Supervisor: Supporting

D4 Employee:Peak Performer

S4 Supervisor: Delegating

D1 Employee:Enthusiastic

Beginner

S1 Supervisor: Directing

su

pp

ort

direction

competence

con

scio

usn

ess

Exercise #1

Diagnosing Development and Making the Match

Break

What does the term ‘coaching’ mean to you?

What’s your experience of coaching, or being coached?

Coaching for Development

You set the tone make expectations clear regular, clear communication keep the door open

Coaching Basics It’s done for someone, not to someone!

Ideally initiated by the person who wants to be coached

May be peer-to-peer, supervisor-to-staff, or even consultant to executive

May be formalized or scheduled

May be informal when opportunities are seized

John Whitmore

GROW Model of Coaching

Goal Reality Options Willing to do

Exercise #2

You Be the Coach

How do you make time for observation and coaching?

What happens if you can’t?

Try Coaching Your Staff

Introduce GROW model Schedule 15 minutes of

uninterrupted time each month Give coachees a tool to help them

plan Be sure to contribute, not control And remember, you’re a D1 at using

the GROW model!

Lunch!

Writing Performance Reviews

Know your environment law union? civil service? local policies and procedures local resources to help you

Opportunity to engage employees in self-assessment

Snapshot in time No surprises!

Making the Best of the Forms

What would your ideal performance review form contain?

What are forms good for? address things your organization considers

important (some are even updated regularly!) way to document the ongoing communication

between you and your staff resource for references, promotion decisions,

other personnel actions

Be Specific in Your Comments

Focus on behaviors and results not motives, personalities, feelings,

attitudes Tell employees what behaviors you

want to see more of Tell employees what behaviors need

to change

Bradford and Cohen

Why Behaviors?

Three realities yours theirs actual behavior

Which comment lets Jim know what he needs to change?

Jim’s attitude needs to improve. He doesn’t care about this job.

Jim was 15 minutes late twice last week without an excuse.

Which comment do you think Mary Jo would rather see?

Mary Jo has a great customer service attitude.

Mary Jo received three letters of thanks from customers, including one from a disabled woman who appreciated her volunteering to deliver her books.

Describing Behaviors

Key to effective praise and correction, whether oral or written

Critical in handling all difficult supervisory conversations and documentation

Requires practice

Exercise #3

The Ball’s in Your Court

Break

When Your Best Efforts Don’t Work

Typical Progressive Discipline verbal warning written counseling final written warning

There must be consequences

You have a sample

policy in the handouts

Documentation for Counseling

What to include behavior that is occurring steps already taken to get

improvement next step that needs to occur consequences

Who should review it

Conducting the Counseling Session

Before the session anticipate their responses and plan practice

During the session: practical tips schedule the session late in the shift sit closest to the door bring tissues consider bringing ‘back-up’

After the session make notes while your memory is fresh take time to reflect and grow from the

experience

Exercise #4

What’s Next?

Evaluation and Learning Agreement