Running Head: SUPERVISION ASSESSMENT PAPER 1

Supervision Assessment Paper

Randall Cloke

Salem State University

As an undergraduate student working on campus, I rarely, if ever, thought about the

professional qualities of my supervisor. I never much thought about Aiden's ability to give me

good guidance on a project, providing feedback afterward that would help me grow as a
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professional, or his ability to create a sense of belonging for me. Instead, I thought a lot more

about my schedule, getting my tasks out of the way, and trying to cram as much homework time

into my office hours as I could.

But things change, and after I graduated and started a professional, I really started to

focus on my supervisor's abilities, strengths and weaknesses included. Danielle wore too many

hats, and I think this left her limited in how much time she could spend supervising her staff,

myself included. It was critical for her to give clear initial instructions for tasks to be completed

efficiently so we could move onto the next nightmare, especially given the office's lack of staff

and money. We rarely got words of wisdom or motivation, and that was okay with me—I've

always felt that unless I'm being corrected or instructed after-the-fact, I'm probably doing it

right.

As I've moved to Salem and begun my graduate education and my professional

experiences here, I have further started to pay keener attention to supervisory styles from my

own supervisors and those who supervise my colleagues. And doing this, along with my de-facto

supervisor of our undergraduate staff, has made me think more introspectively about my own

supervisory styles, strengths, and weaknesses. And so I think it is valuable to take the time to

look further into the qualities that all of my supervisors I have had in recent years, see which

styles have been good modeling behavior, which have not been, and then seeing where I can

better my own supervisory skills.

I'll start with Sean, as he was the first person I began working for when I moved here.

Sean is a naturally quiet guy, and does not in any way micromanage. I have always gotten the

impression from him that if a project or task would require micromanagement, he would take it

on himself rather than trying to dispense it to a subordinate. But Sean can also lack clarity when
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doling out assignments. He is really quite excellent at being available for any and all questions

that a person could ask about what he's given them to work on, I do think he would benefit from

having more details introductions to the assignments he gives out; it would save a bit of time on

the backend in the form of clarifying questions and double-checking of completed work. Sean's

flexibility is also something that is commendable, as he is very open to moving hours (which, of

course, is not possible in all positions in which a person will work, myself included) so long as

you are completing your work on time and thoroughly.

A few months after beginning to work under Sean, I began my fellowship in Mapworks

with Jesus leading the four of us. It is hard not to not want to work well with Jesus, I think. He's

a genuine person, and he has a clear love for the work he does and our field. Like Sean, though, I

think Jesus would benefit from a greater clarity when giving out work or projects. Too often

have we had to redo things, multiples of times, because we were never really told what he had

hoped it would accomplish or look like. Jesus is not strict in a classic sense—he's

not overwhelmingly forceful about how he wants things done. Indeed, that is often the

challenge—he wants things done in the vision of what he thinks is best, but he rarely tells

someone what that vision is. It is easy to become frustrated working on certain things as you

know you can do it, but have not necessarily been given the tools—the circumstances, the goals,

the constituency—needed for the project to go smoothly and quickly. Jesus is a pretty

good debriefer, too. I have often found value in his ability to lead a discussion of what we did,

what went well, what did not, and what to do going forward. I think this is an

exceptionally valuable skill—certainly one that is helpful when trying to build a culture of

assessment.
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I have supervised professional staff before in a previous role. Unfortunately, I never

received much onboarding in how to best do that in the particular environment. And as a

Retention Fellow, I think the experience has been somewhat similar. I feel that my professional

experiences have led me to pick up how to supervise by osmosis. I have seen what not to do and

occasionally see what works well and try to implement it in my own practice. I do think that a

person is responsible for their own development in our role as supervisors, but I have rarely been

directed well through that process. I do think that is part of what makes Helping Skills a

worthwhile course, as it at least broaches the subject of supervision. In doing this assignment, I

do feel that I have been able to better assess myself going forward

On that front, I would be lying to say that I do not have a multitude of supervisory flaws.

But I do think I have some qualities which make me good at it, too. I am very much myself with

the students I supervise. I do not hide my personality, nor do I want them to hide theirs.

Professional behavior is expected, of course, but that does not usually require too big of a jump

from who we are outside in other parts of the world. I also make it a point to sit and talk with

them and be intentional about it. Too often does "how are classes going" sound stale and, to

some extent, fake. I really do try to connect with them regularly and earnestly. I want them to

know that I am here to listen if they need to talk. Similarly, when it comes to the work that we

do, I want them to know that it is okay for them to ask me questions. They often do, which is

good! But it does frequently stem from a lack of clarity in my instructions, and that trickles down

to confusion for them, too. I am not a stickler type—I believe in their ability to craft their own

vision of what something should look like for the most part. And if something needs to be done a

very particular way, I do think I am pretty clear in that situation. But, ultimately, I need to be

clearer when I discuss what we are working on and why the work they are doing is important to
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our office and the institution. I think our office has a done a pretty good job on the latter part—

our student workers have been very earnest in saying how the things they have learned while

working in our office is important for themselves and their peers.

So, to summarize to this point, I feel I am competent in creating an environment where

my supervisees can be themselves and where they can ask me questions and discuss things with

me. One area for me to work on, with certainty, is my clarity when describing projects or

assignments, as the lack of comprehensible detail often makes it more challenging for those

working for me or with me. One final area I find myself increasingly needing to assess and

improve is improving my feedback to those I supervise. While I rarely find myself needing to

offer critical feedback unsolicited, as our students are good and focused, we have had discussion

where they ask what they can improve upon in the office or in a more general, professional

sense. I struggle with implementing formal forms of feedback, whether through something like a

formal evaluation (which we do not do) that are constructive. I am likely to say something like

“One thing I think you could consider doing is being more proactive during slower periods.”

This is a valid offering, but it does not speak to their abilities on the work we do, and I think I

would do well to think more about how to do that.

I am an improving supervisor. I know this because I have previous experience trying to

do it, and it did not go well, and the feedback I have received in more recent stints in doing it

have highlighted growth that I am confident I have made. But I also know that growing and

expanding supervisory skills is critical in our field, as I will manage people in my future roles,

and that the people I supervise will be different, whether professional staff or student, part-time

or full-time, union or non-union, and many other things. As such, having a broader, more
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developed skill base will help me in all sorts of different situations, and I look forward to

continuing to grow as a supervisor so that can happen.