Supervisor's Toolkit

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Home > Supervisor's Toolkit > Creating Effective Member-Supervisor Relationships > Problem-Solving > "I Wish Someone Told Me..."

"I Wish Someone Told Me…"

Advice from the trenches

Even though supervisor orientation covers a lot of the bases, you're likely to face unanticipated situations and challenges.

EnCorps asked some seasoned supervisors what they wish they had known going into the job:

• "Being a sup takes a lot of time and, if that's not your main job, you have to make sure you carve time into your schedule to deal with it. Keep that time sacrosanct: Don't let other kinds of meetings intervene." —Patricia Rivera, Chicago Public Schools Homeless Education, Chicago, IL

• "I wish someone told me how important informal supervision is. Because I'm not there [with my members] everyday, it's important that I sometimes say, 'Let's get a cup of coffee or go for a walk.' I almost get more out of those sessions than the formal ones." —Melissa Burwell, Minnesota Alliance With Youth Promise Fellows, Minneapolis, MN
• "It's so much about building relationships. It's not just the time, but the emotional investment. I didn't realize [at first] how much supervising would be about establishing and maintaining communications. The flip side of that is you also have to set boundaries. Don't be so available that people take advantage and you aren't able to do some of the other work you need to get done." —Karen Mauldin-Curtis, Peace Corps Fellows Program, Macomb, IL

One program—America Reads-Mississippi (Jackson, MS)—gathered advice from supervisors, team leaders, and members into a booklet "so others don't have to learn lessons the hard way." The book, "If I Knew Then, What I Know Now", covers topics such as:

• One Thing I Wish Someone Had Told Me Early On…
• Here's the Best Advice I Can Give You
• It Took Me Awhile to Figure Out…

The book points out that "there's no one magic formula for success." But, a main thread running through all the lessons is to keep "a positive attitude, an ample supply of patience, a spirit of teamwork and the ability to get along with others, a willingness to give of yourself and go the extra miles, and a belief that you are responsible for your own happiness."

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