In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Associate General Counsel Matthew Roberts, Senior Employment Law Counsel Erika Barbara and Employment Law Subject Matter Expert Vanessa Greene cover the often-overlooked soft skills supervisors need to lead their teams successfully.
Part I of this series focused on “hard” compliance — adhering to company policy and enforcing the rules equitably — which is a critical aspect of a supervisor’s job. But it’s also important for supervisors to have the interpersonal — or “soft” — skills to interact effectively with their employees on a more personal level.
The Importance of ‘Soft Skills’ When Managing Employees
“A supervisor might follow every rule in the book from a compliance perspective, but they could still drive away employees and make the workplace awful if they lack these soft skills,” Greene says.
For example, a supervisor who defaults to overly harsh or dismissive feedback will quickly lose the trust of their team. While they may follow the letter of the law, their lack of communication skills can create a chilling effect, discouraging employees from speaking up about serious issues that need to be handled quickly.
Supervisors also need the skills and training to receive and handle employee complaints of harassment and discrimination. Supervisors should never make judgments about the validity of an employee’s complaint based on their personal feelings about the employee or situation, and must treat every reported incident as though it’s credible and move quickly to address the situation appropriately.
Barbara reiterates the importance of supervisors making sure that employees feel comfortable voicing complaints, that they know there will be a response to issues raised, that retaliation against them is strictly prohibited and that complaints will be kept as confidential as possible.
Communicating Expectations Clearly
At some point in a supervisor’s career, they’ll likely need to tackle the unpleasantness of disciplining or terminating an employee. This process can be made more difficult when communication between the employee and their supervisor is poor or unclear. For example, an employee might feel blindsided by a formal reprimand if problems with their performance were never raised before a disciplinary meeting with HR.
Greene notes that when communicating about performance issues, it is important for supervisors to be specific and clear, avoiding ambiguous phrases like “step it up.” A more effective approach to an employee who is not completing assignments on time could include asking questions that help to identify an underlying cause for the delay and suggesting appropriate fixes, she says.
Supervisors should take a more active role in developing their employees to fit the business’ needs, focusing less on being taskmasters and more on being coaches who can guide employees toward a successful outcome, including recognizing their strengths.
The Bad News Done Right
Delivering bad news is hard, but it doesn’t have to be done alone. Supervisors disciplining or terminating an employee should always partner with HR for support and guidance.
It’s also important for supervisors to acknowledge that these are difficult conversations — both for the supervisor and employee. Whether for discipline or termination, Barbara says clarity is critical to prevent confusion and the opportunity for the employee to create a false narrative about the action being taken against them.
“…If we’re beating around the bush, if we’re giving vague reasons for the action that we’re taking, then we’ve got a situation where an employee doesn’t know what’s going on,” Barbara says. “It opens the door for them to create their own story about why they’re being disciplined or terminated, and they could decide that it’s because of some protected class when in fact there was a legitimate reason….”
Regardless of the range of negative emotions you might encounter in one of these meetings, it’s important to stay calm and direct the meeting from a place of reason and fact — have a game plan and stay cool, Barbara says.
Finding and Developing Talent
A good supervisor will be able to spot promotion-worthy talent within their ranks, but a great supervisor will be able to spot skills gaps and train employees for the next step in their career.
However, it should be noted that not everyone who is great at their job will be great in a supervisory capacity, Greene says. Some skill sets need to be developed over time and honed to fit the role to which you would like to advance them. This sort of training can be incremental, long before the conversation about a promotion is ever broached.
“…What I see happen, unfortunately, so many times, is that when someone is really good at their individual job performance, they get promoted into a supervisor role, and the employer isn’t always considering whether that person has the skills to lead and manage employees effectively,” Greene says.
Evaluate potential candidates based on more than their performance and existing skill sets. Consider their emotional intelligence, ability to motivate a team and communication style, for starters. Look for a small leadership opportunity, like leading a project, to assess their skills and see if they are ready for future promotion.
“I don’t think I know anybody out there who’s mastered any of this stuff 100%, so offering that training is really important,” Greene says
