Kevin Burns Blog

As a senior manager of a trades-based or industrial company, you know how important it is to have a strong and competent team of frontline supervisors. They are the ones who directly interact with your employees, customers, and partners. They are the ones who ensure the quality and safety of your work. They are the ones who represent your company’s values and culture.

As a frontline supervisor, you have a lot of responsibilities and challenges in your role. You have to manage the daily operations, deliver the results, and meet the expectations of your management. But more importantly, you have to lead and care for your team members.

If you are a senior manager of an industrial company, you know how challenging it can be to manage your frontline supervisors and their teams. You may be facing issues such as:

If you are a senior manager of an industrial company, you may be facing some serious challenges in your organization. You may be experiencing increased numbers of safety incidents, employee complacency, and a lack of engagement that’s creating frustration, higher employee absenteeism, and turnover. You may wonder how to break the cycle of downward performance and create a positive and productive work environment.

As a supervisor, you have a lot of responsibilities and challenges in your role. You have to manage the day-to-day operations, oversee the performance and well-being of your employees, communicate effectively with your superiors and peers, and ensure the quality and safety of your work.

Frontline supervisors are the backbone of any organization. They are responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and overseeing the performance and well-being of their employees. They are the link between the management and the frontline workers, and they have a direct impact on the quality and outcomes of the work.

Being a supervisor is not an easy task. You have to manage multiple responsibilities, deal with various challenges, and lead your team to achieve the desired goals. But how do you do it in a way that is not only effective but also caring?

I want to discuss a concept, not just straight out of the movies, but deeply rooted in supervisor roles. It's about how to better understand your role in the grand narrative of your team.

Management guru, Tom Peters, at a live event, was extolling the virtues of training managers in proper leadership and management skills. One senior manager asked, “What if we train them, and they leave? He responded, “What if you don’t train them, and they stay?” Training in leadership skills is a gamble. Leadership training is not proprietary. It is personal. If a supervisor decides to leave, the training leaves with them. Leadership skills are personal skills; as are skills in communication, coaching, empowerment, career development, team building, motivation, caring, and mentoring. But they are the skills that employees expect supervisors to have.