The role frontline supervisor’s fulfill has changed. Emphasis has shifted from managing systems to leading teams. While overseeing processes is important, it’s secondary to influencing personnel responsible for performance outcomes. In this podcast, AEU LEAD Director Joe White provides a glimpse at emerging trends shaping the future of frontline supervision. The roles and responsibilities have shifted and the keys to success have evolved.
Transcript
Announcer:
The SoS podcast is a production of AEU LEAD, an organization redefining how mid and front-line managers are developed.
Joe White:
Hello, and thank you for joining us. I'm Joe White and this is the Supervisor Skills: Secrets of Success podcast. Today's recording is the final episode in season four. In preparing it, I've taken a slightly different approach in messaging. While I typically focus on a skill or topic that can be committed to practice, that's not the case today. As most will acknowledge, the workplace has changed. Incoming employees share little in common with those that are replacing payrolls, and management practices once viewed as tried and true, no longer yield the same results, factoring the rate of change and the influx of technology, which will only increase with time if we find ourselves entering an entirely new industrial era, and one whereby front-line supervision plays an increasingly important role.
Today's episode is dedicated exclusively to providing a glimpse into the future. As a backdrop, I plan to use the results from recent surveys conducted by organizations specializing in emerging workplace trends. As you'll quickly see, supervision is not only included as a recognized area in need of improvement, it's been positioned as an essential part of future success, which hinges on human performance outcomes. For those on board and wanting to learn more, let's jump right into it.
Over the past several years, a trend of undeniable relevance has taken shape. Study after study have shown management development based on a historical competency framework, no longer works. Traditional approaches built around an occasional training event and based on strategies to manage systems and processes are grossly outdated. Supervisors now have 51% more responsibilities than they can effectively handle, which helps explain why three out of four feel overwhelmed. More of the same isn't the answer. The future of work is now. At its core, is a need to transition from reliance on cultural dependencies, or more appropriately, reliance on supervision for decisions, actions, or deliverables an effectively prepared team can easily handle, embracing the independent nature of the incoming generation and advocating for interdependence among teams at an operational level are pivots long overdue.
The skills required for this to happen are at the forefront of those HR managers are now challenged to provide in the near-term future. As evidence, we don't have to look very far. According to several studies on HR trends, human performance now takes center stage, and what appears to be in an employee-centric era, supervisors of framework or underpinning that will allow organizations to transition from where they are to where they need to be.
At the top of the list for challenges HR managers face in 2025 is leader and manager development. To succeed, organizations must prepare supervisors to affect individual performance through influence with and not control over the workforce.
Next on the list of priorities is organizational culture. Organizations have recognized a need to change how they go about conducting their business. Most are now taking steps to make that happen. What hasn't changed is preserving and protecting who you are. Culture is like a fingerprint. It's what separates you from your competition. Decision makers have recognized the importance of cultural identity and will be preparing supervisors to demonstrate this identity through actions and example.
Finally, HR managers have been tasked with preparing frontline supervision for the role of leading operational change. Change is a new reality, and those capable of making needed transitions will have a competitive advantage over those that can't. When and where change initiatives succeed, it's typically because of a well-prepared team of mid and frontline managers.
Given this insight, a natural question could be:
- How do you prepare?
- What steps can you take to get ready for the transition already underway?
Here are several recommendations I'd like to pass along for consideration:
1. Identify your natural gifts.
While most of us have been told to focus on areas of weakness, it's our gifts that allow us to excel. There are any number of resources available that will help you discern talents and competencies. Find one that allows you to better understand what comes naturally and incorporate it into your playbook. Doing so allows you to put your best foot forward. It also will allow you to grow newer needed skills around a solid foundation already in place.
2. Embrace continuous learning.
The future of training will be very different. Annual chalk-and-talk events and theoretical content developed in an academic or an administrative setting doesn't always translate well. Invest in books of interest, listen to podcasts, and engage in conversation with those you admire. Learning and development moving forward will be more informal, targeted, and integrated. Don't wait for it to be provided, seize the opportunity and get started now.
3. Learn to lead.
The future workplace is people-centric. Communication and coaching, not command and control, are keys to your success. Improving performance outcomes by lighting a fire within and not beneath employees is a skill of growing importance in the near term. The common denominator of where we're going and what you'll need moving forward is leadership. Regardless of the industry, the need for authoritative managers is declining and will be all but gone by the end of the current decade. Put yourself in a position to succeed for years to come and learn to lead.
4. Promote interdependence.
As previously noted and stated in past episodes, putting more in your shoulders as a recipe for failure. Where possible, delegate to those ready, willing, and able to step up, build teams and promote interdependency among them. Interdependent teams look out for one another and accept responsibility for working towards a common goal. As a bonus, an interdependent culture is preferred by the incoming generation. Do everything you can to promote a culture of interdependency.
5. Grow from mistakes.
Human operational performance, or HOP, is an area of growing interest across many industries. In short, HOP acknowledges that people make mistakes. It also advocates strongly in learning from mistakes once made. As a supervisor, encourage employees to share near misses or mistakes as learning opportunities. Treating them as a means to validate punitive or disciplinary action is old school and does nothing more than drive them out of sight. Grow from mistakes and help others see the value in doing the same through demonstrated felt leadership.
Change is in the air. The skills required for success from mid and frontline managers is evolving. HR directors are prioritizing leader and manager development and have developed a new competency framework based on emerging needs. This new model is employee-centered, culturally aligned, and leadership-focused. The skills required going forward are sharply different than those relied upon in the past. To succeed, supervisors must embrace the opportunity and make needed adjustments. Those that do will find themselves well positioned going forward. Those that don't will place themselves at a distinct and unnecessary disadvantage. The ultimate question is, which path would you take?
Thank you for joining us. It's my sincere hope you found benefit during our discussion today. I also hope you've enjoyed being a part of our journey throughout this year. As we look forward to the upcoming year, we plan to take a few months off. We will start our fifth season with our next release, which is scheduled for March of 2025. Should you have any questions or need additional information regarding today's topic or any we've covered this year, just let us know. Our contact information is provided in the show notes accompanying this episode. For those that may not have reviewed or rated your experience with our show, we would greatly appreciate you doing so. That's it for now. Stay safe and thanks for listening.
