Who is Supervising the Supervisor?
by
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Strange how things have a way of
happening. I met Avadan
Harrison by accident. I attended a
course in “coaching and counselling” for supervisors,
and Avadan was one of the thirty managers and
supervisors from across
The first day, I sat across from Avadan’s
table group. It seemed as though our
eyes caught each other whenever we looked up.
Nevertheless, neither of us felt angry with the other for staring. What we ended up doing was essentially
getting to know each other through our spirits.
We would both give each other a smile. I said to myself, “There is
something about this lady that I can’t figure out. I hope it’s good.” One thing was certain: it appears we embraced
some sort of friendship without even formally meeting each other. We clicked instantly in that classroom.
It was a very busy first day in the course, trying to adjust and
learn new things that I wanted to take back to my workplace out of this
course. At the end of the day, we all
went our separate ways. However, in my
hotel room, I felt that I should have done a better job by introducing myself
to Avadan. “I
will make sure that we have lunch together tomorrow,” I whispered under my
breath.
On the second day of the course, the instructor announced that the
same groups would not sit together. We
would have to join a new group at the start of each session until the course
ended. I slowly moved away from my
table, secretly watching to find out which of the tables Avadan
would be sitting at, so that I could sit with her and get a chance to get to
know her better.
Avadan moved to the table closest to the
back of the room and I dashed over as quickly as I could so that I could get a
seat at her table.
As a routine, everyone introduced themselves at the table before
the instructor started his lessons for the day.
I introduced myself to Avadan.
“Hi, I am Davett, and you are?”
“I’m Avadan. Delighted to meet you.”
“I work for.... I am the
supervisor for the human resources department.
I can see from your badge that you work for... What do you do there,” I
said.
“I am a coordinator in the finance section with three internal and
several external people to supervise,” replied Avadan.
We did not have much more time to find out much more about each
other. The instructor was ready to begin
his class. So, we both smiled at each
other and settled in to take on our day’s lessons on ‘coaching and counselling.’
The instructor gave us the day’s course outline. It began with the morning session, which was
a table group discussion on ‘what is valuable for you about working, what
motivates individuals, managing change and taking charge of change as a
group.’ The afternoon session would be
done in groups of two. We would start
with the same question as the morning session but new questions would be added
to improve our training. After we
finished the first session, we would do an interview selection process with the
same group. When this was completed, the
whole table group decided to go to the same restaurant for lunch. There were six of us altogether – Jamie,
Grace, Alan, Sean, Avadan and me – who sat down to
lunch. It was a mutual lunch but I felt
I was becoming comfortable around Avadan, and I was
beginning to know her better.
Lunch was an hour, so there was not enough time to continue our
conversation before we headed back to the classroom.
How ironic! That afternoon
each table would be in groups of two – one an interviewer and the other an
interviewee. I chose Avadan
as my partner, and it was one of the best choices in life I have ever made.
We sat down and we looked at each other. Simultaneously we uttered, these words, “You start!”
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Book Details
About the Book
The book, who is supervising the supervisor? is an awareness, an eye-opener and an attention getter for workplaces. It serves as a guide to help employees; supervisors and managers deal with the day-to-day problems at work - something that they have to face up to as long as they have to deal with people. It is a book that many of you will be most surprised to read in order to find out that these kinds of incidents do occurred at work. Though it may seem like everything is going okay, if we as managers and supervisors do not make ourselves and the environment an open door, we could find ourselves in serious implications. Individual workplaces that practice bullying could become known as a brutal place to work, where employees do not feel safe and secure. Thus, this could lead to financial strains on a company, legal fees or long term disability payments.
As employers and employees, we must be vigilant about the environment we work in. Bullying is an epidemic that will destroy the workplace and people. The book would like managers and supervisors to realize the danger of poor supervision. It is a good start to listen to the concerns, fears and feelings of the staff. This level of maturity does not come easy, but it is one of the best ways to good supervision.
There are some supervisors who want to have complete control. Such is the cause of so much stress in our lives. Stress is cancer. Cancer kills! No employee--no supervisor--no manager should have to go through physical, mental and emotional minutes, hours, days, months or years of psychological anguish of work abuse. It is wrong. Like Avadan’s story, how many of you were aware that this was happening with her? How many of you this could be happening to a colleague you work closely with? Not many! People are usually afraid to speak out because of the fear of repercussions and fear of losing their livelihood.
For one to be a model employee, supervisor or manager, it involves more than just productivity. So, it is time to begin building a work environment that people feel valued and enjoys working to produce high yields of a company’s name, brand, financial success to include people's health and well-being. It can happen, if you give it a chance.
About the Author
Morley Wilson was born in
The author has seen the impact of work abuse on people in the workforce, which is the result of creating this book. "Avadan''s story is depressing, but at the same time, very powerful and moving, which sets me off into writing Who is Supervising the Supervisor?" It indicates that work abuse is a serious problem with serious consequences for everyone from employee to society - a book to help people understand the abuse and helps with coping mechanism. "This book is overdue," she said.
Morley certainly enjoys writing and in a short time she has added, Rich God...Poor Christians, which is to help change the myth held by some Christians that it is acceptable to be poor. How to Improve the Government looks at our rights and responsibilities as citizens, and to become participating citizens. Morley has taken a concentrated approach by donating all proceeds from the book to help fund women, aboriginals, the disabled and students living in poorer communities to pursue politics as a career. As well, she has a novel, entitled, Puss In A Bag, Series I. The story is about two different people from different backgrounds who fell in love...an indication that in the name of love, colour is only a perception.