Coalition for Women's Identities
Thursday, 11 September 2014 - 10:01am
Spring of 2014, I scribed about Social Justice in Supervision for the Clemson Home Leadership blog with a focus on the supervisor and supervisee relationship dynamic. Late summer, a colleague of mine connected me to the ACPA Standing Committee for Women blog, and I was excited at the opportunity of readdressing this topic with a different focus. As fall nears, my thoughts lean towards developing our supervisees so that they can gain footing with inclusive practices in their daily encounters. These skills can be honed through intentional performance coaching and resource building.
Opportunities for performance coaching arise daily. It is up to us as supervisors to help our supervisees capitalize on valuable teaching moments. The word performance conjures up various meanings when it is used, but in this context it is linked to the service we render in Student Affairs. For some, the term “performance” is used twice a year for evaluations and merit awards. It is my hope that we as supervisors continue to do the work that enables us to appraise the work that is before us daily. Social justice is an active ‘sport’ that requires high levels of participation. Working with supervisees in this area will require developing communication skill sets primarily.
First, begin listening to the anecdotes provided by supervisees in casual conversations as well as meetings. Reflect for meaning and then identify areas of celebration or increased knowledge. My recent supervisor was great at providing such context during our one on one meetings. That supervisor would reference excerpts from conversations for the purpose of illustrating growth or opportunities for improvement. My supervisor would even provide the significance of the context and provide examples of impact or increased knowledge in my personal and professional life. I value this practice and use this frequently in all areas of my life. Celebrating and challenging others with feedback helps people work and live with congruence. It is easy to believe you are being inclusive or open-minded; however, there may be a few things or personal mannerisms that unknowingly contradict one’s self-within communication. So, in addition to being willing to providing timely feedback for your direct report, transparency and role modeling the same idea is important.
Next, make time for action planning in lieu of feedback. A huge building block of development is mentorship. Taking the time to build relationships requires support and safe spaces. Inclusion and social justice dialogue must be carefully done with understanding. Receiving feedback whether celebratory or constructive will stretch farther with action steps that either suggest a continuation of efforts or a transition in mindset. The supervisee needs to own their next steps and create those smart goals or steps with a supervisor that can serve for accountability. Be conscious to acknowledge steps taken by the supervisee in your own unique way that is supportive for him or her. Continue to check in and see if additional support is needed from you as the supervisor. Be specific in soliciting how you can be of support as well.
Lastly, equip your supervisee with opportunities to build their knowledge. Social justice touches every subsect of society imaginable. There is no such thing as knowing too much. It is vital in professional growth that supervisees continuing to view learning from different perspectives. My former Director of Residence Education purchased an excellent read on my behalf when I began work on Gender Inclusive Housing Taskforce. I was elated and felt tremendously supported by that gesture. First, I knew immediately that she wanted me to be able to acknowledge any biases or barriers that I may bring to the table. Secondly, the book would provide even more context for the work that I was longing to participate in.
Book sharing is also an inexpensive way of sharing knowledge. My former Associate Directors for Residence Education were great at recommending books and even loaning out selections from their personal libraries. The Associate Director primarily responsible for Training and Selection was intentional and great at providing resources for development. She would publicize when new selections were brought back from conferences or ordered. I borrowed several selections and found them beneficial for staff and personal development, along with supplementing coursework.
Another opportunity for knowledge building with supervisees is conferences and campus activities. My primary Associate Director attended a seminar specifically to gain information on how to best or better supervise women of color. Upon the Associate Director’s return, she reached out to me and others to begin some purposeful conversations. I was impressed, but more importantly, I felt more regarded as an employee to see a supervisor two levels above me to take the time and garner more information about an area of social justice that was not innate. I gained a similarly rewarding experience by engaging in a student affairs’ related dialogue series that was created to connect different employees across the division to share experiences and perspectives. Anecdotes of alternate ways of learning and sharing differences to better understand how to treat others creates endless opportunities for engagement and learning for supervisees.
Stewardship as a supervisor comes with responsibility to grow others. Developing others in today’s world requires understanding of human dynamics and the individual story that people bring to the table. We can encourage growth in direct reports by inspiring them to respect others through advocating social justice and inclusive based practices demonstrated through communication. When opportunities for teachable or coachable moments present themselves, it is pertinent to take action then. We must also create a consistent cycle of learning and development turning by inviting our supervisees to research and participate in opportunities to directly learn from others.
Coretta L. King