Your Role as Maintenance Supervisor

 What is the purpose of a supervisor? Are you more of a working supervisor, a managing supervisor, or is it expected that you supervise and not participate? Are you considered what some. People often refer to as a working supervisor, where you have supervisory responsibilities, but you're still expected to be out in the field with your associates and your technicians, who and whoever is out in the field knocking on doors, dealing with customers.

So try to clarify as much as possible what's expected of me, what is the purpose, and also think about some of the traits that you look up to, you respect, and you admire. And a supervisor, and most often those traits are being approachable, empathetic, sympathetic, having good communication skills, being adaptable, resourceful, accountable, being a team player, understanding and learning the new administrative and managerial responsibilities that come with it, if there are any.

What are the goals for you and everyone on the team? Do you listen differently now? Because very often when you go from being a peer to a boss or a supervisor, there's a transition period, and so what are some of the tips? You have to know what the roles and the goals are, what's expected. You have to dress and behave professionally, so if you are a little bit more casual when you were a technician or up and coming in the industry, it's now time to be a little different professionally.

Improve your professionalism, be a little different with your behavior and role model, the behavior that is appropriate for a supervisor, and of course, personal conduct. And it just takes time to get used to these things. And after a while, you'll be viewed less as a peer and more as a supervisor, but there is a transition that takes place, especially if you're with the same team.

So make sure that you learn how to build people up and not down. A common mistake that new supervisors make is they overexert what their perceived authority is and they're, they want to do such a good job so well that they become a little too demanding or harsh with the teammates that they have or their associates or their team.

And so. Make sure that you know how to balance all of that out. You multiply the effectiveness of people on your team. But really what people want to know now is do you care? Are you still the same person? Yes, we know you have different responsibilities, but as a supervisor, your team has to know that you care team first.

They have to have the trade knowledge, of course, the expertise in the field. You have to be a student of people. For as long as you're in the industry and you're in this role, as you grow, you have to be willing to change, and you have to learn what it means more to run a business, so your manager will expect more from you.

Your regional managers, your your corporate office will expect you to understand what it means to help them run a successful building more or a successful business. Your management team will have higher expectations on how well you understand and make decisions on what it means to run a business successfully.

So learn to run a business, develop your business acumen, your administrative skills as much as possible.