Even though your job title may not contain the word supervisor, supervision skills are key elements to any success in the work that you do. High-level managers and even the executive leadership of every organization need to demonstrate effective supervision.

The term supervision is just that; the “ability to see above or beyond.” Traditionally, supervisors are viewed as those people who manage the “front-line” workers in a company or organization. Supervisors are uniquely situated in that:

• They have a wider perspective of the organization and processes than their team members
• They must transform the goals and vision of higher leadership into processes that will realize those aspirations
• They must routinely mediate between diverse groups within the organization.

In order to be effective, supervisors must understand the elements that they have in common with groups. They bridge the relationship between the people who report to them and the people that they themselves report to.

Managing the relationship between frontline workers and higher management in a company is particularly challenging. Some of the reasons for this may include:

• One or both of the groups may not fully appreciate the effort or skill sets required of the other group.
• Team members may suspect you are more loyal to management than to them, while management may feel you are more loyal to your team members. Neither one of the groups may see you as “being one of them.”

One tool that will help you cope with these types of supervisory challenges is Workplace Diplomacy. Diplomacy is usually referred to in a political sense. The elements of diplomacy that apply to the workplace, include:

• Skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility
• Employing tact and conciliation especially in situations of stress
• Serving as a medium of communication between two or more distinct groups (Webster’s 2002)

The following story is an example of how one individual used the tool of workplace diplomacy to the benefit of the entire company:

“Geraldo is the sales manager for an import auto dealership in Southern California. Robert was recently hired as the new assistant general manager for the dealership. While Robert has broad financial knowledge and significant business experience, he had never sold vehicles before he went to work at the dealership. Geraldo sensed that Robert felt somewhat insecure talking to any of the sales staff about the normal operations of the business. One day, over lunch, Geraldo took the opportunity to tell Robert a little bit about each member of his sales team. He highlighted some of their sales accomplishments and pointed out some of the struggles they experienced. Geraldo asked Robert several questions about his work history, family and hobbies. He made no mention about Robert’s apprehension to talk to his sales team. In the following weeks he noticed that Robert felt much more comfortable speaking to the sales staff. The dealership continued to do well and in time, Robert developed a great working relationship with Geraldo and his team.”

Geraldo effectively used the tool of workplace diplomacy to improve the relationship between his team and the new assistant manager at the dealership. He did not sacrifice his sense of loyalty to either his team or to Robert – the new assistant manager. A key aspect of being diplomatic means representing all groups fairly and exhibiting commitment to win-win outcomes.

Were any supervisors that you worked for in the past particularly effective at balancing their loyalties between multiple groups? How did they do it?

Look for additional articles on High Performance Supervision: Workplace Diplomacy in upcoming newsletters. Be sure to subscribe to the Centerod.com newsletter to receive the next section delivered to your email inbox.

Steven Churchill is a Learning & Communication Strategist committed to helping people and organizations improve through better learning and communication. Contact him at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it