supervision matters
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Matters of Supervision
April 2021
Issue 148
Dear Friend ,

I have always been a quiet and reflective person.  This past year has certainly not diminished that practice.  Sometimes I feel like I’m a specimen on a slide on my own microscope.  This month I am sharing some realizations from my lab experiments, and connecting them to supervision in the hopes that it will support your work. It is 1094 words and will take you about 4 minutes to read. 

If you don’t already, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter for timely reminders, commentary and updates.  (See links at the top of the newsletter.)  

I cannot ignore that as I write this, our country continues to be embroiled in hate and violence. The system that is meant to protect, does not.  It perpetuates/condones/
tolerates the hate and violence.  I know we each face our work, our lives and our own process to respond. Grief is a constant river, rage is a justified response and dismay is understandable.  In the midst of all of this, know that your work matters.  I honor you and your work and your process.  

Stay safe and stay strong, 

Rita
What We Hear versus What Was Said
He said “Excuse me” . . . I heard “Get out of my way.”
He said “I don’t think that is right”. . .  I heard “You’re stupid”.

I said “Did you go to the post office” . . . he heard “You disappoint me”.
I said “I am upset about what happened”  . . . he heard “you’re bad”.  

This kind of saying and hearing happens all the time.  It is astonishingly common that we hear things through a filter of our own making.  Not a filter we consciously constructed but one that was embedded in us, often at a very young age. We add onto the filter throughout our life, sometimes correcting but often reinforcing what is already there.  

These exchanges are examples from my personal life.  I have been with my husband for a lifetime, but we often still hear our own interpretations instead of the words that are actually said.  (There are often filters at work on the speaker’s part also, just to make it even more confusing.  But for now, let’s focus on the listener’s filters.)  

The interpretation happens almost instantaneously.  Our filter sifts through the words and we assume we know what they really mean.  Or, even more often, we hear tone and interpret that instead of the actual words.  The tone CAN change the meaning of any given words, but we cannot always be trusted to safely interpret the meaning of tone in a vacuum.  We must engage to do that.  “Are you saying you’re disappointed in me?”  “Am I in your way?”  

AND THEN, we must believe what they tell us.  Even when we don’t.  Even when we believe the tone more than what they are telling us.  But that is a losing proposition.  If they are telling you that you are not in the way, then act as if that is true.  Believe them.  Maybe even say “Let me know if that changes.”  Then it is up to them.

This is even more complicated at work.  And even more complicated still when the conversation is between a supervisor and a staff member.   You’ve got the positional power and maybe societal power and personality differences, and different understandings of what you’re talking about . . . it can be a mine field.  

They say, “I didn’t have time for that” . . . you hear “I don’t care what you told me to do.” 
They say, “I don’t think that is the best approach”  . . . you hear “You’re an idiot and you should leave me alone”.
You say, “The top priority for next week is the upcoming X” . . . they hear “I don’t think you know what you’re doing and I need to micromanage you.”
You say “This didn’t turn out the way I was expecting ” . . . they hear “You did it wrong; why did I even hire you?” 

This is complicated and multi-layered but here are a few tips to manage the mine field. Consider and apply which ever are missing in your process.   

1.   Use I statements. 
Minimize blaming and projecting by using clean and clear I-statements to own your thoughts, feelings and experiences.  “I thought we were on the same page, but we weren’t.  Let’s try again.”  

2.   Separate fact from interpretation.
Be rigorous at noticing what is actually said or happening, versus how you are interpreting it.  
They were late, not they are undependable.  
They did not keep their agreement, not they don’t respect you.
They did not produce as much as you thought they would, not that they have a bad work ethic.  
They do things differently than how you would do them, not that they lack professionalism.  

3.   Check assumptions. 
Ask questions when you realize that your filter is at work. This is even more powerful when combined with an I-statement.  “I realize that I might be interpreting here so let me check it out.  Are you telling me that you don’t care about what I told you to do?” 

4.   Believe them.
If they tell you that your interpretation is incorrect, take them at their word and proceed as if that were the case. 

5.   Assume good intentions.
You are both working for the same organization so there should be a clear shared focus and goal of the work.  Try to actively trust that they mean well and want to do a good job, even if it isn’t going that way.  This doesn’t mean you don’t address the problem, but don’t add your interpretation of their motives into the mix.  

6. Acknowledge and mind your power. 
You must always be aware of your positional and societal power.  Many people assume their supervisor could fire them at will.  Power dynamics play into what people hear and how they hear it.  So when you have institutionalized power, and/or societal power, and if you don’t account for that, then you will make small problems bigger and breed distrust with your staff. This distrust will be intensified when you revert to stereotypes or triggering idioms like “work ethic” and “professionalism” as in the interpretation examples in #2.  

7. Own your power.
At the same time that you need to acknowledge your power and privilege, sometimes you need to clearly accept the responsibility of your role, without reverting to being an authoritarian.  This might mean you just have to be the supervisor and make the decision that is within your power to make, even if they disagree or don’t like your decision.  “I know you want us to go in another direction and this is my final decision.  If something changes, we can discuss it again but until then, let’s move on.”  

8.   Name any patterns you see happening with curiosity and without blame.   
Make a short objective I-statement with an observation and then invite them to problem solve with you.  Engage in meaningful conversation   
 “I seem to be hearing things you’re not saying.  I wonder if you are doing that too?” 
 “I notice whenever I correct anything, you react defensively. What is that about?”  
“We are getting very good at pushing each other’s buttons; can we try to approach this kind of conversation in a different way?” 

It is never easy to navigate our own internal landscape, never mind someone else’s.  You can’t control how other people respond or how they show up.  But you can monitor yourself and model clarity, self-awareness and curiosity about how to do it better.  None of those will hurt the conversation, and might just transform it.  
 
Coaching
Corner
QUESTIONS TO HELP
YOU REFLECT
  • Think of a time when you heard and reacted to something that was not actually said or meant.  What was that experience like for you?  How did you react?  How did the other party react?  How did the conversation proceed from there? 
  • Do you recognize meanings that you give to certain words, phrases, or actions?  Think about where/when/how you learned to interpret things in that way? 
  • How do you respond when people assume they know what you are thinking or feeling? 
1:1 Coaching

It can be exhausting navigating fraught conversations when either or both people are adding interpretations or emotional reactions to what could be a direct conversation.  A coach could can help you consider these kinds of situations, so you can more readily recognize what is happening and how the conversation might get derailed.  From there, a coach can help you plan a strategy to learn a new way to have these kinds of conversations. Be the supervisor you want and need to be to help your team succeed. Call me to find out more about coaching.  (707) 578-4318
News!
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Thank you!!!



My new book hits the shelves on August 3rd. I can’t wait for you to read it!
A Moment of Wonder: Otters!
Stepping into moments of wonder can help us to be more curious, more grateful and more open.

Otters

 1.     Sea otters reach maximum lengths of 4.9 feet and weights of 100 pounds.
 2.     Sea otters have the densest fur of all mammals with up to 1 million hairs per square inch.
 3.     Sea otters don’t have blubber or fat to keep them warm like other marine mammals. Instead, they stay warm using two layers of fur: the bottom layer traps air, while the top layer guards the air and keeps the sea otters buoyant.
 4.     Sea otters eat 25 percent of their body weight each day in sea urchins, crabs, clams, snails and other invertebrates.  Without sea otters, sea urchins can overpopulate the sea floor and devour the kelp forests that provide cover and food for many other marine animals. By maintaining healthy kelp forests, sea otters also indirectly help to reduce levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a prevalent greenhouse gas, as kelp absorbs and sequesters carbon. 
 5.     Sea otters use rocks to crack open their prey as fast as 45 blows in 15 seconds.
 6.     The longest recorded sea otter dive was 4 minutes, and the deepest recorded sea otter dive was 318 feet deep.
 7.     Female sea otters live to up to 20 years, while males live up to 15 years.
 8.      Sea otters float on the ocean waves in groups that are called rafts. These rafts are usually gender-based.
 9.     Female sea otters raise their pups without assistance from males and have been known to adopt orphaned otters. 
10.    Sometimes sea otters like to hold hands. Holding paws allows sea otters to keep their delicate paw pads warm.
11.    In Bangladesh, otters help fisherman maximize their haul. For centuries, fisherman have been training otters to act as herders and chase large schools of fish into the nets.
12.    Otters love to play and will often build themselves slides along the banks of rivers.

(There were periods of time during lock down when this was a consistently open window on my laptop.)

https://oceana.org/marine-life/marine-mammals/sea-otter
https://www.seaotterfoundationtrust.org/sea-otter-facts/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/548648/facts-about-otters
Rita Sever, MA l Supervision Matters
(707) 578 - 4318
Copyright 2021 Rita Sever. I distribute the Supervision Matters newsletter without charge and grant permission to recipients to share the current issue of this newsletter to personal contacts for non-commercial purposes only. All other rights are reserved, and requests for copying and distribution of these works may be made to rita@supervisionmatters.com.