The value of managerial supervision AKA a lesson in how to communicate without creating enemies.

In my work, I have what is called supervision. Bit of a misnomer really as I’m not supervised at all. What it really means is from time to time I meet with my manager and talk about what I have been up to professionally. An opportunity to discuss progress, setbacks, plans and for my manager to tell me about any issues in connection with my work from their angle. How it actually pans out is that I listen to him bang on for as long as I have to about all his problems and concerns, which are often not even work-related. I then make a half-hearted attempt to tell him about what I’ve done, what I’ve not done, what issues there are I consider worthy of consultation and leave it at that. Anything I get back in terms of support, guidance or advice about my practice is negligible, off the mark and questionable most of the time.

In my last supervision, this routine was repeated up until a point. Towards the end of our meeting my manager fed-back (that is the word used to describe being given information) to me his take on my style of electronic communication. In a diplomatic (weasel wordy) way I was told that I sometimes (often) come across as being quite aggressive, terse and perhaps even sarcastic.

I was quite honest in telling him that I thought his observation was reasonably fair and accurate. No point in expending any energy in denying it. I told him that I would try and be more conscious of the way I write emails to managerial and administrative staff. This is what I have been doing for the past few days. I used to write work emails to the same standard as I would a professional letter. So now instead of starting my emails with “Dear xxx” and ending them with yours sincerely, I am now starting them with Hi xxx and ending them with a “thanks very much”. I have even put a smiley icon at the end of a few! The bits in between I’m still working on.

I suppose I often use emails instead of picking up the phone or writing a formal letter. Not so much that I prefer them but in part because of accepted work practices and the need to evidence that I have asked or told someone something. People can conveniently forget a phone call or claim not to have received a letter both of which are harder to do with an email. Plus there is the backup of having saved all my sent emails and the facility to request a delivered / read receipt. With this convenience has come, at least to me, the opportunity to vent to a faceless person and the ease of drafting sarcasm and disdain in between the lines. I’m glad at least that it does not go unnoticed. However, on reflection it doesn’t do much for me in terms of feeling any better for it. I shall work on being nicer and making people’s day better with my communications rather than using them for stress relief.

I suppose I may have got more out of that supervision than I first thought.