When one takes on the role of a supervisor in his or her company or organization, he or she is accepting the wide range of responsibilities that come along with the job. The supervisor is depended on for not only managing the day-to-day tasks to get a job done, but also to lead and motivate the employees working beneath him or her to get the job done effectively. A manager can be defined as one who handles, controls or directs (2006). A leader can be defined as one who leads or guides, or one who is in charge or command of others (2006). These definitions appear very similar and give the impression that being a leader and a manager are the same thing when in reality there is a distinction between the style of leaders and managers according to their primary focus (2006, July). Leaders focus on doing "the right things" while managers focus on doing "the things right."
Nick Farr
Supervisor Alton Allen with Orange County flag to ...
An IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter II installed in a...All organizations need management and leadership, and supervisors who can effectively fill both roles.
A manager's duty includes defining goals and objectives needed to get a job done, all while focusing on the bottom line. When assuming the role of a supervisor one is in charge of telling how and when a job needs to get accomplished, it is an autocracy position. The manager needs to control the path of the task at hand all while directing the employees to complete it. Procedures need to be followed and remain consistent to finish a task successfully. This requires a short-range goal from the manager's perspective because his or her main objective is only to achieve the task at hand.
The negative to working as a supervisor in the mindset of only a managerial role is that the supervisor can be restraining in...