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Listen to thisIt occurred to me while reading some army manuals on training that there is a good deal of similarity in the roles of the sergeant in the army and the supervisor in a child care agency. Even though the environments and purpose of these organizations are clearly different I thought it would be a useful exercise to explore the similarities (and differences) of the role of the middle manager i.e. the sergeant and the supervisor in these organizations.
Everybody knows sergeants are the mainstay of an army. In this important role they:
make explicit their mission, values, practices of the army e.g. “our mission is to defend the nation and the constitution and by understanding the role it has played in our nations struggles”, to in still pride in their troops.
have the responsibility of making more realistic the training of the rookie e.g. how to use and care for their weapon, how to respond to commands, read maps, dig trenches, etc. to help them become effective soldiers.
teach their units the value of working as a group. Modern armies increase the fighting (or should I say firing) power of their units by planning their movements (e.g. attacks and retreats) using the team/group as an effective organizing principle.
use the more experienced troops as informal mentors for newer less experienced troops. Mentoring along with other group solidarity methods , has as one of its results the bonding of the squad. Squad members often describe their relationship to each other as brothers.
teach the skills (if that’s the word) necessary for the recruit to internalize the need to follow orders so that it becomes second nature to so in a battle situation.
model effective warrior behavior during the actual battle situations which of course is a most powerful learning moment for soldiers new to battle
not only work with the enlisted men and women in their units they also play an informal role of providing reality basis for newly “hatched” officer’s (and even battle scarred ones) decisions/orders. They, especially those who have “been there”, know what tactics might and might not work in a given situation and fortunately, have developed diplomatic skills in convincing officers of a better way to go forwards (or backwards) without ruffling their feathers too much.
Supervisors in child care agencies act as mainstays too, play similar roles and perform similar tasks for their staffs. For example they also:
introduce (or more likely) reinforce new and senior child care workers ideas about the mission of the child care profession, its practices and history.
“fine tune” the recently learned skills of the new worker – e.g. how to begin with a client, or end with one. Or, how to deal with a “difficult” client or how to work effectively with minority clients and the .- orient new workers into the “harsh” reality of professional practice in social agencies
provide possible rationales for agency practices and policies that seem foolish or contradictory and encourage new workers to seek out and talk with more experienced staff) to learn the “tricks of the trade”. This reduces the need for new workers to learn their craft on the backs of their clients
use group/team methods to think through, develop and implement treatment plans, work on agency problems, and even use group supervision methods to improve workers intervention skills
help the child care worker in their units to deal with bureaucratic norms which influence/govern their life in the agency i.e. how and when to accept what seem like foolish policies and how and when to find a way to express disagreement with a policy or practice which harms clients (or confuses workers)
model best practice behavior by acting as a co-worker with a new child care staff member.
Although it is clear that there are a number of similarities in the roles and tasks of the sergeant and the supervisor there are of course some distinct differences.
Both the sergeant and the child care supervisor need to develop cohesive., competent and effective staffs. Although their goals for their supervisees are similar their methods of attaining their goals differ. The image of the sergeant as a tough, authoritarian and intolerant of failures to follow orders is probably a fair one. But a good sergeant is also fair and is concerned with the well being of his or her troops. They are very likely to short on explanations of the reasons for orders and concern themselves mostly with the safety and effectiveness of their squad. But despite these tough methods the units they “supervise” often attain high levels of cohesiveness and effectiveness.
The child care supervisor on the other hand is more
likely to use active communication skills, coaching, and collaborative
methods rather than the directive and authoritarian methods of the
sergeant. This approach can help both new and experienced staff improve
their skills, grow as persons. These “soft” methods also go a long way
to helping the unit become effective. It will also foster the positive
and nurturing atmosphere that will benefit morale and help staff to
perform at their best.
At least three differences come to mind besides their basic purposes and
they are:
lack of necessity of the supervisor to insist on the worker following orders . Indeed a good supervisor would encourage the workers in their unit to think more independently and use their own professional judgement when it seems right to do so
a sergeants probable refusal to explain the rationale (if there is one) of certain policies or practices which seem foolish or impractical to the soldiers who often have to implement them.
their view of their staffs. A supervisor is oriented towards seeing their staffs develop and improve their performance. But the supervisors well being and life does not depend on the effectiveness of his or her supervisee. A sergeants life and well being might indeed depend on the effectiveness of his or her “supervisees” and how well he/she trained them.
You the reader might wonder why it’s useful to compare these roles* as they are practiced in the army and in a child care agency. The sergeant and the supervisor do both perform many of the same roles despite the very real difference in the purposes and nature of their organizations. This suggests that the child care worker considering joining the ranks of supervisors should make the learning of these roles a priority as they move up.
* These are the common roles as played by the sergeant and the supervisor. They:
