25 www.ortrucking.org Issue 4 | 2024 feedback the same way to every employee because they are not the same. Learning to flex to your people is important and being able to communicate in a way they can hear your messages both positive items (recognizing when they have met those expectations and standards and providing praise) and where there are areas for improvement. One of the best times to do this is during regular check-in meetings. Don’t Avoid Challenging Conversations/Conflict Letting things fester can kill team morale quickly. When it comes to preparing for a challenging conversation and practicing what you need to say, use a colleague as a sounding board to help you get perspective on the effectiveness of your words, tone, and overall message. “Scripting” your conversations with a series of bullet points to address the concern and to stay on task is a good idea. Don’t Avoid Delegating Taking on everything yourself is not sustainable. If you’re taking on all the tasks, what you are really telling others is they are not needed. Delegation is a wonderful development tool for employees. This helps them grow, stretch, prepare for the future, and even helps when you’re out of the office. Don’t Forget to be an Active Listener This is so important. When you truly listen to staff you build rapport and trust. When you ask open-ended questions during the day and during your regular check-in meetings and wait for answers you will learn what is going on with the employee both in their work and personally on the job. You will discover where they need help and how you can assist. You will know when they need your support, when to show encouragement, when to celebrate and when they just need an ear to vent in the best way possible to you and not a coworker where gossip begins. LISTENING is a major piece of an effective supervisoremployee working relationship.
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