The Business Centurions: a Boss's Day Paean of Praise
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They don't sit in plush offices. Most of them don't wear suits.
They have titles like police sergeant and office manager and team leader. When you say to a customer service rep, "May I speak with your supervisor?" they're the person who comes to the phone. When the storm knocks out the power, they lead the teams that go out in the storms to make things right.
Like Caesar's Centurions they've risen from the ranks. Most of them won't have any career advancement beyond where they are now. Collectively, they supervise just about every frontline worker in America.
Every day they make sure the work gets done. They make sure their people are cared for. And they get no respect.
The Centurions probably got their job because they were good at something else. They probably got no training in how to be a good boss. A lot of them make do with scanty resources and minimum support.
Their picture will never be on the front cover of any magazine. They'll probably get more abuse than publicity.
But it's the Centurions who make sure the calls get answered and things get made down at the factory. They check to make sure the officer has written a crime report that's accurate and will stand up in court. They're out in the rain with their people to make sure your power gets turned on soon. They take your abuse when you ask to speak to a supervisor.
Boss's Day might be a good excuse to thank a Centurion. They'll never have the pay package of a CEO, but every day they're the people that make sure that the work gets done.
Boss's Bottom Line
Thank you.
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
Wally,
This is a very interesting analogy. It is interesting to consider the amount of hard work supervisors put in with respect to the recognition they get. However, do you believe that this is an issue for most supervisors? In my experience many employees of this level have been happy with their jobs and do not necessarily want to "ascend the ranks". Do you think that a large number of them are happy enough in the satisfaction they get from their jobs (and the knowledge that they are major cogs in company operations)? Or do you believe that they long for the spot light and recognition of upper management? I'm not sure if they do.
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Thanks for the observations and questions, Zac. Let me try a couple of them.
I have no data, but I think there are an awful lot of people in the first line supervision jobs who are very unhappy. For some it's because the job is a poor choice. For others, it's because they don't get the training or resources they think are necessary to do a good job.
And some would like to rise in the company but are caught in a system where that's not encouraged or likely. The exception to the third group are supervisors in agencies like police and fire where there is an examination/assessment process and where the top position in the agency is normally filled by someone who has risen from the ranks.
In most companies in private industry, though, the reality is that it's virtually unheard of for someone without a four year college degree to rise beyond the first line supervisory level. It's a version of the noble/common distinction in many cultures.
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Brilliantly written - a lot of people who are just pushed from technical to managerial role are not given any training on how to handle the "soft" aspects of getting things done through people but as you rightly said, they work their way up and get things done at the end of the day. They slog for their teams and get no credit for it, but small screw-up here and there can give them a lot of bashing. They are like shock-absorbers - never let the pressure from customer pass through to the team. Hats off to such unsung-heroes whom we call a bosses.
Very well written!
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Thanks for those kind words, Tanmay. First line supervisors are in a very tough position and I wanted to give them a bit of recognition.
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Wally, your words would really inspire the front line supervisors. I shared this piece with some of the project managers (who end up facing the client but are responsible for getting things done through people) in my organization and they could relate very well with what you have written. Thanks for inspiring them!
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Thank you for that sharing. I wasn't thinking of project managers when I wrote the piece, but you're right that the situation fits them well. I thank you for reminding me and for sharing with some of them. And, of course, I thank them for their work in difficult circumstances.
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A wonderful tribute to the unsung everyday hereos who are out there everyday doing the things that make all of our lives work and keep us safe.
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Thanks, Susan. I think that first line supervisors are often the forgotten people. The good ones create working micro-climates that get the work done and care for the people in all kinds of organizations. Yet we tend to revere the CEOs and praise the front line workers, like police officers, while skipping past the supervisors, like sergeants, that support and facilitate good work.
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great reminder leaders don't need "titles" to get things done. They don't need tiltes to have followers.
Mark Allen Roberts
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Thanks for stopping by and adding your voice, Mark.
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