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The 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.

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Every doctor checks your vital signs. It's the same if you're going for a routine checkup at your small town family doctor or emergency care at the world-class Duke University Medical Center.

In medicine there are four vital signs that every doctor uses. They're temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate. They don't require expensive or complicated technology, but they give the doctor a quick sense of how things are.

If you're a boss you need something like that to get a quick sense of how things are with your team. Here are four questions you can use to check your team's vital signs.

Is the work getting done? It's a good sign if things are getting done well and on time. If not, there might be problems with work organization, workload, or people issues.

Is the boss happy with us? It's a good sign if he or she is because your boss is your connection to the larger purpose of the organization. But if the boss isn't happy with your team, it might mean that your work isn't as good as you think.

Do team members pitch in? It's a good sign if team members work together, without much prodding, to get things done. If that's not happening, relationships, skill sets, personal growth, or systems might be the problem.

Are outsiders happy with us? It's a good sign if people outside your team are happy with you. If they're not, the problem could be your work product or it could be relationships between team members and outsiders.

You don't need sophisticated systems or a dashboard to assess your team's vital signs. If you're touching base a lot and having conversations with your team members, your boss, and outsiders you can answer the questions with just a bit of reflection.

Boss's Bottom Line

Check your team's vital signs at least once a day. This doesn't take sophisticated analysis, just the honest answer to four questions.

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.