So now that I'm a 'real' supervisor, I have been assigned a team of people at work. I am responsible for their continual training and for communicating pertinent information to them. Our department is too big for one person to take care of everyone, so they are divided among the supervisors.
It's been interesting to note my feelings towards having a team of coworkers. My mother-hen nature is peeping out, only to feel bewilderedly out of place. My previous experience of being responsible for a newer subsection has been leading a small group at school (or previously, at youth group), and this bears very little resemblance. This time I'm not responsible for their overall wellbeing, and this has nothing to do with building community or connections between them - I just need to make sure they know what they need to know. But I wonder if I could/should make it more than that.
Our department has been too big for me to care about everyone, but now that I have been assigned a smaller group it seems less overwhelming to care. But is it really genuine to care about them now that they are my team, when I didn't especially care for these individuals before? I kinda just want to like people because I like them. Plus, some of them seem a little high maintenance (I've got the lady who recently spent time in a mental hospital, and another who is falling apart from a messy separation). It's not fair to them if I start expressing significant interest and then can't give as much as they start to expect...
So far this has just been theoretical, just thinking - I haven't done anything with them yet. I haven't even started our first training project, even though it's due in two weeks. I've felt a little overwhelmed because it is basically making sure everyone is trained on everything, and I haven't had any time at work yet. But tonight while trying to sleep I started thinking about getting some of the girls early shifts and doing our training at Starbucks, and trying to buddy the new guys up for some training tomorrow.
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Some of my favorite managers have been ones that care beyond the duties at work, but I am teh high maintenance one. It is abount boundaries and maintaining them. It is okay to want to care about someone but not necessarily as much as they want you too. You've got to know yourself well enough to know what you're willing to do and stand firm by that. If they are asking too much, they will not know unless you tell them so you just tell them you're uncomfortable with what they're asking and give what you're able. That's my experience anyway
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