{"id":5502,"date":"2020-11-04T16:35:03","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T16:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/?p=5502"},"modified":"2020-11-04T16:35:04","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T16:35:04","slug":"starting-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/2020\/11\/04\/starting-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting Strong: Beginning Supervision in a Remote Context"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maya Herran<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

A first impression matters. When I started in the role of Operations and Event Coordinator for Career and Employment Services this fall, first impressions were on my mind.<\/em> The ambiguity that often accompanies a new beginning was fresh, along with an added layer of working remotely and navigating the supervisory relationship through a computer screen.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve begun to build relationships with the students I supervise, I find myself missing the natural interactions that I\u2019ve taken for granted when I\u2019m in the same physical space with my team. This has prompted me to approach the way that I support student staff a bit differently than in the past, and given nuance to what it means to start strong<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here are a few things I\u2019m reminding myself to do as a new supervisor in a remote context:<\/p>\n

Communicate:<\/strong> As someone who thrives on small connections that feel natural in an office environment, like a conversation in passing about our weekends or the ability to pop in to a student\u2019s work space to ask a question, remote communication is challenging!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also realized that these opportunities for unplanned connection are a large component of how I build relationships with students and express interest in their lives and selves beyond work. In this remote context, I\u2019ve noticed myself being much more intentional about communication.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m incorporating conversation starters<\/a> in my one-to-one meetings and thinking of unique ways to recognize the work of my student staff<\/a> members. From scheduling regular check-ins to utilizing Slack instant messaging to replicate more casual connections, it\u2019s been a priority to communicate my availability and support.<\/p>\n

Set boundaries:<\/strong> In June I completed a graduate program while also holding a professional position at the same university. When my courses and work moved to a remote format, I felt an immediate challenge to define boundaries that had previously been easy to maintain.<\/p>\n

Overnight, my work, classes and personal life were consolidated to the same physical space and the same personal laptop. A lack of separation of these responsibilities made it especially challenging to switch from one task to another \u2013 once my work hours were over and I transitioned to homework or class, I found myself struggling to stop thinking about work projects or checking my email.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve spent time getting to know the students I supervise here at Puget Sound, I\u2019ve learned that they\u2019re grappling with the same challenges. Sometimes that manifests in decreased motivation because they\u2019re working and going to school from their bedrooms. Other times it appears as difficulty setting boundaries and logging off from work when their shift is over. And sometimes students experience both decreased motivation and boundary challenges at once.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed that in this time of ambiguity, I can help the students I supervise to set boundaries by creating ample structure with lots of grace. Giving deadlines and specific instructions can help to combat decreased motivation, and firm reminders when a student responds to emails outside of their scheduled working hours can help build healthy habits and boundaries.<\/p>\n

Practice grace with yourself and those you work with: <\/strong>It\u2019s my belief that the increased structure I\u2019ve incorporated while beginning remote supervision has to be accompanied by increased grace. My mind has felt crowded with thoughts of my own safety and the safety of my loved ones, tackling personal projects that have become more challenging while physical distancing, and just feeling exhausted by seven months of heightened stress and precautions.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the students I supervise are feeling heavy with the weight of our world. If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ve noticed that simple tasks might feel more challenging than they did before. I try to bring this perspective and empathy to the students I supervise as well \u2013 while it\u2019s important for a task to be completed, what\u2019s more important to me is the wellbeing of the student who is completing it. And the conversations that are sparked by the challenge of remote work provide important opportunities to affirm students and support them in building resilience in an unpredictable world.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

I\u2019m seeing this season as an opportunity to adjust my approach for a strong start. Whether you\u2019re new to campus and a supervisory role or have a long history of supervision and have built relationships with the students you supervise, the transition to remote supervision provides an opportunity to reflect on how we might begin this new season:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. During times of ambiguity, what helps you to feel confident and grounded in your work? How might you provide opportunities for confidence and grounding to the students you supervise?<\/li>\n
  2. How will you build (or maintain) authentic and holistic relationships with the students you supervise?<\/li>\n
  3. What new tools and strategies will you utilize to provide structure and community for your student staff team? (Here are some thoughts<\/a> to get you started!)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Photo Credit | Ross Mulhausen
    \n\u00a9 2020     Career and Employment Services<\/a>, University of Puget Sound<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Whether or not you\u2019re new to supervising, the transition to remote supervision provides an opportunity to adjust your approach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":245,"featured_media":5506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supervisor-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5502"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5513,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502\/revisions\/5513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/cesblogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}