As I go through my professional career, which spans three decades, I am truly gratified and take a great deal of pride at the in roads and level of intelligence that supervisors have attained in the working world of today. These are career days for supervisors. Not only does the position prepare them for promotion, company's now see these positions as key to their on going prosperous endeavours.

Organizations are recruiting more diligently today for supervisors than ever before. Expectations from the position of supervisor has increased ten fold from the early nineties and the rewards are much more evident, from compensation packages, opportunities for advancement and growth and development.

So what's changed? Why is it not the good old days where supervisors believed it was their job to keep managers and the company honest by challenging any and all organizational efforts. The most important changes have come from the supervisor themselves. There are several key areas in which supervisors have made tremendous strides. Here are four that I thought might be of interest.

DECIDING TO CHANGE.

For the past supervisor the scenario would go something like this... The organization announces that it will do something new and different. Some supervisors don't like the looks of it and for whatever reasons, decide they don't want any part of the program. So they resist. Maybe consciously, or maybe without really stopping to think about it. Maybe overtly by making a lot of noise and fight out in the open. Or maybe they take the sneaky approach and fight the changes covertly. Whichever strategy they choose they set themselves up for a very tough struggle; one which they will lose.

Today's supervisor understands that they cannot remain effective in an organization without changing. They realize that external world which is compromised of technology, competition, customer demands, government legislation and world markets is forcing organizations to do business differently. Supervisors realize that they have a choice. They may not like the options they have to pick from, but they have a voice in how they chose to react to change. Supervisors prepare for change methodically by ensuring that they have resources in place to deal with planned or unplanned change and work with in the organizational structure with great precision and an unwavering approach to meet the challenge.

PLAYING A NEW GAME BY THE NEW RULES.

In the past, supervisors made the mistake of trying harder instead of trying differently or working smarter. The old guard saw that their work environment was changing and in an attempt to cope, the reaction was more effort is required.

The supervisor of today realizes that doing the same things, with the same people, in the same manner but, expecting different results, will set you up for failure, and that does not sit well with the supervisor. Supervisors now respect the fact that our rapidly changing world requires actual changes in our behaviour. Most jobs are taking on totally new dimensions...making new demands...calling for new work habits.

Supervisors have learned to alter their leadership techniques. They are now making the necessary shift in personal mindset in order align their thinking with the new realities of the work world. They have now become accustom to organizational politics and are a willing participant because they realize that it is incumbent upon them to develop a very different set of expectations regarding job performance and employee attitudes.

ACCEPTING NEW ASSIGNMENTS.

The supervisor of the eighties and nineties would attempt to minimize stress by shying away from new, unfamiliar duties. The thought process was that by staying with the work we know not only would be easier, it would create less emotional strain, create predictability and buy time to see job challenges evolve.

The "Y2K" supervisor realizes that you cannot buy comfort today at tomorrows expense. Investing in yourself today by keeping your skills updated so you're highly employable in the future is an opportunity that the supervisor cannot afford to pass up. Today's supervisor know that the learning curve in business is steep and long and by readily accepting new assignments they acquire the all important experience they need to compete in the real world, whether they choose to compete internally or externally to the current organization.

PICKING THE RIGHT BATTLES.

Yesterday's supervisors went through continuous organizational change. They had a difficult time with continuous organizational change and often end up with a bad case of "battle fatigue." Wearing themselves out waging war on too many fronts, they were the crusaders in the anti change crowd, the people who opposed almost every move the company made. Always bucking the odds, even fighting for things that actually wouldn't be in their best interests if they managed to get their way, they were at odds with the very person they need as their ally...their manager. Guess who ultimately wins the battle?

Today's supervisor has learned very early in their career to pick battles big enough to matter and small enough to win. Knowing to accept and deal with the fact that there will always be differences of opinion and that some workplace battles are more valuable to others than they are to them, supervisor's understand that in any conflict they have a certain degree of flexibility. The key to their long term success lies within their ability to win allies and influence potential allies.

Supervisors know when to "give up", when to "toughen up" and when to "wise up". In a diversified work force featuring rapidly changing internal and external demands supervisors understand the value of adaptability and flexibility. The key is to use these elements in order to help the company become profitable.