Here's the blunt truth:

Anybody can be a supervisor.

Not everyone can be a leader.

When the wrong people are put in leadership positions the whole place gets fucked.

Owners, CEOs and administrators need to get clear on what exactly they need from a position before they even think of promoting someone into it.

And any place of business that is managing multiple employees needs to have a way to effectively identify who has the required qualities, capabilities or skills for leadership positions.

If you need supervisors, great. Almost anybody can fill those spaces. Leaderhip positions need more thought and intention when filling them.

Let's say you're experiencing these symptoms: Disgruntled people, low morale, lots of complaints, low productivity/participation

There can be a lot of things people blame for these symptoms but the actual problem that nobody wants to address: lack of clarity about supervisory and leadership positions

Without clarity on what the "higher up" positions (ie managers, supervisors, lieutenants, sargeants, directors, chiefs & deputy chiefs etc.) are actually responsible for and what is expected of them, we end up with people who are in leadership roles that do not have leadership qualities, capabilities or skills and with people taking on supervisor roles that are then expected to be leaders.

Supervisor:

a person who observes and directs the execution of a task, project, or activity

Leadership:

the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or members of an organization, society or team

Supervisor is typically based on rank or a hierarchy of some kind.

Leadership, true leadership, doesn't have rank or hierachy. It doesn't determine someone's influence or ability to guide others.

You can see it all the time in groups of more than 3 people. It's easy to identify who influences and guides the group by watching the behavior and decisions the group makes.

Observe and direct vs influence and guide

Not being clear on if someone is expected to observe and direct or influence and guide leads to miscommunication, disagreements, resentment, frustration, and unmet expectations.

Humans need clarity to be able to thrive. We need to know where the boundaries are and what is expected of us.

You want a different experience?

You want better productivity and happier employees?

You want more fulfillment out of what you do?

GET MORE CLARITY.

Especially when it comes to "higher up" positions because whatever is going on at the top trickles down to everyone "below."

When you are taking on a new role or hiring/promoting someone to a new position get specific:

Do you need a supervisor or a leader?

What is expected of you or are you expecting of them?

What are they responsibile for?