Identify Manager, Mediator, and Mentor Roles

Identify Manager, Mediator, and Mentor Roles

There are three roles for leadership; manager, mediator, and mentor, each area plays a key role in inspiring teamwork and meeting goals. Managers are responsible for ensuring tasks are completed on time, efficiently, and correctly, ("About.com," 2011). Managers are responsible for ensuring quality of employees as well as quality of work; because of this a manager at times will need to take corrective actions when problems arise and praise when job performance warrants it ("About.com," 2011). A mediator is used to close gaps between managers and employees, mediators are useful when there are situations where communication is important, a good mediator should create compromise and unity with no prejudice to any side of the team by working for both sides ("Human Resource Development," 2010).

The last part of a leadership is a mentor, a mentors is interchangeable that he or she can be both a mentor and a manager or a mentor and a mediator. A mentor is important in building team unity as well as helping others become successful in his or her role within the company; mentors should be available to assist anyone who is seeking help ("Mind Tools," 1996-2011).

Key Elements of the Supervisory Process

According to Lewis, Packard, and Lewis (2007), there are four phases of the supervision process: preliminary, beginning, work, and endings and transitions ("Building Supervisory Relationships/The Supervision Process"). The preliminary phase is to allow supervisors to become aware of what is needed; a manager at this stage should be alert and aware. The second phase is beginning, this phase allows a supervisor state what expectations he or she has while addressing questions about the supervisor's role and his or her responsibilities or purpose, while giving direction and expectations.

The third phase is work, during this phase a supervisor must adapt skills to work requirements, while adapting to and relating skills to job requirements he or she must also remain empathetic to changes and resistance from employees (Lewis, Packard, & Lewis, "Building Supervisory Relationships/The Supervision Process," 2007). During this phase a supervisor must work with employees while keeping a professional yet empathetic relationship. The final phase of supervision is endings and transitions; during this phase a supervisor will terminate the supervisory position, which could be for any reason. During this time a supervisor must take into consideration not only his or her feelings but also those of employees, a manager should share "what is next" while allowing employees to state his or her feelings about the change. A supervisor