This summer marked my third RA training where I didn’t have an RA staff to supervise. After spending four summers with boots on the ground in the thick of training season, the first RA training I experienced without a staff was tough. Seeing the energy, the triumphs, the chaos, it all made me miss being directly in the action. The second RA training was a little better as I learned to enjoy taking a step back and watch from afar. I grew an appreciation for the (little) reclaimed time I got back in August and felt more confident behind the scenes. This past RA training was one of the most fulfilling and rewarding I have had in my professional career, and it’s all because I now supervise RDs.
Although I left my RD role three years ago for a more senior position in Residence Life, this year is the first one where I have a staff of RDs under my supervision. A thought I have been really reflecting on though as I navigate RD supervision is this – how do you supervise a supervisor? It’s an idea I’ve been actively working through and talking with my peers and supervisors about. As I’m starting this journey, I wanted to reflect on some initial thoughts that have been framing my supervisory style in hopes that it can help others who might also be starting on this journey, or want to start thinking about a move in this direction in the future!
Pick and Choose Your “Back in My Day” Stories
There have been so many times already where I’ve bitten my tongue to stop myself from telling another “back in my day” story. As a veteran RD of four years, I have more than a few tales of success and cautionary tales alike when it comes to supervising others. But I also realize that my experience is my experience, and continually droning on about what I did isn’t always the most helpful. I’ve opted to asking my RDs if they want to hear about my supervision experiences wherever it pertains. Sometimes they gladly welcome me waxing poetic about my younger days, and other times it’s not the time or place.
Be Generous in Giving Autonomy
One of the hallmarks of the RD role, to me at least, is the amount of autonomy one has in the role. You know your student staff and community better than anyone else, and you uniquely tailor your approach to your staff. There are directives you follow, of course, but a lot of what you do is up to you. I’m continually learning to give my RDs their required tasks, but also let them figure some things out on their own, to a much higher degree than with the student staff I supervised. Instead of saying “you should do this,” it’s a lot more of “what do you think would work?” It’s exciting to build that trust with my RDs, and to see them already discovering and building their approach to supervision.
Dive Into Professional Development
I’ve been fortunate to work with students who have gone on to be doctors, lawyers, financial analysts, engineers, and so much more. When working with these students, I was able to help them with some aspects of their professional development, but there was always an inevitable gap in knowledge I had when it came to their career trajectories (for example, most of my knowledge of medical school comes from the show “Scrubs,” so I’m probably not the best one to give advice about medical school). As I’m working with RDs in figuring out their futures in higher education, it’s a field I feel much more grounded in, and am able to offer advice that is directly tied to their careers. It makes the professional development experience that much more fulfilling.
Find the Peer and Supervisee Balance
One of the most interesting things about starting to supervise RDs is that you are directly supervising a peer of yours. With student staff, there is that clear delineation between student staff and professional staff. As you supervise RDs, it’s a professional staff member supervising another professional staff member. Depending on the circumstances, your supervisee could be older than you, could have been at the institution longer, or could have been in the field longer than you. As you begin this relationship, it’s really important to frame how you both want the supervisor / supervisee relationship dynamic to flow. You could consider preferred method of communication, how to deliver and receive feedback, things you may have done with your students, but you now also consider things like how to request time off and annual HR reviews. The supervisory relationship isn’t too far off from what you are used to with your student staff, but it requires you to think of the different peer and power dynamic balance.
Now, the above points are geared towards folks who are in my boat of supervising RDs now. For those of you who haven’t started this journey yet, I would recommend trying to get some initial experience under your belt! Below are some things you could engage with.
Mentor a New RD
After I had gained a bit of experience with the Res Life work, I had the opportunity to mentor a new RD in our office when they were hired. We talked about the basics that come with on-boarding, such as where certain offices are located, how to navigate our online systems, duty procedure, where the snacks in the office are (you know, the important things). But we soon also started talking about supervision philosophy, how to advocate for yourself, how to engage with professional development at the University. It was a rewarding experience that began to prepare me for how to supervise folks in that role, and it’s something that could be easy for an RD to take on.
Supervise a Graduate Student
The biggest thing that helped prepare me for supervising RDs was taking on supervising a graduate student. During my last year as an RD, I successfully advocated to onboard a Graduate Resident Director to my building. That experience taught me a wealth of knowledge about what it means to supervise someone who is supervising, for the first time. It’s a great way to dive into this world because for most Graduate Resident Directors, their scope is smaller than a traditional RD, allowing you to develop your craft in a smaller setting. The points I mentioned above blossomed from this supervisory relationship, and it still remains one of my favorite supervisory relationships I’ve had in my career.
Ask Your Supervisor About Their Journey
You can of course always talk with your supervisor about their approach and their journey to their current role!I talked a lot with my supervisors about their approaches before taking this role on, and I still remain in constant conversation about supervision.
Supervising full-time RDs has already been such a rewarding experience, and I am already seeing how I can grow and develop from this. I hope you’re enjoying your experience (if you are doing this already) or hope you can use this as a way to start thinking about your approach!
