Building Supervisor-Staff Relationships Through Communication

Communication is the key to most successful relationships; the supervisor-staff relationship is no exception. Honing communication skills is a straightforward way of building more effective supervisory relationships.   

Effective supervisors, whether new to the role or coming with a wealth of experience, tap into self-awareness, are adaptive, and leverage a range of interpersonal skills. Using these practices, a supervisor creates a culture of mutual respect — one in which employees and supervisors communicate regularly and clearly about job-related expectations, tasks, and overall performance.  

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Learning Objectives

Through this 120-minute interactive session on effective supervisory communication, participants will:  

• Understand the importance of soliciting feedback and learn approaches to building this into their supervisory practice  
• Discover the barriers to receiving constructive feedback and ways to manage reactions which support your effectiveness as a supervisor  
• Explore the conditions that make giving feedback valuable and practice adaptive approaches to providing constructive and positive feedback 
• Learn how to hold one-on-one meetings that strengthen communication, trust, and staff effectiveness 

Target Audience

If you’re a supervisor, with any level of experience, this training is for you.  

About the Presenters

Joanne Horgan is a human resources consultant and lead trainer for TSNE. She has worked at TSNE since 1993, serving many roles in the organization’s human resources practice over the years. Joanne has directed the internal HR function and led the HR team in its delivery of services to over 60 fiscally sponsored clients. She has also been providing HR consulting and training for small to mid-sized grassroots, social justice, and other mission-focused nonprofits for over 20 years. Joanne holds a B.A. in organizational psychology and an M.S. in human resources counseling from Northeastern University.  

Lyn Freundlich is the founder and principal consultant at Change for Good Coaching and Consulting. She specializes in leadership development, human resources, and change management as a coach, facilitator, trainer, and consultant. She considers employees an organization’s greatest asset and believes that people choose to work in nonprofits not simply to make a living but to make a difference. As a practitioner, Lyn understands that the human resources function served to protect organizations by ensuring compliance with a host of employment regulations but also to support employees’ effectiveness. She believes that a well-functioning organization walks their talk by treating staff in ways that promote equity and are consistent with their mission and vision. 

Lyn has over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector working in a range of settings from large, international organizations to small, member-driven, local groups. Most recently she served as the director of administration and human resources for over fifteen years. In 2005, Lyn also launched the human resources training and consulting practice at TSNE. In that capacity, she partnered with hundreds of local and national nonprofits to build human resources systems reflective of each organization’s vision and values, train and support supervisors and other leaders, and provide employee relations coaching and consultation. 

Lyn is a seasoned trainer, coach and consultant serving dozens of clients each year. She has a B.A. from Oberlin College and a master’s in organization and management from Antioch University of New England. Lyn is also a Certified Professional Coach. She is proud to have served on numerous boards, including with The City School, a Boston-based nonprofit working with young people across lines of race, class, gender, and neighborhood who are emerging leaders and have a passion for social justice. She also sits on the board of Onward!, a new organization using innovative solutions that harness the power of technology to bring about systems-level change and build power in our most marginalized communities.