From Labor to Management

The move from shop floor assembly worker to first line supervisor certainly offers opportunities for career growth, but the change in relationships with management and co-workers carries with it particular challenges that not everyone is cut out to do. I really knew nothing about supervising, in general, and certainly not with those whom had been my “comrades in arms” for seven years the day before my “promotion.”

Training was literally “on-the-job.” I did believe that “God is the helper of those souls whose aim is to serve humanity and whose efforts and endeavors are devoted to the good and betterment of all mankind.” ¹ My approach to being a supervisor was to do whatever I could to help those I supervised be successful in their work. Of course, this assumed they would take responsibility to do what was within their means to handle. Most of the time they did this, but sometimes not. When they didn’t, it became my role to find out the reasons why and take appropriate action — one of the main reasons supervisors exist. Of course, many of these situations became excellent working examples of “what goes around comes around” given some of the behaviors I had exhibited towards my supervisors in times past.