CoAs As Supervisor

The position is often occupied by most senior,

The issues for the supervisor who is a CoA are very similar, if not the same as for the employee. The just play out somewhat differently. They also affect their subordinates greatly. These insecurities lead to management styles which tend to perpetual the alcohol family system. The behavior becomes alcoholic (drugs need not be present) and the subordinates become co-depe dependent responses in subordinates who come from typical families, but they will not be as profound as for those who come from dysfunctional families.

CoA supervisor will:

(1) Demand Compliance

This is a boundary issue. They become ego involved with their subordinates so they consider any poor performance as a reflection on them.

(2) Make Changes Overnight

Even though they are replacing someone who hasn’t done anything for two years, and even though they probably have a grace period of three to six months before they are expected to make changes, they will push themselves to redesign an entire program within two weeks. The need is to prove that their appointment was not a mistake, so they put undue pressure on both themselves and their subordinates.

(3) Want To Be Liked by Everyone

As a result, they will become over-involved with their subordinates. They will encourage inappropriate self-disclosure and then find themselves in a terrible position when it comes time to rate their job performance. The fear of rejection causes them to put off the appropriate confrontation or to handle them poorly. Things either wait until they get out of hand or little things get blown out of proportion. The need to reprimand is greeted with great anxiety.

(3) They Give Away Their Ego to the Organization

This is another example of a boundary issue. Jean is a middle level manager with a small manufacturing company. She has been home with heart palpitations for the last two weeks and her doctor recommends bed rest for two more. He can find nothing wrong with her heart. She went for a second opinion and the diagnosis was the same:”stress reaction.” During the last quarter of last year the company was in financial trouble. Cuts needed to be made and budgets adjusted to accommodate the difficulty. Jean, a very loyal employee, took those problems on as her own. The company difficulties become hers and the worry totally engulfed her. The company has passed the crisis, but she now pays a personal price. Those that worked to solve the problems but did not become emotionally involved with them are now experiencing relief and personal satisfaction.

(5) They Keep Their Personal Feelings Under Control

Since this belief is so strongly held, the lid is kept on all feelings. This is a style that companies support. As a result, managers do not develop their own support systems and”stuff” their reactions. It is not unusual for physical symptoms to emerge, such as ulcers, heart palpitations, tightness in the jaws and throat, colitis and flushing.

(6) They Have a Need for Perfection

This causes them to consider performance lacks on the part of the employees, for instance, lateness, as a reflection on them. So they over react. The subordinates may need to be held accountable. The behavior does not exist because the supervisor didn’t come up with the right formula to fix it. Although they delegate responsibility, they tend not to be able to let go and over (micro) manage. They do not trust that others will do what they agreed to or will do it well enough or they back off completely as an over-com-pensation for their fear.

(7) Become Enablers

They tend to feel responsible for the well being and “survival” of their subordinates. As a result, they accommodate and cover up for poor performance. This sets their subordinates up have unrealistic expectations, be manipulative, lower their job performance, and places an added burden on the rest of the work groups. The self-feelings of the worker and the self-feeling of the supervisor lead to certain management styles. These behaviors on the part of the supervisor and the reactions on the part of the worker tend to reproduce the alcoholic family systems.