Roles played by A Supervisor in an Organization

First Scenario

Professionalism in the workplace is essential and should be maintained at all times. Unprofessional behaviour interferes with other workers’ performance, and worst it can destroy an ideal relationship in the department. Accepting poor behaviour compromises the organization’s core value, and the credibility and ability to hold the people accountable also comes into question. To demonstrate one’s effectiveness, leaders or supervisors should not tolerate bad behaviour or allow them to persist.

The sergeant is in the first level of line management in policy and ensures adequate daily supervision, guidance, and staff support. Therefore, he should have been the first to react to the unprofessional behaviour of the two officers as soon as he encountered it. However, in this case, the sergeant ignores the situation, first when he hears the two-officer making sexually explicit jokes against the organization’s policies and second turns a blind eye when he sees the same two offices with the female dispatcher. He waits to report to the shift lieutenant instead of handling the situation first.

The sergeant’s decision to ignore the situation and reports it to someone else without attempting to solve it in the first place was unenlightening. He acted like most people who, to avoid a conflict, turn a blind eye to the situation instead of confronting it at that moment. Although the sergeant ignores the situation and reports to a person in a higher rank does not solve the disruptive behaviour but instead allows it to persist (eCareers, 2022). If he had approached and confronted the two officers when he heard them in the hallway in the first place, it could have prevented them from coming to the female dispatcher. The problem was the longer he allowed this type of situation to go on, the more the officer would challenge him in the future with even worst behaviours.

The sergeant should have addressed the issues immediately, and if he was not in a position to do it right away, he could have made sure before the end of the officer’s shift when it was still fresh in both their minds. Waiting for someone to intervene later would worsen the situation and allow the officers to say they don’t know what the sergeant is talking about (eCareers, 2022). The second thing the Seargent should have called the two officers to discuss the matter in private where no other party will be present or overhear them, ask them to sit down and explain precisely what the issue is that needs to be corrected (eCareers, 2022). Finally, the Seargent was required to approach the situation calmly as this was an opportunity for him to couch and counsel the other offices to improve their behaviour.

Immediately after hearing the two officers telling sexually explicit jokes, the sergeant should pull them to the side to discuss their behaviour. Besides, he was supposed to take personal responsibility for tackling the situation and not letting it fall to others. After that, he should have followed the problem-solving approach systematically by questioning the officers about their actions, allowing them to respond and listen carefully to the officers’ side (College of Policing, 2022). They were also supposed to explore the solution together, where the officer decided if they wanted to resolve their behaviours. The sergeant was then supposed to reinforce their behaviour by politely reiterating whatever the officer did wrong. Later on, the Seargent should have now notified senior leadership to document the entire incident, so they are prepared if it escalated.

Seargent has several roles to play in handling difficult situations in a situation like this. One is to provide specialist advice and guidance to the team and ensure that responses are delivered within appropriate policies and legislation (College of Policing, 2022). The second is to monitor and manage the team’s performance by putting into place effective strategies to identify issues and improve team performance to ensure professional standards are adhered to. Finally, is implementing a problem solving and evidence-based policing initiative to the team.

Second Scenario

 Handling difficult staff is quite problematic as they affect the entire team by creating a toxic environment full of negative attitudes. If the staff undermines his supervisor’s authority, it disrupts other staff’s morale and productivity as it makes them doubt the leadership ability of the leader. The leader must develop strategies to deal with the team that exhibits this kind of behaviour to resolve the situation. Leaders should therefore know how to deal with employees swiftly and effectively.

Officer Smith exhibits the character of a problematic person. He is known for being sarcastic about any new policies changes, orders, or directives given to him or the group. This clearly shows that he has no respect for the sergeant’s authority. Instead of getting to the root cause of officer smith’s behaviour and addressing it directly, the sergeant decides to bring disciplinary charges against the officer, resulting in a suspension, demoralizing the officer, and becoming far less productive.

The sergeant’s reporting to the disciplinary does not maintain good order. This is because suspension or firing someone often creates tension flare, and people often get upset. The action of being suspended demoralized Officers Smith, making him far less productive. Officer Smith proved to be the most effective and had leadership qualities. The sergeant was supposed to focus on the specific unacceptable behaviour and help him correct behaviours that made working with him unnecessarily difficult even before reporting to the seniors (PLC, 2016). The sergeant’s role was to support Officer Smith and look for solutions.

The sergeant was supposed to follow a more systematic way to deal with Officers Smith’s behaviour. First, he was supposed to criticize the behaviour, not the person. Officers Smith was a very productive office and a good leader; therefore, the Seargent could have just approached him and talked to him about the unacceptable behaviour and worked with him to look for solutions. The sergeant was responsible for getting to the root cause of the problem and resolving it. Maybe related to their work, relationship with other colleagues, or personal issues. The sergeant should have been open to feedback and created a safe place where the other subordinates express their opinions (Law Enforcement Today, 2022). The sergeant was supposed to listen to their side of the story without prejudice. Maybe what made Officers Smith difficult was his need for someone to listen and understand them. This would have resulted in to change of attitude and behaviour.

The sergeant was supposed to give clear direction or lead by example to be effective. This would help the staff respect and improve their behaviour (Law Enforcement Today, 2022). The sergeant should have documented any expectations and behavioural changes with his team. This would include some specific consequences of failing to uphold necessary behaviour changes. Being aware of the consequences, Officers Smith could have changed his behaviour. Finally, the sergeant should have drawn the line. This included mentioning specific instances when he felt that Officers Smith behaved inappropriately towards him, letting him discuss any issue, and telling him he expected a certain level of respect (Law Enforcement Today, 2022). This could have, in turn, helped to solve the issue by avoiding extreme action suspension that ended up demoralizing Officer Smith.

Roles played by a sergeant in a similar situation include; having strong communication skills to set out the logical argument with the team members. They should be able to review and assess their individual and team performance, providing objectives and effective feedback (PLC, 2016). They should solve a problem and identify potential opportunities to enhance efficiency across their groups (PLC, 2016). Sergeants should develop and maintain professional resilience and well-being for themselves and their team in dealing with complex and challenging situations.