SEAHO Report - Fall 2019 - 28

SEAHO Feature Articles
Navigating Boundaries in a Co-Supervisory Relationship
Housing and Residence Life professionals do not work a typical 8:00 AM-5:00 PM job, and as such, it is
important that they set boundaries to ensure their overall wellbeing. Setting boundaries is the most effective way
to maintain personal wellness while ensuring the work that needs to be done outside 'traditional' work hours
is done in a thorough and professional manner. This incident required us to set clear boundaries about how we
were going to communicate with one another when the other was away from campus. For us, we would rather
know generally what was going on and what we would need to focus our attention on upon our return, rather
than be overwhelmed when we came back to the office. Giving us permission to simply text a quick update or
send a quick email to the other gave us both peace of mind, while still respecting the importance of time away
and recharging.
Conclusion
Working in a co-supervisory relationship is fraught with challenges and instances where mistakes can be made.
For us, the four case studies outlined above illustrate how to successfully navigate a co-supervisory relationship
while ensuring staff learned and grew from their experiences, providing a consistent experience for student
staff, being effective colleagues to campus partners, and maintaining professional and personal boundaries.
Ultimately, the theme for our year in a co-supervisory relationship was communication, which Winston and
Creamer (1998) outline as an important characteristic of synergistic supervision. As a result of our experience,
we recommend the following communicating well in a co-supervisory context so others in a similar position
may have a place to start:
* Set a weekly meeting time with each other (and maintain that meeting!)
* Carbon copy each other on emails that pertain to your area of oversight (e.g. community, project,
initiative)
* Check in with each other, especially before making bigger decisions (examples include student staff
performance, leave/time away for student staff, etc.)
* Know when the other person is out of the office
* Set a relatively consistent time for when you will be in the office
* Plan staff meetings, vision for the future, and discuss issues together
* Hold each other accountable for maintaining personal wellness
* Loop each other in on student and staff concerns as necessary
While not a common experience, co-supervision can be an incredibly rewarding experience, both personally and
professionally. We became better supervisors and educators because of our time co-supervising together, as we
were able to learn from each other. For example, Stephen learned the importance of recognition and celebration
for a team and continued to hone his approach to accountability of staff members, while Erin learned to think
about the bigger picture and the future of the community, which allowed her to better develop the student
leaders she supervised. Additionally, Bolman and Deal (2013) discuss four frames of leadership which we
find useful in how we operate. Stephen leads from the political frame, causing him to think about sources of
power, coalition building, and potential sources of conflict. Erin operates from a blend of the human resources
and structural frames, which causes her to think about interpersonal and group dynamics as well as how to
organize effectively to accomplish tasks. Having two disparate frames of leadership forced us to take different
perspectives in our work that were not our natural way of thinking. This enriched our work and ensured Stephen
and Erin were able to communicate and collaborate with one another in an effective manner. Additionally, we
were able to problem solve from our own frames and incorporate a blended approach to leadership; we did not
lose site of the human element (human resources and structural frame) nor the realities of conflict in our work.
SEAHO Report Fall 2019

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SEAHO Report - Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Fall 2019
