A match made in heaven: being a good supervisor
Reviewed by Anna Volkmer

Supervision is a core component of clinical training for all healthcare professionals. Most colleges advocate supervisors be trained in the skill of supervision, but this is not standard practice. Often supervisors rely on the skills they learn from their own supervisors. The supervisor-supervisee relationship is indeed critical to the outcomes of successful supervision. The purpose of this study was to investigate this relationship, exploring whether both the supervisor and supervisee perceive supervision styles similarly. Additionally, it investigates whether any disparities in these perceptions are linked to satisfaction within supervisor-supervisee pairs. A total of 129 speech and language therapy supervisors and supervisees completed the 33-item Supervisory Style Inventory questionnaire. The questionnaire investigates supervisors’ perceptions of their own style and their perception of the supervisees in relation to their supervisors’ style. Two questions related to satisfaction outcomes were also completed by supervisees. The results showed that the majority of supervisors felt they had an attractive (77%) or interpersonal style (14%), with very few having a task orientated style (9%). This was similar to supervisee ratings, who identified supervisors as attractive (59%), mixed (20%) or interpersonal (17%). Only 34% of ratings between the supervisor and supervisee matched, yet almost half of supervisees felt they had their needs met (47%). The findings from this study highlight that supervisors may lack insight into their own supervisory styles, and that mixed supervisory styles may be considered most desirable. Future research should further explore these dynamics to enhance supervision experiences for both parties.

Perception of Supervisory Styles.
Schaaf S, Liljequist L, Wilson R, Hart SB.
SEMIN SPEECH LANG
2023;44(4):240–50.