To become a shift leader, express interest to management, request an assessment, learn about being an effective manager, gain knowledge of roles held by those supervised, and show emotional maturity and flexibility. Seek training or mentoring and understand the work being overseen. Consider taking business training or working in a supervisory position in a volunteer job. Emotional maturity is important, and managing a flexible schedule is a key part of the job.
While there is no one-size-fits-all method for becoming a shift leader, there are helpful tips that can help people who want to move into this role. The first is to indicate an interest in such a position to management, request a current assessment, and obtain advice on training or mentoring that could lead to that goal. This should be followed by time to learn about being an effective manager and to gain knowledge of the roles held by the people who will be supervised. Shift leaders are also valued for emotional maturity, ability to get along with many different people, and significant flexibility in scheduling.
The professional approach to becoming a shift leader is to request a meeting with management. Explain the career goal and give reasons for wanting to pursue it. The main motivation should not be for the job to pay more, but to focus on career development goals such as wanting more responsibility, enjoying training, or looking for more interactive work with other employees. A person may also want to become a shift leader as a bridge to looking for higher management jobs.
Several benefits can be gained during a meeting with the manager. This includes the opportunity to hear an honest assessment of your current work to determine what needs improvement. Also, ask managers or supervisors for opportunities to practice needed skills, such as training new employees or making a schedule. Some supervisors will mentor employees, which can make it easier for them to acquire the necessary training. Before leaving this meeting, have a two- to three-month follow-up appointment to discuss progress, and try to informally reach out to managers approximately every six months after and during performance reviews.
Some people are able to acquire all the skills needed to become shift leaders in work environments. Others should take advantage of local business training, which can be offered by community colleges, employment agencies and business associations. Learning supervisory and team-building skills can be especially helpful. Another option is to work in a supervisory position in a volunteer job. This can be an impressive addition to an employee’s skill set and can make them more ready to become a shift leader.
As important as it is to learn about management, it is vital to understand the work that will be overseen. In some companies, work tasks are not varied and employees spend years performing the same tasks. Alternatively, employees under the shift leader can have very diverse jobs. Knowing and appreciating the work required to do each job is helpful when one becomes a shift leader. Understanding the various jobs also establishes the credibility of the shift leader and can earn the respect of employees.
Emotional maturity is one of the extra skills employees can bring to a shift supervision job. If a person has a temper or doesn’t interact well with other people, it’s best to learn to improve this before getting any administrative work, through classes such as group or individual counseling or anger management classes. Likewise, it usually takes a certain tolerance for different customs and opinions to become a shift leader who communicates well with others. Shift leaders must remember that managing a flexible schedule is an important part of the job; this requires employees to regularly have to work additional shifts for absent employees.
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