Leadership, supervision and development of work teams
Legal and moral leadership
Supervisors share the employer's duty to provide safe systems of work, competent people, information, instruction, training and supervision. That means briefing the RAMS before work starts, checking competence rather than assuming it, and acting on near-miss reports without blame.
Leading the team
Know the difference between leadership and management, and adapt style to the person and situation - directing a new apprentice, coaching a developing technician, delegating to an experienced lead. Tuckman's forming–storming–norming–performing model helps explain team behaviour; Herzberg's distinction between hygiene factors (pay, conditions) and motivators (recognition, responsibility) explains why money alone does not fix morale.
Performance, competence and development
Set SMART objectives, hold structured one-to-ones, and keep a competence matrix showing who is signed off for what - brazing, F-Gas handling, electrical isolation, ammonia, confined spaces. Identify gaps and close them with training plans and mentored work. Handle underperformance through the correct route: informal conversation first, then formal capability or disciplinary processes with HR involvement - never an informal removal of duties.
Worked example
A competence matrix shows three of six technicians are not signed off for A2L refrigerant work, and two A2L jobs are booked next month. The gap analysis drives the plan: book the training, pair each trainee with a signed-off mentor for the first job, and re-check the matrix before the second.
Traps
Confusing leadership with technical ability; delegating without authority or resources; using disciplinary process for a training gap; ignoring the quieter safety concerns raised in toolbox talks.