Part 3: A Six-Step Framework for Developing Supervisors
by: Cheryl Davis, PhD, BCBA-D, Dana Reinecke, PhD, BCBA-D
Organizations can improve supervision by treating supervisor development as an intentional, competency-based process rather than assuming that experience alone will produce expertise.
New supervisors benefit from seeing effective supervisory behavior modeled. They need structured tools to observe staff performance and deliver feedback. They need opportunities to rehearse difficult conversations before having those conversations with employees. They also need someone to observe their supervisory behavior and provide feedback about what they are doing well and what they can improve.
Effective competency-based training identifies the target behaviors, provides clear descriptions and models, creates opportunities for active practice, and uses observational data and feedback to determine whether mastery has occurred (Parsons et al., 2012). Research has also demonstrated that practitioners themselves can be successfully taught to conduct BST with other staff, illustrating that effective training and supervisory repertoires can be deliberately developed rather than simply acquired through seniority or experience.
Supervisors can apply the same framework to their own professional development:
- Define the behavior. What does “giving effective feedback” or “having a difficult conversation” actually look like?
- Learn and observe it. Review examples, models, checklists, and evidence-based practices.
- Practice it. Rehearse supervisory interactions rather than waiting for a high-stakes situation to practice for the first time.
- Measure the outcome. Did staff performance improve? Did the supervisee demonstrate the targeted skill? Did the supervisor’s intervention produce the intended result?
- Refine the approach. If the desired behavior did not change, examine the variables affecting performance and adjust accordingly.
This approach also changes the way we think about struggling supervisors. Instead of immediately concluding that someone is “bad at managing people,” organizations can conduct a performance assessment: Is this a skill deficit? Is the expected behavior clearly defined? Has it been adequately trained? Is effective supervisory behavior being reinforced? Are competing contingencies within the organization making good supervision difficult? Behavior analysts are uniquely prepared to ask those questions.
Developing supervisors in this way does more than improve individual management skills. In the final installment of this series, we’ll examine how effective supervision influences staff performance, organizational culture, and ultimately the quality of services clients receive.
Part 3 References
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2024). Supervisor training curriculum outline (2.0).
Parsons, M. B., Rollyson, J. H., & Reid, D. H. (2012). Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5(2), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391819
Author Bios
Cheryl Davis, PhD, BCBA-D (Creator)
Cheryl Davis obtained her doctoral degree from Endicott College in Applied Behavior Analysis. She received a Masters of Science Degree in Intensive Special Education from Simmons College in Boston, MA after attending The University of Connecticut where she received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development. With over 25 years of experience working with children and families with autism, developmental disabilities, and related disorders, Cheryl specializes in working with individuals with ASD and developmental disabilities, online teaching, active responding and skill acquisition. She has had experience as a teacher, job coach, home therapist, residential supervisor, public school consultant, staff trainer and professor. Cheryl has extensive experience in developing training topics for both parents and teaching staff. She has provided professional development trainings to over two thousand teaching staff and enjoys providing services internationally.
Dana Reinecke, PhD, BCBA-D (Creator)
Dana Reinecke is a doctoral level Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and a New York State Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) and New York State Licensed Psychologist. Dana has worked extensively in higher education in faculty and leadership roles and as a consultant, trainer, and clinician in various settings. She has presented original research and workshops on the treatment of autism and applications of ABA at regional, national, and international conferences. She has published her research in peer-reviewed journals, written chapters in published books, and co-edited books on ABA and autism. Dana has been actively involved in the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis (NYSABA), previously serving on the Board of Directors as Secretary, President, and conference chair.