In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, learn how to set your star employees up for success as they transition into a supervisor role. Dr. Bob Milligan joins host Kimmi Devaney to chat about easing stress during this leadership transition, getting buy-in from other employees as their peer becomes their supervisor, skills that are essential to work on before transitioning into a leadership role and much more. This episode can also help those employees hoping to move up into a supervisor role in the future better prepare themselves for this transition.


This episode is brought to you by California Bioenergy.

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With the completion of our 86th dairy digester project, California Bioenergy is without a doubt one of the leading developers of anaerobic digesters for dairy farms in the United States. Since 2006, CalBio has been forming successful partnerships with dairy farmers to create digesters that are built to last. Our CalBio team has the expertise to help lead you through the entire development process, from project design and engineering to credit generation, and the day-to-day operations.  With subsidiaries in the Northwest, Midwest, and Southwest, CalBio is ready to partner with dairy farmers across the country. Learn more at calbioenergy.com


Season 7, Episode 6


Here's a breakdown of the episode:

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  • [~1:30] About Milligan and his background with leadership 
  • [~3:00] As a leader, what are some indications that someone is ready to transition into a supervisor role?  
  • [~4:00] How to recognize if you are ready to transition into a supervisor role yourself
  • [~4:50] Skills that are important to develop before becoming a supervisor
  • [~6:15] Tips to communicate clear expectations 
  • [~7:20] Tips to provide effective feedback 
  • [~11:15] How the job changes when transitioning into a supervisor role and why it should it be reflected in the job description 
  • [~13:15] How and why it is important for farms to create job descriptions for employees
  • [~14:55] Making the leadership transition more seamless and less stressful
  • [~18:00] The types of training that are most helpful in preparing new supervisors
  • [~19:00] Ways new supervisors can be proactive in their new role
  • [~20:45] Gaining buy-in/support from other employees as their former peer now becomes their supervisor
  • [~22:40] What to do when you are now supervising someone that you became friends with previously 
  • [~26:30] Utilizing annual reviews to continuously gauge employee interest in future leadership roles
  • [~29:05] How to hire career employees who move up into leadership roles over time
  • [~31:40] Tips to improve confidence as a new leader
  • [~22:45] Leadership pitfalls and how to avoid them 
  • [~37:10] Tips for younger supervisors now supervising people old enough to be their parents
  • [~41:10] Rapid-fire questions


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