by Matthew R. Shupp, Amy B. Wilson, and Carmen M. McCallum
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ometimes even those ideas that seem completely obvious benefit from a deeper exploration and explanation. Such was the case when we set about to author our book, Inclusive Supervision in Student Affairs: A Model for Professional Practice. While the very nature of the words, inclusive supervision, seem relevant in most organizations today, we believe that the field of student affairs is at a critical point when a new model of supervision is desperately needed. With ever-present concerns about staff retention, as well as increasingly diverse working environments, a more intentional and critical approach is necessary.
The foundational four tenets of inclusive supervision have the potential to positively impact individuals as well as organizations. These tenets are identified in the book as creating safe spaces, cultivating holistic development, demonstrating vulnerability, and building capacity in others. These conclusions were supported by empirical research, of course, but what also emerged were the impactful stories of several student affairs practitioners who were supervised by individuals whom they identified as multiculturally competent and responsive. We were inspired by their stories of supervision and their reflection in action, which served to inform the development of both the model and inventory for what we would eventually come to label as inclusive supervision. At the center of all of the participants’ stories was a commitment from supervisors who modeled a philosophy of inclusion by creating safe spaces, demonstrating vulnerability, cultivating holistic development, and building capacity in their team to do the same.
With the why firmly established, the work turned to exploring the how. Doing so would provide a catalyst for professionals to consider theory to practice and the benefit from practical application within a residence life department on a college or university campus. Jeanette Zalba, director of housing and residence life at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, has worked to put these lessons into action. Eastern Michigan University is situated 40 minutes west of Detroit and 15 minutes east of Ann Arbor. Serving 16,000–18,000 students, and approximately 4,000 residential students during a regular year, the campus can be described as a Predominantly White Institution with about 30% of the residential population being students of color.
Zalba utilized the text as part of a supervision class in the higher education program that she taught and as part of supervision training for graduate students. “I think there's a lot of opportunity supervising RAs as student leaders and utilizing some of these [tenets],” says Zalba. “We certainly have a diverse staff. Fifty percent of our graduate students identify as students of color, as well as [many of] our RAs because we’ve recruited that way. But then it means you need to be honest and upfront about [difficult] conversations because we still have white supervisors, or you might have a Black supervisor supervising a Muslim international student. And so there's a lot of opportunities to learn.”
• • • • Inclusive supervision means working across differences and finding ways to capitalize and strengthen those relationships. • • • •
Inclusive supervision means working across differences and finding ways to capitalize on and strengthen those relationships. To that end, diversity is not only one outcome of an aspirational mission; it's also an action-oriented process. As Zalba states, “We need to really start having this conversation more often and [acknowledge] that diversity and inclusion are not just about a programming model, but it really is impacting us at every layer of the campus.” For this reason, she appreciates how widely useful and flexible the model is. “There’s a reality that we are part of oppressive systems in education, and when people start to examine it, I think their minds are blown about the layers of problems with higher education, K-12, access, you name it. So, I think one of the things I like about the book is it is very focused on what you can do [and] your team can do. It’s useful for all supervision. . . . You have a few case studies that . . . talk to creating safe spaces, get[ting] to know your supervisees, celebrat[ing] lots of things, learn[ing] lots of things. And I think you will not just be a better supervisor, but a better leader, and a better role model and live your truth if you are social justice-oriented or a critical race theorist. If you do these things you can at least control for some of the helplessness that you might feel at your own institution.”
The idea of inclusive supervision may at first seem overwhelming in its size, scope, and importance. However, it is important to note that much of the work that needs to be done in elevating and addressing diversity issues on campuses can and should begin with individual offices and departments. Those are the spaces where individuals often have the most influence. In this way, the first tenet of inclusive supervision, creating safe spaces, can be seen as both an action and an outcome of inclusive supervision. What constitutes a safe space should be defined by all members; however, spaces are often and easily influenced by the supervisor. In the context of inclusive supervision, safe space refers to open and honest dialogue, particularly in conversations about diversity. In safe spaces, supervisors are open and responsive to feedback (especially regarding their supervision practices), accommodate various styles, and practice with an ethic of care. All of these attributes contribute significantly to the creation of safe spaces. It is in this place where real progress can begin.
When improvements in supervision are viewed at the micro level of enhancing individual understanding and inclusivity, rather than the intimidating notion of dismantling the system at the macro level, progress feels much more obtainable. The book presents several case studies illustrating how to build that capacity; one example reflects on the onboarding process for new staff and messaging around the idea of fit. What might be problematic when searching for employees who fit with the institutional culture or, even more so, the office culture? How might social traditions as a staff or unwritten rules of engagement, perhaps established as an attempt toward inclusion, actually have a chilling and exclusionary effect on new staff? There is a high cost when one denies aspects of employees’ cultural identity in the workplace or expects certain social and professional behaviors without making those explicit in job descriptions.
The case studies not only provide practical application for reflection, but also demonstrate the impact of the supervisor in shaping both the micro and macro levels of the organization. “I think there are moments where I feel helpless,” Zalba says. “There's a lot in the world that's at play, there's a lot that's at play at my institution; however, here are some things I can do in my day-to-day work that will impact the people I work with. And in the end, when we think about building capacity, we will move to the macro level. If we think about hiring. If we think about sending our 17 graduates [who are learning about inclusive supervision] off to other schools.”
• • • •At the center of all of the participants’ stories was a commitment from supervisors who modeled a philosophy of inclusion by creating safe spaces, demonstrating vulnerability, cultivating holistic development, and building capacity in their team to do the same. • • • •
The idea that inclusive supervisory practices are something that can be internalized and also passed along to others reveals the dual nature of the fourth tenet, building capacity in others. The actions of inclusive supervisors not only serve to enhance the supervisory relationship and create a more inclusive environment between individuals, but they also serve to model and facilitate the type of agency and action desired from staff in a widespread fashion. The transformational success of inclusive supervision begins with awareness of the role of supervisor and the significant responsibility and influence that comes with it, modeling a lived philosophy of inclusion in every action and interaction. In this way, building capacity in others becomes both a process and outcome.
Sometimes the act of building capacity can be overt and specific, such as incorporating lessons into the curriculum or professional development opportunities. Zalba introduced her students to the four tenets and what this looked like in action by reflecting on the action items within the Inclusive Supervision Inventory – a personal assessment tool that allows individuals to gauge their level of personal engagement in the various actions of inclusive supervision and to reflect on how they can improve in each of the four areas. “We had a discussion in class and then we used the case studies to walk through [practical application of the model],” Zalba explains. Inclusive supervision “is just as important as setting expectations or onboarding, like it has to be a part of this secret sauce of really being a good supervisor. Particularly in student affairs, because we also know the value of relationships, and people are looking for that from their supervisor. Particularly if you're supervising graduate students or entry-level professionals.”
Zalba also indicates that her students recognized the utility of the model when overseeing student volunteers or front-desk paraprofessional staff. Even though these relationships may differ from supervising full-time staff, there was real value in examining new and innovative ways of interacting with others. This effectively requires supervisors to cultivate holistic development among staff, the second tenet of our model, which involves understanding the multiple identities of staff across many dimensions. Supervisors who not only understand the individual dimensions of identity such as race and gender but also recognize the impact of external (work experience or family status) and organizational (professional status) dimensions of identity are more equipped to establish meaningful supervisory relationships. Those who cultivate holistic development through acknowledging the diversity of their staff in all dimensions create a place where staff, from volunteers to senior-level professionals, feel valued.
Taking this step requires deliberate actions and processes. For that reason, Inclusive Supervision in Student Affairs was written in a way that allows readers to fully engage with it by making notes in the margins, answering discussion questions, and completing the Inclusive Supervision Inventory. Such steps help take the theory within the text and transform it into a practical companion to practitioners’ work. It allows practitioners to reflect upon and consider their own supervision practices, framed through the inclusive supervision model.
Zalba realized the value of such a resource when she arrived at Eastern Michigan University and was overseeing a department with 114 resident assistants, 44% of whom identified as students of color. “It's just a reality check,” she says. “As a white person, you don't always realize it. You’re suddenly like, ‘I never actually supervised [across differences].’ Race is much more salient here, and [since] 2016 I’ve had to often recognize that layers of identity impact your world. As a white woman, I see . . . that when things are happening on campus, it's going to really stress out [those who do not look like me] in a different way than it stresses me out. So I know that's the type of technique that I've thought more about once I read this book.”
Such an acknowledgement of the differences between supervisor and supervisees is one of the more critical aspects and is part of the third tenet of inclusive supervision: demonstrating vulnerability. Supervisors who are self-aware and can openly acknowledge their learning and experience gaps, admit to their challenges in supervising across differences, and take action to bridge those gaps are often seen as more competent and inclusive. In her book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage To Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, author, speaker, and social work professor Brené Brown suggests that vulnerability is the greatest measure of courage. In the context of supervision, when supervisors are courageous enough to humble themselves and acknowledge a level of ignorance, they are helping to establish a culture of inclusivity. Demonstrating vulnerability facilitates a more open and authentic supervisory dyad, where supervisor and supervisee can safely acknowledge who they are and what they need to be most successful in that space.
• • • •The actions of inclusive supervisors not only serve to enhance the supervisory relationship and create a more inclusive environment between individuals, but they also serve to model and facilitate the type of agency and action desired from staff in a widespread fashion.• • • •
Being a white female student affairs practitioner working in a diverse environment, Zalba was forced to examine her intentionality of practice. Reflecting on the value of inclusive supervision gave her pause to consider how her intersecting identities impacted her supervisory relationships. “It took coming to Eastern Michigan and working with a different population and certainly having distinct moments where someone in my chain of command said ‘you are racist.’ It got me thinking,” she explains. “In 2016, we were one of many institutions who had racist incidents happen on our campus. During these times you recognize, as a leader, you have some power and responsibility here to help people heal and maybe be proactive. Supervision is a part of that. These things have helped me think about my leadership. Creating a safe space isn't just about individual supervisory dyads; it can be about how I run a meeting. It can be about how I address something that's happening on campus or in the world. So, I think there's value at all levels to these components.”
The experiences of Zalba and so many others illustrate the complexity of supervisory practice. Supervision does not take place in a vacuum. As such, various aspects of the four tenets of inclusive supervision will show up at different times and in different ways. Likewise, the development of the tenets may not occur in a linear fashion. In the example above, creating a safe space may be challenging until a supervisor can demonstrate vulnerability, through an internal examination of their implicit biases and a demonstration of how they are “showing up” and committing to an anti-racist praxis. Examining one’s social justice lens may result in discovering hard truth, but it is from this place that creating a safe space, cultivating holistic development, and building capacity in others can begin. As such, providing quality inclusive supervision by creating safe spaces, demonstrating vulnerability, cultivating holistic development, and building capacity in others takes dedicated time and attention in order to create genuine culture shifts within institutions of higher education. In short, inclusive supervision is not a box to be checked. It is a continual personal commitment and philosophical approach to enhancing your impact as a supervisor. “People are expecting it, I think, from student affairs leaders,” Zalba notes. “They should expect it; a recognition that identity is important to our experiences, to our decision making, to our way of business. We have to think about diversity and inclusion as the next wave of what we must do and whether an institution is truly living its mission or whether it’s rhetoric.”
Matthew R. Shupp is an associate professor in the department of counselor education at Shippensburg University. Amy B. Wilson, Ph.D., is an associate professor and department chair of higher education administration at The State University of New York at Buffalo. Carmen M. McCallum, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the department of leadership and counseling at Eastern Michigan University.
