Supervisor

Written: 5-20-2013

            Summer is just about in full swing. The outdoor pools are filled. Orientations at Phillips Park and Splash Country were this weekend. The next few days are the cleanings and then next week the parks open up. Just this past weekend, I completed my Jeff Ellis instructor class, which turned out to be pretty fun, so I’ll be teaching swim lessons this summer as well as guarding.

            But guess what?! I am taking the Basic Leadership Training. I am going to hopefully become a supervisor. I interviewed and it went very well, I think. I’m taking the training this week. I heard it is fun and boring at the same time. The only part I’m not going to like too much is that I have to dress up for it. But I am still asking myself the question, do I deserve this position?

            Do I deserve the position as supervisor? Can I handle it? Should I just be a supervisor in training and shadow another supervisor during the summer? I think the answer to the first question is yes, of course I do. Anyone who has read my mile long journal from last summer when I first started working will know that I worked really hard and a lot of hours. I was the VAC slave. (VAC stands for Vaughn Athletic Center, which is where the indoor pool and water park are that I work at.)

The second question; I really don’t know until I have tried it for real. I have a good idea of what the supervisors go through and do to keep things running smoothly. I think the paperwork us supervisors have to do will be okay, though I never really was a paperwork type of person unless it was writing essays and papers. I know that it is a great responsibility and a privilege at that. I have learned about myself over the last year that I can take on just about anything, no matter how big the responsibility. I learn to deal with it in the best way. And for me, sometimes the best way to learn something is to mess up first, if you know what I mean.

And the third question; I’m still undecided. I think that I will go through the BLT and shadow a supervisor for a day as is required, then decide from there if I am ready to go independent or not. It is not too late for me to decide and just shadow a supervisor once a week all summer and then eventually start taking shifts myself. Marybeth (a supervisor) talked to Jerica (the area manager for Illinois) about me becoming a supervisor since I asked Marybeth to recommend me for the position. They both decided that they think I should pursue supervisor-in-training.

But Chelsea (a manager who knows me well) said she thinks I should shoot for supervisor, and if anyone knows me at work, it is Chelsea. Honestly, I can see Jerica and Marybeth’s points. They even brought up that spinal injury emergency last year at Splash where I got scared and screwed up even though the kid was okay. Its not like I didn't react and left the kid. I know I messed up but I learned from that. I got the crap scared out of me, and now I can do it right next time because I will know a little of what to expect in the shock and adrenaline of the situation. Yes, I failed a VAT, but I’m glad I did. I had some of the best days of my life because of it. I got those two hours of personal attention with Doug (another manager) who hacked me up and rebuilt my lifeguard skills from the bottom. He planted a good stone that I didn’t have before. Chelsea told me that I scanned right over it, but Doug told me why I scanned over it. (VAT stands for Vigilance Awareness Test, which is where a dummy doll is placed in the water or a real person begins to drown, and the lifeguard has ten seconds to spot them and twenty seconds to reach them.)

I talked to Chelsea and she told me she thinks I should do it, but that my number one challenge was going to be taking criticism from other people. I know what she is talking about. I have always been a stubborn person and had a hard time with that. But I feel as if I have quite overcome that in many ways. I worked on it really hard and I think I can take almost any criticism from a coworker or guest or from someone over me. I used to get very agitated at myself when I screwed up. Now I just tell myself to do it right next time, and I do.

In my interview with Jerica for supervisor position, it was recorded and sent down to the Ellis headquarters as all the supervisor and manager interviews were. She asked me a question that went something like this; what do I think makes a good supervisor? I answered to my best knowledge; to respect the lifeguards, for in return, I will receive respect. I can tell the lifeguards what to do, but if I don’t respect them and hear what they have to say, then I will get nowhere and behind my back and in their minds, I will look bad.

I feel like that sometimes being a supervisor pulls away from the actual guarding experience, even though I have already gotten quite a bit of that. I personally love the part of actually being in stand and having the responsibility of those people’s lives in my hands. The good thing is that it is not like I’m going to supervise every single shift I work. I will still guard more than supervise. And if I ever become a manager, then maybe by then I will have worked myself up to being as disciplining as Doug. I will never be able to match him, but I can get close.

We shall see what this summer brings.

            —Martina