Int4 Perspectives: What Makes a Great Partner or Supervisor?

Describe the Best Partner or Supervisor with Whom You’ve Worked. What Part of Their Managing Style Appealed to You?

During the interview process at Int4 AG from 2019 to 2022, one of the questions that we posed was about the Partner/Supervisor profession. We thought it would be interesting to share with you how various candidates responded to this theme. To put it another way, we are not going to demonstrate what the appropriate response should be, since from our perspective, there is no such thing as an appropriate or inappropriate response to a question of this nature. Instead, we are going to demonstrate the many different kinds of opinions that were brought up by the job applicants.

Development

According to 39% of candidates, the ideal supervisor is one who ensures their growth and progress. Despite the fact that it does not appear unexpected, let us examine the candidates’ intended meaning:

“The best supervisor was my former boss; he had extensive knowledge about everything. I felt safe – I had his support. I need support from the team to feel encouraged to learn new things and develop myself.” – Accountant

“My manager who left the position worked excessively. He believed in potential, and if you don’t know something, it doesn’t mean you cannot learn it.” – SAP Consultant

Candid Communication

33% of candidates express a preference for their supervisor to engage in forthright dialogues with them. That is candid, insightful, cordial, and open-minded so that they will feel as though they are approaching the right person for any issue that may arise. Candidates say:

“I wasn’t expecting such a specific question. I prefer the style where you motivate your employees, give reasonable and constructive feedback. I do not like management by conflicts; that is the worst way of management. I like a candid conversation and listening to others’ opinions, as it broadens my horizons.” – Operations

“Someone who is critical in a positive way. A mistake is being pointed out because this helps me to grow. My current supervisor is open and critical, and he speaks out, which helps me to grow.” – Junior SAP Consultant

“My previous manager – he is honest, and even if something is hard to say, he will say it.” – SAP Consultant

Support

25% of candidates respect supervisors who provide them with guidance and inspiration in their daily business dealings.

“A good supervisor is someone who supports me. When I have a problem with something, I can talk, and we can find a solution together.” – Accountant

“I like it when someone gives me tasks to do in a day or week so that I can plan my job for every day and know what I am doing. Good communication with my manager is a very important thing; I like to ask questions.” – Accountant

“My first CP mentor; it was his first team, and he was doing abaping – it was a perfect combination to me – because of his competences, he knew what we were struggling with.” – SAP Consultant

Knowledge

19% of candidates indicate that having a supervisor with extensive knowledge is crucial for them.

“Maybe I say with a person I am working with for ten years – that is my friend – he is very intelligent and very friendly, and that is the most important person to me at work. We met ten years ago when we started working, and he is a friend to this day.” – Accountant

“My current one is nice, but I remember with appreciation my superior from UPM. The girl made sure that everyone was well; she was able to balance issues and soothe things with such empathy and kindness. She listened to our advice, took it into account, and had excellent sales skills.” – Consultant

Professionalism

17% of applicants made reference to the professional nature of the supervising position.

“I would have to definitely appoint my current manager. He has very high standards – ethical, work-life balance – after six, he does not answer emails – he leads by example.” – BOM

“The current one – true leaders who do things in a professional way.” – Consultant

Independence

14% of candidates value having supervisors who allow them to be independent in their work and respect those who do so.

“Now my close friend – she immediately calls me out when I do something wrong, but after a while, she gets over it and tells me what I did wrong. She doesn’t correct me – I have to do it myself, and she lets me dive in at the deep end. Thanks to this, I learn more.” – Accountant

“I like when a manager gives me some freedom at work and then looks at my work – of course, checks my work. In PwC, I had a good manager – the tools were given to us with no support – the tools are here – ‘when you will be able to check and learn it and deliver; ok, I am going to do it.’ From scratch, I delivered the whole system, all email communications, all data managed automatically. I set up the program from LinkedIn directly to the sales team. But at the same time, I am trying to be loyal to my boss, not hiding anything, being open and freely doing my tasks. I am more innovative, not just following; I like coming up with the solution, whether he allows me to do new stuff or not.” – Marketing

“Current one – he lets me express and realize my ideas.” – Marketing

Challenge

11% of candidates were looking for a challenging role model in their potential supervisor.

“I would like to work with someone challenging and honest; someone who has high expectations.” – BOM

“Not the easiest one; to be frank, I like working with people I admire; this is sometimes that I strive – I like working with people who have an opinion; not able to work – the person who is unpredictable.” – Marketing

Active Listening

11% of Job Candidates list “Active Listening” as a desirable “soft skill” in a successful manager.

“I think the best partner, supervisor should give smart challenges at work, and the best supervisor should have a special character that enables them to keep the team in a special condition. I am not sure how to describe it, but I would like to say that the supervisor is the person who can’t be something like, in Poland, we say a ‘gray mouth.’ I think it is not the best term, but I want to say that a supervisor is a special person; could be polite but also one of the very important things is that the supervisor could listen; could talk with people from this team because it is very important when we have the possibility to speak with our supervisor and motivate us to do good work and develop.” – Accountant

“He is a good listener – we have teams in Germany, Indonesia; he listens to them carefully – he comes back and provides what he can – our manager is in France.” – Consultant

“Supervisor knows when to leave you and let you do your work and when to support you.” – Consultant

Cooperation

8% of job Candidates express a desire for their superior to possess the ability to amicably navigate cross-team dynamics and foster cooperation in various ways contingent upon the nature of the relationship.

“It should be a true leader – knowing how to cooperate with other teams; he should be an implementer – this was a person who was my leader and was a girl.” – BOM

“The best coworker is my integration partner – he is friendly and cooperates.” – Consultant

“I have a mentor, and I like about him that he is very patient and teaches me things, and gives me tasks. I am not fully dependent on him.” – Junior Consultant

Other Not Classified

“Leader is someone who guides things; they have to learn things and then guide the team, make sure all is in place to get the job done.” – Consultant

“I had 2 people managing me; the best one was leading me to gain knowledge to obtain the certificate; he didn’t have any block to tell me good or bad words and be honest with me.” – Consultant

“Kris – I’ve been working as a consultant; the supervisor should have trust in their team; regular meetings; 1:1 meetings – he would.” – Consultant

Every recruitment interview conducted at Int4 is both structured and adaptable. We have a series of technical questions from the very start to the last step of the whole process. Questions on soft skills are standardized to facilitate comparisons, should the need arise. Candidates grab our curiosity. The better we get to know the prospective hire, the better we may prepare for onboarding, enabling us to build strategic relationships with managers, business partners, and clients. Greater knowledge of an individual enables us to establish more fruitful collaborations in the future and provide excellent customer service within the area of SAP Integration.

This composition contains numerous levels of information. One advantage is that it provides insight into the specific qualities that individuals seek in a supervisor. Alternatively, it serves as an important reminder for managers regarding which soft skills they ought to develop. In addition, it demonstrates the workforce’s level of maturity in a market with clear, realistic expectations and exposes managers’ strengths and weaknesses, such as conflict management.

Int4 AG the House of Integration Architects