I supervise. I’ve been supervising for years. Because “practice makes perfect,” I’d like to say I’m a great boss. Truth be told, I have had some gold-star moments…and some less-than-stellar ones.

Supervision is hard, and despite its complexity most of us don’t receive any formal training. Rather, we jump (or are pushed) blindly into the pool, and we flail. Because supervision involves two people, our on-the-job education means we’ll occasionally drag someone underwater with us.

Mistakes (and apologies) are an unavoidable part of it all. Human interactions, by nature, involve miscommunication, misperceptions, and imperfect decisions. It’s not a hopeless endeavor, however. We can become stronger by assessing how we handled each situation afterward and by reworking our supervisory strategies when we misstep.

Many years ago a mentor recommended I write about my supervisory experiences in a journal: What happened? How did I feel? What was the most important thing? How will I handle a future situation differently in order to achieve different results? It helped. It still helps. Just recently I ended a reflection by writing: “Next time I need to make sure [a particular staff member] knows I’m hearing what she’s saying by checking in with her while we talk.” In other words, “Listen, Lisa.”

Observing other supervisors may inspire helpful reflections too. Have you ever heard this: “You’ll learn as much from bad supervisors as from good ones”? I’ve learned:

1) Communication is a powerful thing—in most cases, more is better;
2) Running from difficult conversations usually results in bigger problems (which often involve more people); and
3) There are times for group problem solving and times for supervisors to act alone.

Supervising well requires humility and regular thinking. New York Times columnist David Brooks recently commented that consistently successful leaders believe progress comes “through a series of regulated errors. Every move is a partial failure, to be corrected by the next one. Even walking involves shifting your weight off-balance and then compensating with the next step.”

What supervisory missteps have you learned from—either yours or those of others? What wisdom can you share with those who are about to take on this role for the first time? For newcomers, what are your hopes?

Guiding and overseeing people present great challenges and rewards. Look around you for the good and not so good, make time to reflect, and cut yourself some slack. Dive in.

Lisa Tetzloff is director of student life at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay