Most supervisors in camp settings make the same mistakes in the supervision of staff. The first is waiting too long before addressing poor or inappropriate performance. Since most people don't like confrontation (and have not developed better skills in this area), they avoid the awkwardness of face-to-face contact hoping that "things will clear up." Unfortunately, this hesitation only sends a message to staff that whatever they are doing that is inappropriate or sub par performance is acceptable. Another mistake is in not giving specific examples of the behavior we have seen that is either unacceptable or inadequate. As soon we we resort to labels we run the risk of being too general and unclear. What one person means by a "poor attitude" --or any other label-- may be completely different from what another person has in mind. The lack of specific examples --the things people have actually said or done that we are concerned about-- may also make staff feel you just don't like them. Besides, staff can't improve behaviors that haven't been clearly described to them. Another common mistake is that supervisors talk too much. If when we confront staff about their behavior we do all the talking and don't let staff respond or weigh in, then what we are having is a lecture, not a conversation. Staff who enter the conversation are more apt to buy into the feedback than staff who remain silent in the face of criticism. One final note is that many supervisors do not follow up with staff after such a talk to acknowledge improvement or make further observations. Lack of follow up is a sure-fire way to communicate to staff that you really aren't interested in their growth and improvement.