Many people end up in a supervisory position or SOHO ownership almost by default. In today's workplace, if someone stays on their job long enough, they will probably be promoted as others more senior to them, or higher up chain of responsibility, leave for other opportunities.

The prevalence of this type of promotion can lead to people with little or no leadership skills being promoted into positions of responsibility.

This type of promotion can have many unexpected and negative effects on current work force if newly promoted supervisor is lacking basic leadership talent. Since a supervisor's skill level is visible immediately to those under their stewardship, a lack of leadership aptitude can be catastrophic to productivity of those now working for new supervisor.

To help inexperienced supervisor overcome some of most common mistakes, following list has been created from problems culled from a diverse field of industries. By simply avoiding these common errors of newly promoted supervisors, a person's chances of becoming an effective manager and leader will be greatly enhanced.

1. Don't attempt to be buddies with your employees. The distinction between supervisor and friend needs to be clear-cut and meaningful.

2. Never hesitate to roll up your sleeves to help, if situation warrants your participation.

3. Ivory tower managers usually are doomed to fail. Make sure not to isolate yourself from those that you directly supervise.

How many times have you had an employee quit and then immediately feel desperate to fill slot that was just vacated? Unfortunately, it's an all too common occurrence in today's workplace.

There are a number of things you can do to help you get through trying times while hiring a replacement but there is also danger of hiring just about anyone that walks through door just to get job filled. Don't do this!

Take time necessary to hire right person for job. The actual cost of turnover is much greater than most employers realize so first line of defense should always be to make every effort to retain your current employee, assuming he/she was performing their duties at an acceptable level.

If you aren't successful at keeping your present employee, following tips will help guide your selection:

1. Make sure that your other employees are aware of job opening. Referrals from current employees usually are better candidates than cold prospects coming through door.

2. If position is above entry level, look at your current employees and determine if one of them would be a good applicant for promotion. It's much easier to fill entry-level jobs.