Our acting chief spends almost no time on the control room floor where he could really find out what problems exist. Though more closely involved than managers, many supervisors also need to become integrated in the operation. Though they are required to work a sector for at least 8 hours a month, almost none do. While virtually all are ex-controllers, many lose their respect for the job and for those who do it. In my area at Cleveland Center, we have a supervisor who is so isolated from the operation that he spends most of the shift sitting at his desk, reading, or talking about unrelated subjects with whoever happens to walk by and is sometimes totally unaware of what is happening at the sectors around him.
Most controllers agree that first-line supervision is the main cause of low morale problems.
Supervisors should be required to work traffic on a regular basis. However, little effort has been made to insure that these new employees are fully capable. Only a few will fall by the wayside due to inability and that usually means they will be promoted to supervisors or bid on a staff position. The westbound ORD rush was on, interspersed with a large amount of eastbound traffic. About 21 aircraft were on my frequency and I was busy spacing Toronto arrivals as well as ORD arrivals.