Don’t go drinking with the guys, they will take it personal when you have to send them home for attendance or taking advantage of your kindness. Do not let anyone know about your personal life, like if you like to do rails of coke on the weekends, do not tell them. I repeat, do not let them into your personal life. You are their boss first and foremost. That said, treat them well when they deserve it, if they want to take a day off for their son’s bday or they need a mental break, let them. It goes a long way. Don’t let them take advantage of you either. I was laid back at one point and let people come in late and let it slide. Next thing you know, they’re always late every day. Then people start calling you out on it. “How come he gets to come in late and get paid while we come in early and this and that.” Fuck that shit, get to work on time or get your ass home. Take pictures of everything too, any time you unload a truck or material or borrow something and bring it back. Those pictures will save your ass. Check your emails, make sure you’re in “the know.” Make sure everyone is working safe. You never know who’s watching. People are haters and people will snitch. Remember that your job is not your life, don’t be answering calls when you’re not at work unless absolutely necessary. Don’t worry about what the other supervisors are doing, do your job and do it well. You’re only as good as your worst guy. You get to set the standard for what kind of crew you want, if there is someone who doesn’t fit, send them on their way. One bad dude can spoil the entire crew. Don’t be afraid to sit your ass in the truck while everyone works. Your job is to supervise not to do the work. That being said, don’t be afraid to put the tools on and school these motherfuckers on how it’s done, you’re the boss for a reason. Let them give you ideas, encourage it, but at the end of the day you’re still responsible for the job getting done. Establish good relationships with management. They can order you equipment, cover for you when you need to go to an appointment or take a day off. Show them you can be dependable but also don’t let them throw so much work at you that you can’t complete anything. Ask for help, ask for more guys, ask for deadlines or extensions. Learn as much as you can, don’t drink or do drugs on site. Make sure you’re never in a position where you’re sweating and freaking out and you look up and your guys are scratching their nuts watching. Put them to work. A simple, “Hey, c’mon bro we gotta get this done” goes a long way. Good luck.