Promoted, Not Prepared: Your First 90 Days as a New BCBA Supervisor

By LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes, MA, BCBA · Last reviewed 2026-10-14 · 9 min read

Most new supervisors are promoted because they were good at the job they had. Then they're expected to do a different job, leading people, with little or no training. If that's you, the problem isn't that you're not cut out for it. The problem is that nobody taught you. The first 90 days are your chance to build the habits that make you a good supervisor.

The gap is real, and the research shows it

In a survey of behavior analysts and trainees, DiGennaro Reed and Henley (2015) found that about two-thirds of respondents hadn't received training on effective supervision practices from their employer. When respondents did receive training, it often relied on methods with little evidence behind them, like instructions alone.

Things have improved, but not enough. A follow-up survey by Blackman, DiGennaro Reed, Erath, and Henley (2022) found that fewer than half of respondents who supervise staff had received supervisory skills training, and only about half of those said it prepared them to supervise.

The BACB does require an 8-hour supervision training before you supervise. It's a start, but eight hours can't cover everything you need to lead a team.

Why it matters

How you supervise affects whether people stay. Kazemi, Shapiro, and Kavner (2015) found that behavior technicians' satisfaction with training, supervision, pay, and job conditions predicted their intention to leave. In the BACB's December 2025 Newsletter, 41% of former RBTs surveyed named lack of supervisor support as a factor in leaving, and 44% named poor treatment by their company.

When an RBT leaves, the client loses a familiar person and the team loses training time. Good supervision is part of good clinical care.

The skills nobody taught you

Being a strong clinician doesn't automatically give you these skills:

• Teaching adults. Explaining a procedure isn't the same as training someone to do it. Behavioral skills training (instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback) is the evidence-based standard, as described by Parsons, Rollyson, and Reid (2012).
• Giving feedback people can use. Specific, timely, and balanced. Not "good job," and not ten corrections at once.
• Figuring out why someone isn't performing. Is it a skill problem, a resource problem, an unclear expectation, or a motivation problem? Each one needs a different fix.
• Having hard conversations. About performance, attendance, or professionalism, without damaging the relationship.
• Managing your own time. Clinical work, supervision, and paperwork all compete for the same hours.

Your first 90 days

Days 1–30: Learn and build relationships

Your goal for the first month is to understand your team and earn their trust.

• Meet one-on-one with everyone you supervise. Ask what's going well, what's frustrating, what they want to get better at, and how they like to receive feedback.
• Observe before you change anything. Watch sessions, review data, and learn how things actually work.
• Set expectations in writing. Meeting schedule, how to reach you, response times, and what counts as an emergency. Sellers, Valentino, and LeBlanc (2016) recommend setting clear expectations early as a foundation of effective supervision.
• Check compliance basics. Make sure every RBT is getting at least 5% supervision with the required contacts and observations each month, as the RBT Handbook requires.

Days 31–60: Build your systems

Your goal for the second month is to turn good intentions into repeatable routines.

• Use a standard meeting agenda. Check in, follow up, review data, give feedback on observations, build one skill, and agree on action items.
• Start using BST for every new skill. Don't just explain. Model, have them rehearse, and give feedback until they get it right.
• Track your own supervision. Are you meeting with everyone on schedule? Are you giving both praise and corrections? What gets measured gets managed, including your own behavior.
• Create a simple competency checklist for the procedures your team uses most.

Days 61–90: Develop your people

Your goal for the third month is to move from managing tasks to growing your team.

• Set a development goal with each person. One specific skill they want to build in the next quarter.
• Address performance problems early. Use a simple diagnosis: Do they know what's expected? Do they have the skills? Do they have the tools and time? What happens when they do it well, and what happens when they don't?
• Ask for feedback on yourself. "What's one thing I could do differently that would make supervision more useful for you?" Then act on what you hear.
• Find your own support. A mentor, a peer group, or a consultation relationship. Supervisors need supervision too.

Signs you're on track

At the end of 90 days, you should be able to say yes to most of these:

• I meet with every supervisee on a regular, predictable schedule.
• My supervisees know what's expected of them and how they're doing.
• I teach new skills with modeling and rehearsal, not just explanation.
• I've had at least one hard conversation and handled it respectfully.
• My team's supervision documentation is complete and up to date.
• I know what each person on my team wants to get better at.

If you can't yet, that's okay. Pick the one that would make the biggest difference and start there.

Keep going with The ABA Playbook

You don't have to build your supervision system from scratch.

1. Use the playbooks. Explore the ABA Playbook management playbooks for meeting agendas, feedback scripts, competency checklists, and performance conversation guides.
2. Watch. Subscribe to The ABA Playbook on YouTube for leadership and supervision videos built for ABA clinicians.
3. Find your people. Join The ABA Playbook community on Skool. It's free, and it's a place for new supervisors and clinical leaders to get support, ask for advice, and learn from people a few steps ahead.

References

• Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2025). December 2025 BACB Newsletter.
• Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2026). Registered Behavior Technician Handbook.
• Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Supervision and training.
• Blackman, A. L., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Erath, T. G., & Henley, A. J. (2022). A survey of staff training and performance management practices: An update. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16, 731–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-022-00762-0
• DiGennaro Reed, F. D., & Henley, A. J. (2015). A survey of staff training and performance management practices: The good, the bad, and the ugly. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 8(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-015-0044-5
• Kazemi, E., Shapiro, M., & Kavner, A. (2015). Predictors of intention to turnover in behavior technicians working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 17, 106–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2015.06.012
• Parsons, M. B., Rollyson, J. H., & Reid, D. H. (2012). Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5(2), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391819
• Sellers, T. P., Valentino, A. L., & LeBlanc, L. A. (2016). Recommended practices for individual supervision of aspiring behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(4), 274–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0110-7

About the author

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes, MA, BCBA, is the founder of Key Essentials to Behavior Management and Strategic Behavior Consultants. She trains RBTs, supervisors, and clinic leaders and builds practical tools for the people doing the work.

Last reviewed October 14, 2026. The ABA Playbook is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.