One of the highlights of my job is the opportunity to talk to people in various industries. I have the chance to visit with managers, leaders, and employees. For decades middle managers have been getting a bad rap. Middle managers are critical to organizations, as these individuals are handling the day-to-day operations. Middle managers are the connectors of communication between the front line and upper management. They keep production going. Often the terms’ manager and leader are interchanged, implying that they are both the same. Management and leadership are two different concepts.
Middle managers are responsible for processes, staffing, budgets, and production. Strong managers make things happen on time and under budget. Leaders inspire people and you can get middle managers that are also leaders.
Imagine your cell phone cord—one end plugs into your phone, and the other plugs into the power source. The middle manager is the connector. They are the person that transfers information from top management to the front lines and vice versa
Everyone has stories about good and bad managers. The middle manager is unique because they have been where you are. Many of them started at the ground level and worked their way up. They understand the processes, systems, and challenges. Not everyone has the personality to be a middle manager, which is okay.
When I worked for High Education in Canada, I had the opportunity and was promoted to the role of a middle manager. Like many, at first, I doubted my skills and didn’t think I knew enough to do the job. I am grateful for my supervisor who believed in me and saw the skills and talents I had. He encouraged me to not only be a manager but a leader. My teams respected my opinion because I knew their challenges. I started at the ground level. I was able to forecast and troubleshoot problems. I had great organizational skills and was able to use those talents to improve the processes. I discovered a talent for teaching and training. I thrived.
I have a dear friend at the same institution who is very talented and today is still working for the institution. She was promoted to a manager position and disliked every moment of her tenure as a manager. She has years of experience and prefers to work on her projects without having to deal with the other issues middle managers face. And that is okay.
Middle managers are jugglers, they have to be able to pivot quickly to help their team in times of crisis. They need to be the cheerleaders and communicate with upper management.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, middle managers need the following skills:
- Execllent Communicators
- Middle managers are the conduit between the front line and upper management. They need to report the day-to-day to the upper managers, and they need to convey the vision to the front lines.
- They need diplomacy and need to remain calm in tense situations.
- The ability to delegate
- Middle managers excel at executing plans and goals. They pay attention to detail and problem-solving, finding ways to improve processes.
- Learning to delegate can be difficult. Often as humans, we don’t want to ask others to do what we can do ourselves. Middle managers need to become comfortable delegating to free their time and attention away from some simple tasks. Being the connector and communicator takes time; it means meetings and conversations, which can take you away from important tasks that others can do.
- Collaboration skills
- Middle managers need to be the best team players.
- Collaboration skills are learning to stay neutral and listen well to what others say. This skill comes with time and experience.
- Solid decision-makers.
- Middle managers have to be able to decide in a crisis and stand behind the decision.
- Often when there is a crisis, a decision has to be made on the spot. Middle managers need to own accountability. They must be able to make a decision and stick with it. They need to be trainers and inspire and lead their teams.
- Middle managers are the conduit between the front line and upper management. They need to report the day-to-day to the upper managers, and they need to convey the vision to the front lines.
- Often when there is a crisis, a decision has to be made on the spot. Middle managers need to own accountability. They must be able to make a decision and stick with it. They need to be trainers and inspire and lead their teams.
No matter where you are on your career path, there are always opportunities to build and grow.
By Cheryl Viola, Executive Director / CEO, MBA