Creative
Middle Management Is Approaching A New Day
Once upon a time, I was a middle manager. It was something I aspired to. I saw it as a way to advance as a professional and grow as a leader. I also believed it was a way to help others connect the work they did to meaning and purpose. Then, somewhere along the way, I got lost. I got tired of mediating petty squabbles. I became frustrated by the idiotic political turf wars. I grew weary of being squeezed from top-side executives and board and bottom-side staff - not to mention from the members and customers at the sides. My passion was extinguished and I was happy to find new work here in Texas where I didn’t have to worry about managing anyone. I was content to merely be an employee.
Fast forward to today…I’m still not a manager, but the year-long respite seems to have recharged my batteries. At least I can again see the potential of great management and its importance in helping to connect people to purpose. And I absolutely know down to my core how damn hard it is to be a middle manager. It’s from this place that I connected with Lisa Haneberg’s recent post on how depressingly little the role of middle management has changed in the past three decades. If anything, many of the changes have been negative. Downsizing, busted bubbles, broken trust from executives…yeah, plenty of reasons to scoff at the suggestion that management is the place to be in order to do great things.
Yet, I sense some positive momentum which gives me hope that middle management will see a brighter future. We’re entering a time when we are beginning to demand more from our business leaders. We’re insisting that they start to aim higher than they have in the past. We’re not allowing them to squander our collective potential. As employees and managers, we now want more from our work. We seek meaning and purpose not just because it feels good and helps us get out of bed in the morning…we seek these things because our souls crave it. Middle management isn’t the only way there. The path to creating work that matters is unique to each of us. But to all the middle managers out there searching for meaning, purpose, and fulfillment - it’s still possible.
I’ll close as I closed my comment to Lisa: “Maybe this truly is our time to reach for what was promised decades ago. Maybe we needed these hard times of the 80s and 90s to show us the path we can only take now. Or maybe I’m just a starry-eyed idealist. Keep the faith.”
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[...] Chris Bailey at Workplay offers a great illustration of why managing intangible assets is an overlooked management science. He shares his pain in his post “middle management is approaching a new day.” Here is an excerpt: “Once upon a time, I was a middle manager. It was something I aspired to. I saw it as a way to advance as a professional and grow as a leader. I also believed it was a way to help others connect the work they did to meaning and purpose. Then, somewhere along the way, I got lost. I got tired of mediating petty squabbles. I became frustrated by the idiotic political turf wars. I grew weary of being squeezed from top-side executives and board and bottom-side staff - not to mention from the members and customers at the sides. My passion was extinguished and I was happy to find new work here in Texas where I didn’t have to worry about managing anyone.” More people need to be reading Rosbeth Kanter’s book on organizational confidence. [...]
So let’s focus on change. Product development and customer experience management are commonly considered critical, and yet although not a current part of traditional association management practices classic PD methods (like say the stage-gate NPD process) can offer a plethora of opportunities for middle managers to engage customers on existing and new product or service development.
I would urge middle manager to seize the day. Identify an unrecognized management practice that you can get passionate about and study it. Who does it the best? What are they achieving by using it? How can you incorporate it into your association?
Middle managers are key to the success of companies or associations. Dont wait until someone instructs you to explore something you can adopt. Take the initiative on your own and do it.
If management doesnt appreciate your efforts, find a new place to practice it. There are other orgs who possess the culture, teamwork, collaborative practices and initiative to practice these ideas.
Absolutely! Well put, Peter. In many ways, I’ve found that middle managers actually have *more* room to innovate and experiment than executives do. I particularly like what you say about identifying a new (or perhaps unconsidered) management practice…and then study it. Often, it’s that last part that stymies the doers who want to implement immediately (I’ve fallen into the group a few times). There’s an art of management mastery that requires patience and some determination.
Lot’s of learning here. Thanks for adding to the dialogue.