Written by Poppy Boothroyd, Senior R&D Consultant
The leadership journey matters, but effective leadership progression requires consideration of each level of management, and the unique challenges faced. In our last blog we explored the journey of first-time managers and challenges faced when transitioning from peer to leader. In this blog we focus on the mid-level manager, and what leading from the middle can look like.
What is middle management?
A mid-level manager, or a ‘leader of leaders,’ is a person who is part of middle management and likely to have direct reports who manage their own teams. They are typically responsible for a function within a business division and are therefore integral to functional strategy and delivery. While many in this position may be experienced leaders, the role of the middle manager is not straightforward. They are quite literally in the middle. Operational demands are still high so they can’t quite let go of the detail, but strategic pressure from above means they must not lose focus of broader organizational goals and initiatives.
What do effective middle managers look like to their employees?
It isn’t all about inspiring purpose. Our latest international research study on leadership progression identified that although giving people a ‘why’ is unquestionably important, there are other leadership qualities that should be considered more of a priority for mid-level managers to develop. For employees of these managers, having an authentic connection with them is what appears to matter the most.
Human-centered leadership was highlighted in our 2021 research and is still a prominent theme in our most recent research report. Results inevitably matter, but so do people, and without people there are no results. Showing empathy in times of difficulty, building trust, and acting ethically towards others are all behaviors of successful middle managers.
What challenges can mid-level managers face on their journey?
From an organizational perspective, our latest research identifies two main challenges that mid-level managers face when they journey from leading individual contributors to leading leaders. The first is balancing operational and strategic demands, and the second is coping with increased pressure from senior leadership. The diversity of demands managers at this level experience is extensive and requires refined interpersonal and stakeholder management skills to be successful. But before this can happen, middle managers must be willing to shift their mindset from detail to strategy and organizations need to support and prepare them to do so.
The challenges of middle management
What do middle managers themselves think is most challenging about their leadership journey? Our research identified five themes:
- Relationship boundaries – Adapting to and managing changing relationships
- Acceptance and respect – Earning trust from peers and teams by demonstrating competence
- Managing diversity – Understanding and adjusting to different preferences and working styles
- Increased responsibilities – Demonstrating learning agility and humility
- Delegating and empowering – Trusting employees to do and manage their work
How can mid-level managers overcome these challenges?
When asked what behaviors they focused on the most to try and ensure a successful transition into the middle management role, over 50% of middle managers selected ‘improving my communication style.’
When is communication not important? For middle managers it becomes even more important that they effectively and regularly communicate to their employees. Once again, they’re leading from the middle. They have to listen to and manage the (often diverse) needs of their teams while communicating upwards to senior leaders who themselves must consider demands of other mid-level managers. It is no easy feat to communicate well, but failure to do so can inhibit employee work performance so the effort does need to be made by middle management, and visibly so.
When middle managers were asked what the most important change was that they had to make at this management level, ‘delegating and empowering’ emerged as a prominent theme.
Those who work for mid-level managers agree. They want them to be open-minded, motivating, and engaging, but also provide strategic direction and clarity to their work. More prominently, employees expect increased control over their own work. A middle manager who in a previous lower-level leadership role may have been more hands-on is at risk of not letting go and therefore not empowering their teams to perform independently. This is where an increase of trust is required, and where organizations should enable a supportive climate where people can grow and learn from mistakes.
Advice to new middle managers
So, what advice do middle managers give to those transitioning into this management level?
- Listen to others – Be open to and understand what people want and how best to support and guide them.
- Communicate effectively – Prioritize communication and deliver it in a human-centered way.
- Build your network – Connect with others to become more visible and establish support.
- Delegate – Let go of the detail and empower and trust those you manage to work independently.
- Have a growth mindset – Learn, adapt, and grow as leaders and prepare for how application of time will change.
What can organizations do to support middle management on their journey?
Organizations aren’t ignorant to nuances of middle management. They know that managers at this level need to delegate and empower as the scope of their responsibility increases. They are aware of the importance of effective interpersonal and business skills, and how both shift from first to mid-level in quite a notable way. But what can organizations do to support their middle managers’ growth as both people and functional leaders?
According to our research, mid-level managers were the most prepared for their transition into middle management. This is interesting considering that only 39% of the middle managers we surveyed received formal leadership development training and it is the level seemingly given the least organizational attention. Perhaps the journey from first to mid-level management is softened somewhat by having previous experience, but that doesn’t mean further development isn’t important or necessary.
Similar to leaders of all levels, middle managers value opportunities to develop and share preferences for certain types of intervention with first and senior level managers. Mentoring programs, individual coaching, and leadership workshops were identified as useful interventions across all three leadership levels. This should be welcoming news to organizations as there isn’t a huge variation in what type of interventions are required, but there is opportunity to tailor the content of them to each level.
Leading from the middle is all about balance
A mid-level manager’s journey is one that isn’t completely new, but in some ways is harder because of that. There is a need to let go of the majority (if not all) of the day-to-day operational tasks of first-line management and shift their mindset and focus to broader strategic initiatives. They must engage a variety of stakeholders and adapt communication accordingly, otherwise they risk losing respect, being misunderstood, or underperformance from their teams.
Effective leadership encompasses much of the same factors across the leadership pipeline. All managers are expected to positively impact their employees’ performance, engagement, and well-being, while simultaneously driving organizational results to some degree. What isn’t always clear is how a manager goes about being effective. And from what our latest research has identified, being an effective manager really does depend on where someone is on their management journey. For middle managers, it’s all about getting the balance right.
