A Guide to Middle Manager Survival

A Guide to Middle Manager Survival

In today’s world, restructuring and downsizing have led to the emergence of flatter organizations. Middle managers have been the most affected by these changes. Many management writers consider middle managers as “excess organizational baggage.” Ironically, middle managers are the most potential assets of the organization. Many organizations have the false notion that by removing these managers, they can restructure themselves better. To ensure continued survival of middle managers, a number of individual and organizational actions can be undertaken. These are listed below:

1. Focus on important strategic issues: Middle managers should move away from the day-to-day operations (which can be delegated to the first-line managers) and devote their attention to the more important strategic issues.

2. Think like senior managers: They should use their extensive knowledge to deal with more substantive issues that would lead to organizational benefit.

3. Analyze why change is needed: They must understand the underlying causes for introducing change and how the organization should adapt itself in the light of opportunities and threats.

4. Ensure greater participation: Middle managers have a great deal of technical expertise and a good knowledge of organizational processes. This knowledge should be disseminated throughout the organization.

5. Manage change and people together: Middle managers should take the initiative for implementing change in the organization. They should act as mentors for those with lesser work experience.

6. Utilize their role as intermediaries: Middle managers can comprehend the internal and external pressures faced by the organization. They can resolve conflicting issues by negotiating with the parties concerned.

7. Implement the vision: Middle managers must attempt to convert top-level strategies into workable actions. They should take up the responsibility to implement the vision of the organization.

8. Incorporate change into the organization: Middle managers must understand how to implement change in the organization. They should introduce work practices that bring in innovation and “shifts in thinking.”

In the words of Rory Chase, Managing Director of IFS International in Bedford, “The new role of the middle manager embraces three key areas: team leadership, change maker and facilitator.” There is no doubt that in order to survive in this rapidly changing era, middle managers have to make themselves indispensable.

Adapted from Steve Towers, "Re-engineering - Middle Managers are the Key Asset, " Online Newsletter, October 1996 (Page updated on 27 October 2002), The Institute of Management Excellence