The Real Value of Middle Managers - Harvard Business Review

Thus, a manager in the middle of hierarchical layers builds relationships with those at the top (from a position of followership and lower power) ... Youhave1freearticlesleftthismonth. Youarereadingyourlastfreearticleforthismonth. Subscribeforunlimitedaccess. Createanaccounttoread2more. Leadershipdevelopment TheRealValueofMiddleManagers Intheeraofremoteandhybridwork,theirroleasconnectorsismoreimportantthanever.Here’swhattheyneedtosucceed. by ZahiraJaser by ZahiraJaser June07,2021 artpartner-images/GettyImages Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Summary.    Middlemanagershavelonghadreputationsasineffectiveorweaksupervisors.Butresearchshowsthat,infact,they’reoftenthepeoplethatmakeanorganizationrunsmoothlybetweenhierarchies.Especiallytoday,ascompaniesbecomemorereliantonvirtualmodesofmanagementandcommunication,investinginthesemanagersas“connectingleaders”isvital.Todoso,focusonfourkeytypesofconnectingleadersandtheirassociatedpractices.Therearerewardsandchallengesforeach;butsuccessfullyaddressingthemcanhelpmakeyourbusinessmoresuccessfulcomingoutofthepandemic. Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Leerenespañol Leremportuguês Theideaofmiddlemanagersasunexceptional,mediocresupervisorshasbeenaroundfordecades —atleastsinceaseminal1977HBRarticlebyAbrahamZaleznikthatmadeaclear,explicitdistinctionbetweenbeingaleader(aninspirationalvisionary)andamanager(astrategicadministrator).Theseideasarestillcentraltowhat’staughtinmanyMBAandexecutivedevelopmentprograms,wherethere’satendencytoeducatemanagersonhowto“upgrade”andbecomeleaders. Inmy20yearsofbeingoneandthenresearchingthem,however,Ihavedevelopedgreatrespectformiddlemanagers.Theyaretheengineofthebusiness,thecogsthatmakethingswork,thegluethatkeepscompaniestogether.Especiallyasremoteandhybridworktakesover —andthedistancebetweenemployeesincreases —middlemanagersaremoreimportantthanever.Themosteffectiveonesareinpossessionofhumane,sophisticatedcommunicationsskillsandtheknacktomediateandfindcommongroundsbetweenactorsatdifferentlevelsintheorganization. Infact,Ibelievethatthedivisionbetweenleadershipandmanagementincreasinglysoundsanachronistic,evenobsolete.Itistimetoreuniteleadershipandmanagementinoneconcept,andrecognizemiddlemanagersasconnectingleaders.Thisconceptrecognizesthateveryleaderisalsoafollower,andeveryfollowerisalsoaleader.Thus,amanagerinthemiddleofhierarchicallayersbuildsrelationshipswiththoseatthetop(fromapositionoffollowershipandlowerpower)andwiththepeopleatthebottom(fromapositionofleadershipandhigherpower). Thistypeofroleischallenging,however,becauseitrequiresbeingbothaproactiveleadertodirectreportsandanengagedfollowertothetopmanagement,allatthesametime.Currentideasofleadershipandtrainingfailtocapturethiscomplexdoubleact.Forexample,executivedevelopmentprogramsfocusonteachingleadershipskillssomanagerscaninfluencedirectreports,largelyignoringthedevelopmentoftheirupwardinfluenceskills.Butitisdirectlythroughthesedoubleupwardanddownwardinfluenceactivitiesthatconnectingleaderscanshrinkhierarchicaldistanceandbringmultiplelevelsofanorganizationtogether. 4TypesofConnectingLeadersandPractices ConnectingLeader Practice MainRisk Mitigator Janus Empathizingwithbothsides Burnoutandemotionallabor Coachingandpsychologicalsupport Broker Negotiatingwithbothsidestobringthemtogether Seniorcolleagues’lackofavailability Embracingacultureoftransparencyandhumility Conduit Speakingupforothers Exposingoneselfpersonallytothetop Fosteringacultureofpsychologicalsafety TightropeWalker Criticalthinkingandappraisingbothsidesofdilemmas Cognitiveoverload,confusion,andbeingslowtoaction Encouragingsafecritical-thinkingspacesforpeerdiscussions ©HBR.org Basedonyearsofresearchonthistopic,Ihaveidentifiedfoursetsofpracticesthatarekeytocreatingsuccessfulconnectingleaders.Theyareillustratedbyfourminicasestudiesbelow,whichoutlinebothimportantpracticesandalsopotentialriskscompaniesandconnectingleadersshouldbeawareofasthey’retrainedintheseroles.ThecasestudiesrepresentrealmangersIinterviewed,althoughtheirnameshavechangedforconfidentialityreasons. TheConnectingLeaderasJanus Essentially,thismeansengagingwiththeconcernsofbothupwardanddownwardpartnersinanorganization.Thisabilitytolooksimultaneouslyupanddownthehierarchy,intwodirections,allowsconnectingleaderstoempathizewiththeburdenofbothsidesandspreadtheweightofsharedissues. ChrisisaseasonedmiddlemanagerinalargebankheadquarteredinLondon.Hedoesnotexudethecharismaofa“heroic”leader:heisquietlyself-confident,softspoken,andveryapproachable.Atthestartofthepandemic,whenemergencylockdownmeasureskickedin,hesucceededbykeepingthisactivedoublegaze,firstonhisemployees: NowmorethaneverIneedtomakesurethateveryone’svoiceisheard;theremotenessmakesiteasyforpeopletohide,andshyaway.Butthenagain,anyonehasgotdifferentcircumstances,soyouhavetobemoreflexiblearoundthis.…Youneedtocheckinmoreregularly,andtoreassurethem. Andkeepagazetowardshisboss,byensuringshewasintheloop.Byincreasingthesharingofinformation,heflattenedthehierarchicaldistancebetweenhimself,hisboss,andhisteam: IhaveincreasedthefrequencywithwhichIholdregularcatchupswiththetop.Ihaveaskedmybosstojoincallswithmydirectreportssometimes,soshecananswerquestionsfromthem.Wecanbothbeonthesamepage,havethesametemperaturecheck,gettherawmessage.Thishelpsusrespondquicklytoconcernsfromthebottom. Throughhisdoublegaze,Chrisshowedthatkeytobeasuccessfulmanagerisnotenoughtobejustaneffectiveleader —cherishingrelationshipswithoneown’sreportsfromapositionofhigherauthority —butalsothatitisessentialtobeanengagedfollowerbyinvolvingandinfluencinghisown’sbossfromapositionoflowerauthority. ThegreatestriskforChrisandotherJanusleadersisburnoutandemotionallabor.BecauseChrisisconsistentlyempathizingwithmanydifferentpeopleatdifferentlevelsoftheorganization,itisimportantheguardshisenergyandsharestheburdenswithbothsides.Organizationscanmitigatethisriskbyofferingcoachingandpsychologicalsupportformanagerstodiscuss,becomeaware,andovercomethiscognitiveandemotionalburden. TheConnectingLeaderasaBroker Abrokercreatesadialoguebetweenpeoplewhohaveconflictingagendas.Becausehierarchicallevelshaveoftendifferentgoalsandneeds,connectingleaderscanserveasinterpretersandtranslatorsoftheseneeds,brokeringinter-leveldialoguebetweenthepeopleaboveandbelowthem. Sumiya,amiddlemanagerinaprivatebank,couldn’tgiveMark,herstaremployee,thetopratingsshethoughthedeservedinhislatestperformancereview.MarkhadbeenpromotedthepreviousyearandSumiya’sboss,Paul,hadindicatedthattoprankingswereonlyforthosedestinedforthatyearpromotionpool.SheempathizedwithMark’sdisappointment,realizingthenegativeimpactthiscouldhaveonhismotivation;shecommunicatedthiswithalackdefensivenesswhenhebroughtituptoher.Sheadmittedthatshedidnothavefullcontrolinthedecisionprocess,butrecognizedthatherabilitytobrokerameetingwithatopexecutive(Paul)createdanopportunity. Toaddresstheissue,shesetupaquickmeetingbetweenMarkandPaul.MarkhadtheopportunitytobeheardinhisdisappointmentandtohearPaul’srational.ThequickmeetingwithPaulpropelledMark’smotivation.AsMarktoldme: IwenttospeaktoPaulaboutmydisappointment,andhewaslike:“Icompletelyagreewithwhyyou’redissatisfied.YoushoulddeserveafourbutIhadtogiveyouathree.”Hewasreallyopenandhonestaboutitandthenalsohewasjustlike:“…Wevalueyou,thisiscompanywidedecision,and,youknow,don’tbeharddonebyaboutthat.” Sumiya’sabilitytobrokerthemeeting,whichcostPaulonly10minutesofhistime,turnedwhatcouldhavebeenanegativeeventintomoreofaunifyingone.Furthermore,MarkwasgiventheopportunitybySumiyatostartbuildingafruitfulrelationshipwithPaul,increasinghismotivationandloyaltytothecompany. ThegreatestriskforSumiyaoranyleader-as-brokerisanuncooperativeorunavailableexecutive,oronewhoischallengingtowinover.It’salsopossiblethat,inattemptingtobridgedifferentpartsoftheorganizationalhierarchy,misunderstandingscanoccur.Toaddressthis,anorganizationandtopleadershipcanfosteracultureoftransparencyandhumility,wheretopleadershipacceptsanopen-doorengagementwithlowerpartsoftheorganizationandembracesproblemswithasenseofunderstanding. TheConnectingLeaderasaConduit Conduitscourageouslyamplifythevoicesoftheirdirectreportsupwards.Inmanycases,theseareconstructivechallengestothoseinpositionsofpowerthatcanbothtrickleupinamediatedwayoralsobedirectlycommunicatedfromthebottomtothetop. Tounderstandhowthismightplayout,considerSimon,aRiskManagementOfficeinalargefinancialfirmwhoreportstoMike,theHeadofRiskatgrouplevel.Mikeisthesponsorofarevolutionarychangeprogramaimedatstreamliningriskreportingacrossdivisions.Simonuseshisownvoicetoimprovetheimplementation: IjusthavetoremindMikewhatit’slikeitontheground.Becausehimandhisteamonthe47thfloor,theydon’talwayshavetheopportunitytoengagewithpeopleonthetradingdesks.Partofmyteamsitsonthetradingfloorandtheyseethepeople,thebusinessmanagers,anddiscussthings. Furthermore,Simonsponsorshisowndirectreports’upwardvoiceflowbyallowingthemtobringtheirinputdirectlytoMikeandhisteam: Igetthemdirectlyinvolvedincontributingtheirviewsbecause,attheendoftheday,theywillbebuyingintothechange.YesterdayIwentupstairswithtwoofthemandtheyexplained(toMike)whytheywerenothappy,particularlyontwothings. ThisalltookcourageforSimonintwoways.First,hehadtoadmithewasnotalways“thesmartestguyintheroom,”asheneededtoforefronthisreportees’voicestopersuadehisboss.Second,heamplifiedchallengingpoints,whichmightbeatoddswithhisboss’agenda.Inotherwords,heexposedhimselfpersonallyforotherstobeheard.Weknowfrompreviousresearchthatinordertospeakup,organizationsneedtofosteracultureofpsychologicalsafety.Thistypeofcultureisvitalforconnectingleaders,whooftenhavetospeakuponbehalfofothersorencouragetheiremployeestospeakupthemselves. TheConnectingLeaderasaTightropeWalker Finally,thislastpracticerequirescriticallyappraisingandbalancingdilemmas.Thedifferent,evenopposite,needsanddemandfromupperandlowerlevelsplacetheconnectingleaderinfrontofamyriadofpredicamentseachday. Forexample,thinkaboutdesigningredundancyschemeswhilesimultaneouslykeepingthepeopleonateammotivated,orapplyingmechanismsofperformancecontrolwhileensuringthatpeoplehaveenoughautonomyanddriveintheirposition.Inthesesituations,connectingleadersruntherisktobecognitivelyoverwhelmedandparalyzed.Theycanovercomethisbycriticallythinkingthroughthedifferentsidesofimpassesstrategicallyandbalancingthemcarefully. TheexampleofAndrea,theheadofaclient-facingteaminthesalesdivisionofadigitalmarketingstartup.Asthestartupwasscalingupandpreparingtobesoldbythefounders,thecompanyintroducedadigitalappforsalespeopletologeverysingleclientconversation.Arebellionensued,withsalespeoplefeelingmicromanagedfromthetop.Andreafoundherselfinadilemma:Ononehand,shethoughtthenewsystemwascounterproductiveandlimitedtheautonomyherpeopleneededtoachievehighperformance: Idon’twantmypeopleloggingeveryconversationrecordonacomputer.Itservesnopurpose,otherthantellingthefoundersthatwe’vespokentotheclient.Mypeopleareprofessionals,theyknowwhattheyaredoing. Ontheother,sheunderstoodtheneedtopushhard,asthecompany’svaluationwasdirectlytiedtodealsinthepipeline. Andreawasextremelyclearinpresentingthedilemmaandbalancingtheactionsshedecidedtoputinplaceonherteam: Thetrade-offis:okay,let’sdoit.It’sausefulrecord:butminimizewhatyouwrite!Let’sbestrategicaboutthis. Thisthoughtprocessillustratestheskillsneededintheconstantbalancingactbyconnectingleaders,walkingalongaropebetweenhierarchicallayers.Thereareriskstothis,though,includingcognitiveoverload,confusion,andslowaction.Itisimportanttheserisksaremitigatedbyofferingsafecriticallythinkingspacesfordebateamongstmiddlemanagers,wherepushbackstotoppoliciescanbediscussedwithpeers.Thisisespeciallyimportantattimesinwhichthecompanyasksthemostofthem,likelargerscalestrategicchangesthatrequireredundanciesorrestructuring. HowCompaniesCanCultivateConnectingLeaders Inadditiontothemitigatorsdiscussedabove,therearethreeothermeasuresorganizationsandexecutivesneedtotaketocultivateconnectingleaders.Withoutthem,theseleadersmayfeellikedoingandsayingwhat’snecessaryisjusttooperilous. Getcompanybuy-intosupportrisk-taking. Inordertorecognizethesophisticatedeffortsofmiddlemanagers,youhavetostarthighlightingtheabovefourbehaviorsaskeyperformanceindicators.Thiscanbeachievedthroughbothexecutivebuy-inandacommonunderstandingofthesepracticescompany-wide. Executivesbuy-inisimportantbecausemuchofwhatconnectingleadersdoisrisky.Itwouldbenaïveandidealistictoexpectpeopletorampuptheirperformanceintheseareaswithoutprovidingsupport.Remember:someofthesebehaviorsareriskierthanothers.Forexample,speakingupforothersrequiresexposingyourselftothetopoftheorganization,aswellaspossiblydisappointingthebottom.So,executivesneedtobepreparedtoaidconnectingleadersbyfosteringandenvironmentofpsychologicalsafety. Oncethereisbuyinfromthetop,boththecommunicationsandhumanresourcesdepartmentsneedtoworktogethertoupdatecompany-widelanguage —forexample,onbalancedscorecards,hiringcompetencieslists,andcontractstoreflecttheimportanceofconnectingbehaviors.Thebalancedscorecardsforexecutiveperformanceshouldalsobetweakedtoaccommodatetheimportanceofpsychologicalsafetyandtheirco-responsibilitytoensureconnectionsaretrulyenabled. Createdevelopmentprogramscenteredonbothleadershipandfollowership. First,developmentprogramsshouldbededicatedtounpacking,explaining,andtrainingtheabilitiesassociatedtoeachofthefourpractices.Theseshouldteachnotjustleadershipskills(i.e.howtoinfluencethoselowerinthehierarchy)butalsoonfollowershipskills(i.e.howtoinfluencethosehigherinthehierarchy). Inparticular,theword“followship”isassociatedwithimagesofpassivity.Developmentprogramscanaimsquarelyatmakingfollowershipanactiveaction.Todothis,youmightdesignworkshopsthatincludemanagersfromdifferentlevelsreimagininganddefiningwhatitmeanstobeactivefollowers,sharingandreflectingonthedifficultiesofspeakingup,influencingfrombelow,andlinkinghierarchicallevels.WhenIhaverunthesetypesofsessionsinorganization,Ihaveseentransformationintheroomandasenseofprideinbeingskilledatupwardinfluencing.Forconnectingleaders,learningaboutandnormalizingactive,thoughtfulfollowershipisasimportantaslearningaboutleadership. Investinbetteremotionalsupport. Connectingleaders,giventheirstrategicposition,areoftenpulledintwodirections,withemotionalandcognitivecosts.Soespeciallyduringtimesofchange,itisimportanttoofferthispopulationextrasupport,likecoachingandspacesforsafeconversationsandsharing.Thisiscrucialfortheirsuccess,butisoftenundervaluedbycompanieswhoputagreatershareoftheircoachingbudgettotopexecutivesratherthantomiddlemanagers. … Ashierarchieswithincompaniesbecomemorefluidandvirtual,middlemanagerswillincreasinglybecomechannelsforrelationships,influence,andconnection.Forcompaniestobesuccessfulcomingoutofthepandemic,theyneedtorecognizethecomplexandmultifacetedrolesofmiddlemanagers,whoarenotjustvisionary,inspirationalleadersbutalsocourageous,engagedfollowers.Theirabilitytoperformbothupwardanddownwardroleseffectivelyrequiresthemtodevelopverysophisticated,humaneskillstobringtogetherthelayersofyourorganization. HBRLearning LeadingPeopleCourse AccelerateyourcareerwithHarvardManageMentor®.HBRLearning’sonlineleadershiptraininghelpsyouhoneyourskillswithcourseslikeLeadingPeople.EarnbadgestoshareonLinkedInandyourresume.Accessmorethan40coursestrustedbyFortune500companies.Freeforalimitedtime! Whatyouneedtoknowaboutbeingincharge. StartCourse LearnMore&SeeAllCourses ReadmoreonLeadershipdevelopment orrelatedtopics Management, Managingup andBurnout ZahiraJaser,PhD,isAssistantProfessorattheUniversityofSussexBusinessSchool,andtheDeputyDirectoroftheMBA.Herworkfocusesonhowmanagersbridgemultilevelrelationshipsinorganizationsandmakinghierarchiesmorefluid.SheisthesoleeditorofTheConnectingleader:ServingConcurrentlyasaLeaderandaFollower(IAP).ForupdatesfollowZahiraonLinkedIn,Twitter,orhere. Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print new HBRLearning LeadingPeopleCourse AccelerateyourcareerwithHarvardManageMentor®.HBRLearning’sonlineleadershiptraininghelpsyouhoneyourskillswithcourseslikeLeadingPeople.EarnbadgestoshareonLinkedInandyourresume.Accessmorethan40coursestrustedbyFortune500companies.Freeforalimitedtime! Whatyouneedtoknowaboutbeingincharge. StartCourse LearnMore&SeeAllCourses PartnerCenter Diversity Latest Magazine Ascend Topics Podcasts Video Store TheBigIdea Data&Visuals CaseSelections HBRLearning