On the corporate ladder of large organizations, there is a special rung I call middle manager hell. It's not where good people go to die, but good people feel like they die here. Middle management can be an important step in the progression of a career, but it's not the most intuitive place to navigate. I've been chewing on this topic for a long while, so consider yourself warned that this is a longer post. (#sorrynotsorry)
There are a myriad of reasons why middle management can be frustrating. I've put together a few of the main factors that stand out to me, but I'm sure there's more to this.
You answer up (and up, and up, and up). You are no longer protected from senior management and now have a front-row seat to watch the sausage get made. There's a lot of disenchantment that can happen at this stage as your former bosses and mentors turn out to be regular human beings who make mistakes.
You answer down. A large part of your job is explaining and enforcing upper management's decisions to your subordinates and their team members. You may not always agree with the direction your boss (or their boss) wants to go, but you're responsible for conveying that message to your team, helping them get on board, and motivating them.
You have competing responsibilities and loyalties. Managers at every level face this dilemma, but I think it's exacerbated for middle managers at large organizations. They're not on the front line, but they're close to it. They have the best seats in the house for a dramatic rendering of e-v-e-r-y-body's pain and frustration.
You begin to develop your resource allocation muscles. Middle management is often the first place where an employee has to begin making difficult and large-scale resource allocation decisions. That muscle is one which most of us have to develop. If you're in management at a smaller or medium-sized company, you may have learned this as a first-line supervisor.
Your list of confidantes becomes a lot smaller. This starts to happen when you're a first-line manager, and gets more drastic when you move into middle management. You may suddenly find yourself with only one or two other people who can be a sounding board if you need to strategize or vent.
You are quite literally the middleman. You're not yet high up enough to be able to make the decisions you feel are best. Depending on your organization's structure or your senior managers, you may not have any real authority or autonomy.
Bottom line, middle managers have it tough because they spend most of their days working through angst and growing pains (both theirs and other people's). It's the teenage-hood of a career.
Below are a few suggestions for how to survive middle manager hell. I'm going to break these up into two sections: one for outward-facing things you can do, and one for inward-facing things.
For dealing with your first line supervisors: coach them they way you wished you had been coached in your first supervisory job. Encourage them to experiment, make mistakes, and fail, and make sure they know you will have their backs when they do. This helps develop the trust and respect we all find crucial to successful working relationships. As much as you can, keep your door open for them.
For dealing with your line employees: make sure you connect with them in a way that's not condescending or patronizing. Recognizing their work (in a formal way, if you can) is a great way to do this because it demonstrates to them that you value their work and helps them feel a sense of purpose and motivation (check out this fantastic research from OC Tanner if you want stats on this).
For dealing with your senior managers: lean into your integrity. Don't make excuses. Own the work performance of your group as if it is (because it is) yours. Speak your mind to your higher-ups because that's what they're paying you to do. Make the courageous and unpopular suggestion if you think it's the right one.
To really thrive in your role as a mid-level manager, the bulk of your improvement efforts should be internal. The bad news is this takes a lot of time and emotional effort. The good news is it's the most effective way to make change and it will pay dividends for decades.
Take care of your mental health. I can't possibly harp on this enough. If you have EAP resources, this is a great opportunity to gain some firsthand experience with the process for your company. This will help your work life and work performance, but will also make you more aware of when your employees might need these resources.
Accept your role as the angst manager. If you're already a middle manager, my guess is you probably spend 70% of your day listening to people talk about problems of every shape, size, and color. It's a huge part of your job, and the sooner you make peace with this, the less frustration you'll feel.
Trust that your senior managers have good intentions, even if you disagree with their logic and decisions. This won't change the fact that you still have to promote something you don't like, but it will make the problem more bearable. I'm sure there are a few pained souls who wake up and say "I wonder how I can destroy my company today," but I'd wager those people are quite rate. So when you get frustrated with someone, remember that you're on the same team, and that they're doing the best they can with the resources they've been given.
Be honest with yourself about your professional goals, and make sure to express those goals to your management chain. If you want to keep leveling up, be direct in asking your bosses what you need to do to get there. If you're not interested in senior management or C-suite positions, be prepared to explain that decision to your higher ups, since they will naturally want to push you to get that next promotion.
Network, network, network. Develop a cadre of fellow middle managers. If your company is small or medium sized, look outside for people in similar industries. Your peer group as a middle manager shrinks, so you need to counteract that as best as you can.
Settle into your leadership style. By this point in your career, you should know and be able to defend your core leadership values. Keep studying and challenging your beliefs about leadership and management. Talk about your values with your team. When you make a decision, explain your logic and how it ties into your values. This helps your team buy into the decision.
Look for a senior management or C-suite level mentor. It's always useful to get perspective from someone outside your management chain who is a few years ahead of you. I think of mentors as your "work aunt" or "work uncle" because they are a trustworthy, wiser figure who can guide you with objectivity and without judgment.
One final important note: if you're struggling as a middle manager, now is a great time to invest heavily in your training. Some large companies or organizations will pay for executive coaching or may even have a coach on staff. If coaching is not your jam, take a look at the leadership and executive programs offered by the continuing education departments at universities. I'm partial to the curricula at Georgetown and UC Berkeley.
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