The life of a middle manager can be a harrowing one.  You may be given many problems, but not necessarily the direct authority over many of the players to easily carry out the solution. Follow this recipe for critical success in managing from the middle.

First, know that everyone you work with is important.  Really.  That isn’t a trite platitude. As a middle manager, the connections you form with others are critical to your success. 

Talk to everyone, find time to make friends, and be open to others.  Most of all, become a careful listener.  In the position of a middle manager, any broken connections hinder your ability to accomplish your objectives. 

Here is the question of the day: How do you build teamwork in a period that has been punctuated by desperation?  Regardless of the team building training courses that your company offers, they all boil down to this: You must

1) Instill workplace pride, and
2) Understand what matters most to your employees.

Book Report

Enough
John C. Bogle

After many years of financial excess and risk addiction in the markets, we are reaping what has been sown in our economy. In his personable style, financial legend John C. Bogle, gives us the stark reality of how we got here.

He shares the story of his own financial theories, and the establishment of his business. Woven into his talk of financial markets, growth and investment, he shares many personal tales and gives us the real lesson that he is trying to impart...

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Your business has slowed as the economy has gone into a stall. You feel that nearly everyone has given you 100% of their effort, however it hasn’t been enough and cuts are going to have to be made. Some of them to very good people. Of your staff, consisting of 30 sales and support personnel, you are going to have to release 7. You have reviewed the job descriptions, performance reviews, tenure, attendance records, and productivity levels. You have also worked with other departmental managers to determine where overlaps have occurred and where some of the remaining positions can be consolidated. Two key pieces of information were realized during that time. The first was that due to hard work and an efficient structure you organization had been running fairly lean all along. The second was that 5 of the 7 positions you need to cut are easily recognized.

The dilemma is that the remaining two positions that need to be cut are difficult to determine. There are four employees with very similar records of achievement, time with the company, and overall fit within the department and organization.  You don’t want to make any cuts that effect lives arbitrarily, but your standard HR measures aren’t giving you much to work with that will assist your decision.

What steps will you take so that you make the right decision in these difficult times?

Send in your solutions!

Author Profile

Donald Kirkpatrick

Few segments of any industry come with an author’s name attached to its core principles, however walk into the office of anyone whose job duties include training their employees and ask them about “The Four Levels”. They will know immediately that you are speaking about the Kirkpatrick Model, developed by Donald Kirkpatrick.

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