“A boat is always safe in the harbor, but that’s not what boats are built for.” Katie Couric
I was nearly 9 months pregnant with my second son and a National Sales Manager with a corner office. I was ready to go into labor at any moment. As my secretary put the caller on hold, she said “This man is really mad and I am not really sure why?”
I closed my office door and picked up my phone, after introducing myself I asked “Who am I speaking with?” The caller quickly identified themselves in a heated tone “This is the husband of the woman that your sales representative is having an affair with, oh and by the way, I am also a customer!”
No matter the role in the middle, it is always messy, but being in middle management can get especially messy! Unlike upper management, the middle manager is usually the one hiring and firing the young talent. Identifying individuals just coming out of college or still very early in their careers as “people with potential”. The role requires a tremendous amount of coaching, helping, advising, mentoring, directing, training, patience, energy and just sheer determination. The burnout can be often and unrelenting. On top of all the challenges and energy required in the role, it is very common those in the middle management positions are in a time of their personal lives that is also exhausting. Soon to be parents or parents of very young children. The demands from both work and home can be overwhelming.
Yet, the middle management positions often get little attention and much less compensation. Less vacation time than the more tenured senior managers and they are essentially the work horses for the company. Navigating the goals of the organization and expectations of upper management with the capabilities and ongoing development of a mostly inexperienced team of people.
When you consider the role a great middle manager plays in the trajectory and success of a company, I would argue they could be the most essential role of all. A great middle manager is identifying talent and developing the skills needed for an employee to grow and be a strong contributor to the success of the company. The middle manager is mentoring and encouraging employees to seek new opportunities within a company and once the skills have been mastered and their confidence cemented, they move on to contribute and learn more within the growing organization. Then that manager has to start the cycle all over again with hiring and training a new employee. A great middle manager sends off possibly hundreds of ethical, energetic, trained, skilled and loyal employees into a corporation to “spread the message” and build the foundation for sustained growth year over year.
The most important skill and/or trait that a middle manager can teach and pass on to a developing talent within an organization is ethics. Although individuals come into a company with what we assume are good decision making skills, the middle managers ethical or un-ethical behavior will lay the foundation for the actions that an employee takes for years to come. Being ethical in your actions and decision making. Sharing your decision making process and considering the parties that will be affected. Being as transparent as possible while working ethically and responsibly for the company you represent and the employees you support. These are the actions you take every day and the choices you make. An ethical employee works within safe parameters. These parameters keep them safe, employees safe and the company safe. Ethical employees are the secret sauce to a sturdy foundation.
Many years ago, I was at an industry show in Las Vegas. A yearly show that brings together a whole industry to connect and do business. One morning on the show floor, I was pulled aside by a Senior Manager who informed me they had attended a private pool side party the evening before. One of my sales representatives attended this party and later in the evening jumped into the pool and proceeded to play chicken on the shoulders of one of our customers. This representative was scantily dressed to begin with and a pool soaked game of chicken did not help her appearance. I was left with the direction from the Senior Manager to “handle it”. This is where personal ethics and a discussion around morals and ethical behavior came into play quite conveniently. I asked this employee to make a list of her personal and professional non-negotiables, what her moral and ethical compass would allow. How she wanted to be treated. We were easily able to have a discussion around how her actions could result in non-negotiables for her. We also closed our meeting with an agreement that she would not exceed two alcoholic drinks on any evening of a work function.
So when things get messy and trust me they will, always come back to good ethical decision making.
Managing in the Middle:
- Make a list of your non-negotiables both professionally and personally; where is your ethical line drawn, refer back to this guide as decisions have to be made.
- When you first joined your organization, what attributes did you enjoy in your manager, what attributes do you wish they had? Use these answers as your guide for your own management style.
- Managing young inexperienced talent will put you in many uncomfortable ethically challenging discussions. The best guide for these discussions is referring them back to THEIR moral and ethical compass.
The Heart of the Middle 