Do mid-level managers receive the support they need to help them optimise their potential and also develop leadership behaviours?
Mid-level managers are typically defined as ‘manager of managers’ and are seen to be holding the titles of vice president, director, and regional managers. They could be leading functions, geographies, or a division. These middle managers are what comprise the backbone of the organisation. The work ethic and future readiness of these people is what differentiates the successful organisations from the unsuccessful ones.
Yet, organisations choose to focus most of their succession planning and development efforts on senior leadership and/or new supervisors, with the middle layer largely being ignored. However, trends indicate that, over the next ten years, organisations will grapple with increasing retirement rates thereby creating a crisis in succession due to the ensuing vacuum in the ranks of middle management.
The importance of middle managers cannot be stressed enough—they are the ones responsible for delivering organisational results. They not only drive senior management’s strategic initiatives but also manage people, budgets, and operational processes. Due to their varied roles, they face unique challenges and responsibilities such as:
Workforce—skills and training may not be aligned with the strategic goals and objectives
Process—expecting different outcomes while sticking to same processes and existing technology
Strategic goals that sometimes seem to contradict one another—for example, ‘cut overhead costs’ and ‘reduce turnover of high performers’
In recent times, most organisations have witnessed a flattening of structure to optimise operations, which has resulted in middle managers seeing their job profile change in terms of:
Jobs being enlarged
Wider responsibilities areas
Increased intensity and the pace of work
Longer and unrelenting working hours
Greater emphasis on performance parameters
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Denne historien er fra November 2018-utgaven av Indian Management.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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