The Challenge

A measure of an effective leader is the ability and foresight to take care of middle mangers during the process of organizational change.  My experience has been that many, if not most, leaders do not routinely appreciate this attribute and they do not deliberately cultivate it.  During organizational change the middle manager level is usually one of the first targeted for reductions, followed closely by administrative support, human resources and external relations staff. 

During the change process, middle managers are undervalued, unrecognized and often under utilized. They usually are sorted into three categories:  under performers, minimally acceptable/ undistinguished performers and solid performers.  The under performers clearly have not yet met expectations and are identified for termination during the change process.  Minimally acceptable/ undistinguished performers  have achieved most expectations most of the time and have not caught the attention of  leaders because they have neither distinguished themselves by causing problems nor by making extraordinary contributions.  Solid performers are those middle managers about whom there is little or no question regarding the high quality of their past performance and their future utility in the new organization. 

The under and solid performer groups are quickly dispatched--the first group to the termination list and the second to the retention list. The minimally acceptable/undistinguished  performers deserve considerable discussion and evaluation but do not often receive it.  Instead, the "we can take a chance" syndrome sets in with the group making the selections and the undistinguished performers are usually all retained.  Some continue in their present assignments; some are moved to new assignments in departments that are new to them.

The leader who understands how essential middle managers are to the dynamics and success of the organizational change process understands the following about them:

1.  They are the executors, the implementers, the enablers of organizational change.

2.  They are the most competent preservers of what was good and effective in the old "as was" culture; and can be the most devoted advocates and translators of the new "to be" culture, .i.e. the crucial bridge during the transition.

3.  They, more than any other group in the organization, can make the difference in ensuring that the change is effective, minimally destabilizing, and quickly processed because they have the most influence with the employees.

The Strategy: Leading Middle Managers by Disconnecting, Developing, and Cultivating

1.  Under Performing

The effective leader recognizes that under performing middle managers are a liability to the organization and act quickly to disconnect them from the management process. 

My experience has been that too often this recognition occurs only when a significant, traumatic and usually negative event occurs in the organization, such as a profit short fall, leadership scandal, or extreme safety violation.  This is to say that too often under performing middle managers remain in place too long.  Some can be salvaged and assigned to individual contributor jobs.   Most should not be retained in the organization  because most of the time they have an attitude that negatively impacts those with whom they interact.  The disconnection should be swift, humane and honorable.  Swift, meaning they leave the organization within the same day they are informed their services as a middle manager are no longer required; humane, meaning with respect for them as human beings with feelings; honorable, meaning regarding them with dignity and ensuring their exit is without public humiliation and embarrassment.

2.  Minimally Performing / Undistinguished

The effective leader recognizes this group of middle managers requires considerable attention  if they are to evolve into solid performers who add lasting value to the organization.

Consequently, the effective leader will ensure they receive the following (at the minimum) to move them into the "not-yet-but-becoming-distinguished" category of middle managers:

    - a coach/mentor who is not in their chain of command and who will carefully evaluate with them their performance to date, focusing on what they have done well, what they need to improve and what they need to develop, resulting in a comprehensive development and performance plan that includes clearly understood development and performance expectations and the resources to achieve them, with appropriate accountabilities and consequences, positive and negative;

    -  a thorough orientation to the organizational culture of their new assignment, including what processes are working, what are broken and need discarding, what are broken and can be fixed; individual staff strengths, opportunities for growth, and future potential; quality of working relationship between the group and their clients - within and external to the larger organization; strategic plan, including people, programs and budget.

    - active leadership oversight that is open to new ways of doing the business, new and possibly different human resource needs and configurations, and a willingness to take some risk as the newly assigned middle manager tries to satisfy the expectations of leadership..

3.  Solid Performers

Effective leaders understand this group of middle managers must be cultivated as essential models for their minimally performing and undistinguished colleagues and cannot and should not be taken for granted because of their past performance.

Rather, they deserve:

    - recognition and reward for past performance, and discussion of their responsibilities, even accountabilities, for assisting in the development of their lesser endowed colleagues who aspire to be distinguished and solid performers;

    - deliberate enrollment in the future plans and vision of the organization, especially a well-thought-out articulation for their precise role in that future that will respond to their need to feel they have continuing value to the organization;

    - a comprehensive development plan that builds on their past performance, including an expectation of maintaining that level of performance, if not demonstrating even higher standards of performance, if reasonable.

Final Thought

Contact me if you want to discuss taking care of middle managers in your organization and how to lead them effectively through organizational change:  E-mail:  jim@jimjoseassociates.com OR call me at 520 - 825 - 8015.

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