Yes, the middle management in most organizations is what drives execution. In an ideal state, this middle management ensures the vision of the top leaders is understood well enough to be translated into actions for the levels below as well as for themselves.
Akin to the great Indian middle class, is their namesake in the echelons of management- the middle management. Just as the former is a force to reckon with, so is the latter that forms the core of that which keeps the wheels of organizations turning. The larger and older the organization, the stronger the influence of this core in making things happen. It is where folks have been there and done that. It is where they grow to, from levels below. It is where they aspire to grow from, to levels above.
Yes, the middle management in most organizations is what drives execution. In an ideal state, this middle management ensures the vision of the top leaders is understood well enough to be translated into actions for the levels below as well as for themselves. They guide folks who join the workforce, training them to aspire to their own roles as well as for those above them. They are in a large part responsible for those who are brought into the organization fresh from campuses or with minimal experiences, and groomed for bigger and better roles. Hiring for values, skills, attitudes, the middle managers thus ensure that the “organization” lives on, irrespective of what changes happen at the top levels. They are indeed at the heart of it all.
Several times are CEOs worried more about that critical skip or skip minus one level exiting the organization than their own direct reports. Without generalizing, a good example is the idea that the sales heads of businesses (in an SBU structured organization) may be more critical than the SBU head himself. After all, they ensure that the moolah comes in, working with folks across levels below. Of course, one can assume that the SBU head himself or herself can run the show. But how often do we ensure that the middle management is made sure that its given its due importance to feel this indispensability that the top leadership actually believes in?
Whether verbally, in the form of appreciation or accolades or monetarily in the form of perks and benefits, do we do enough for our middle management? Perhaps we do or perhaps we don’t. It’s a moot point especially when viewed in light of all the policies that one may expect the HR department to put in place to give all their due. However, what is perhaps not done enough is the effort one needs to put in to ensure that the middle management sees enough opportunity for rising to the top. Coaching, development, skill enhancement are all ways in which organizations can ensure that a certain percentage of their middle managers are on their path to get to the top. However, there is a bigger force at play that goes beyond all these actions which are required to be ensured that one drives the possibilities of folks in this tier to rise to the top.
And that is the belief in their ability to do so. Organizations find themselves stuck in the myopic assumption that folks who have come up the ladder are only adept till a certain point. Having thus written off such people, their objective to ensure these cash cows stay as long as they can to be milked until others get ready for the purpose. These cash cows never do get viewed as the stars of tomorrow. Organizations choose to have those brought in from outside, thus belying their ability of grooming talent. These are the organizations that in the long run struggle to attract talent from outside, as potential employees have the ability to see how far along the corporate path do their fortunes lie.
In fact, herein lies the struggle middle managers start facing beyond a point in selling their organizations as great magnets of talent. Having been stuck in the levels themselves, they find it difficult to convince future employees of potential opportunities that may be awaiting them. So while the top may push them to get succession plans in place, the lower levels become more and more disillusioned, partly because their seniors don’t move, and partly because, they don’t see their own future in the path to the
top. The sandwich (between top and lower levels) managers thus become roadblocks to organizational development and hence to potential growth for the businesses.
With the propensity to drive and deliver, the middle management (sandwiched or otherwise) feels quite similar to the great Indian middle class. The world today sees the latter as the biggest driver for its potential size and propensity to spend, and yet despite its aspirations and dreams, it is the one that struggles through life, ensuring all concerned are provided with the best, but still finding it difficult with all its efforts to break the ceiling to get to the upper layers.
The point though is, that besides the economist’s way of defining the middle class or the upper class, there is no well accepted definition of what it includes. Similarly, in organizations, where does the middle end and where does the top begin is very dependent on how it is called out, understood or sometimes even perceived- at times based on lists prepared for certain “elite” activities and at other times based on how many levels between an employee and the top- one, two? Who decides?
Herein perhaps lies an important lesson for all in the Corporate world. While all may put the hard work and may have the right attitude, skills and abilities, it is not that all will make it happen to the top some day. That however does not mean that folks will not move to higher and better positions or remunerations. Organizations ensure that happens. When is one able to break into the “top” is a function of several factors some of which one may not always be able to control.
In fact, it is in the lack of finding such answers that several people decide to go on their own, preferring thus to be masters (or mistresses) of their own fate rather than being dependent on someone’s assessment of their abilities to make it happen. But for several who continue to be satisfied with their growth in terms other than the movement from middle to higher management, it is them that organizations should treasure and care for. After all, they are the ones that are the fuel that ensures the engine doesn’t sputter, irrespective of the constant feeling of being “sandwiched”.
About the author: A graduate of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, Bhavana Bindra joined the corporate world starting with Consulting at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), followed by almost 13 years in the Manufacturing & Engineering sector with the US MNC Cummins India Limited. Setting up and running businesses with expertise in the areas of leadership, strategic thinking, sales and marketing, Bhavana believes learning is continuous and experiments worth the time spent. This explains explaining her stint at a start-up in the Data analytics space, as well as her last role in the Chemicals industry as the Managing Director of a Dutch company in India.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house