How important are middle managers? In the 1965 Broadway classic “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” window washer Mr. Finch was provided with a book by the same name. The book detailed how he could start in the mailroom and progress through the various levels of management without much hard work. In those politically incorrect days, all Finch had to do in middle management was pretend to be loyal to the organization and appear to be working hard.
In one scene, he came in early Saturday morning, loosened his tie, spread a few cigarettes and papers all over his desk, spilled coffee on the floor, then proceeded to put his head down on his desk as though sleeping. This worked well when the CEO arrived and asked “Finch, have you been here all night?” In short, amidst the many layers of management, he had no clear accountability for results. Instead, he forwarded memos all day prior to catching the 5 p.m. elevator to go home. In the scheme of things, middle managers were largely ignored by senior management. Those days are gone.
What are the challenges for organizations and middle managers today? Quick review: in the early ’90s, when organizations flattened, re-engineered, restructured, re-organized and re-sized the end result was less middle management but not necessarily less workload. Organizations shed multitudes of what they thought were “Ms. and Mr. Finch’s” to the initial delight of shareholders. Organizations were faced with the challenge of doing more with less and middle managers were faced with little job prospects for a few years. The result? Declined employee loyalty, bigger workloads and, in many cases, the emergence of inexperienced “team leaders.”
Fast forward to today: senior executives are off at an important strategy session and HR is left with the burden of finding and keeping effective managers that can get results in the implementation of organizational plans.
Organizations are lean and competitive and good middle managers hold a great deal of power in them. The challenge: there are not enough of them. Recent research suggests 60 per cent of Canadian organizations report shortages of middle management talent. The challenge is even more significant given the fact that middle managers have an enormous influence on retention and the discretionary efforts of front line staff.
How are some organizations coping? Often by promoting technically competent but inexperienced managers without much training. In the hi-tech world we’re frequently seeing this. Young employees that were good at getting results in their area of expertise are given the responsibility of getting results through others. This is as much of a leap as expecting that a great chef is capable of being a good restaurateur.
Recently I asked a vice-president of sales how one of his top rep in 1996 was doing. “Terrible” he said. “We promoted him into management and we’ve had complaints that he’s very bossy and dictatorial.” (In the United States, 12 per cent of employed 20-34 year olds hold management positions.)
This is a clear contrast to GE. With a headcount of 340,000, they take an intentional and proactive approach to choosing and developing internal leaders. Jack Welch and his HR leader spend more than 150 hours every spring looking at resumes of the internal “talent that will lead GE through the next century.” They do this as a process of determining who will attend the company’s management training program. They take the similar type of approach toward management development at all levels.
If organizations want to rise to the challenge of the shortage of good leaders for middle management today and future executives tomorrow they’ll need to consider:
•a selection process that takes into account a potential manager’s ability to develop other leaders;
•a formalized succession planning process that is integrated with clear accountability; and
•a management development process that is staged to develop managers into effective leaders/coaches over time.
So the reality? The days of Mr. Finch and the largely bureaucratic organization have gone the way of the typewriter. Organizations that fail to attract, retain and develop good middle managers may risk going the same way.
Chuck Reynolds is a senior partner with Excel Group Development, a Canadian-based learning and development organization that works with companies to enhance management and sales team effectiveness. For more information, visit www.excelgroupdev.com.
In one scene, he came in early Saturday morning, loosened his tie, spread a few cigarettes and papers all over his desk, spilled coffee on the floor, then proceeded to put his head down on his desk as though sleeping. This worked well when the CEO arrived and asked “Finch, have you been here all night?” In short, amidst the many layers of management, he had no clear accountability for results. Instead, he forwarded memos all day prior to catching the 5 p.m. elevator to go home. In the scheme of things, middle managers were largely ignored by senior management. Those days are gone.
What are the challenges for organizations and middle managers today? Quick review: in the early ’90s, when organizations flattened, re-engineered, restructured, re-organized and re-sized the end result was less middle management but not necessarily less workload. Organizations shed multitudes of what they thought were “Ms. and Mr. Finch’s” to the initial delight of shareholders. Organizations were faced with the challenge of doing more with less and middle managers were faced with little job prospects for a few years. The result? Declined employee loyalty, bigger workloads and, in many cases, the emergence of inexperienced “team leaders.”
Fast forward to today: senior executives are off at an important strategy session and HR is left with the burden of finding and keeping effective managers that can get results in the implementation of organizational plans.
Organizations are lean and competitive and good middle managers hold a great deal of power in them. The challenge: there are not enough of them. Recent research suggests 60 per cent of Canadian organizations report shortages of middle management talent. The challenge is even more significant given the fact that middle managers have an enormous influence on retention and the discretionary efforts of front line staff.
How are some organizations coping? Often by promoting technically competent but inexperienced managers without much training. In the hi-tech world we’re frequently seeing this. Young employees that were good at getting results in their area of expertise are given the responsibility of getting results through others. This is as much of a leap as expecting that a great chef is capable of being a good restaurateur.
Recently I asked a vice-president of sales how one of his top rep in 1996 was doing. “Terrible” he said. “We promoted him into management and we’ve had complaints that he’s very bossy and dictatorial.” (In the United States, 12 per cent of employed 20-34 year olds hold management positions.)
This is a clear contrast to GE. With a headcount of 340,000, they take an intentional and proactive approach to choosing and developing internal leaders. Jack Welch and his HR leader spend more than 150 hours every spring looking at resumes of the internal “talent that will lead GE through the next century.” They do this as a process of determining who will attend the company’s management training program. They take the similar type of approach toward management development at all levels.
If organizations want to rise to the challenge of the shortage of good leaders for middle management today and future executives tomorrow they’ll need to consider:
•a selection process that takes into account a potential manager’s ability to develop other leaders;
•a formalized succession planning process that is integrated with clear accountability; and
•a management development process that is staged to develop managers into effective leaders/coaches over time.
So the reality? The days of Mr. Finch and the largely bureaucratic organization have gone the way of the typewriter. Organizations that fail to attract, retain and develop good middle managers may risk going the same way.
Chuck Reynolds is a senior partner with Excel Group Development, a Canadian-based learning and development organization that works with companies to enhance management and sales team effectiveness. For more information, visit www.excelgroupdev.com.
