ON THE FRONTLINE: THE MIDDLE MANAGER

(Part 3 out of 3)

What makes a Successful Middle Manager?

We can measure the success of a middle manager on a personal basis by looking at the raises, promotions and bonuses, and in a less quantifiable level, personal satisfaction, respect and positive appraisals.

However, when it comes to measuring their success, as linked to the larger performance of the firm which hinges on their successful occupation of their roles, it can be slightly more difficult to gauge success with profit and sales given how dependent a middle manager’s role is on soft skills, interpretation and dynamic capabilities (notably the skills which an MBA should impart).

“Our recent research shows that, on a personal level, middle managers should be multitasking, ready to accept and cope with change and uncertainty, they should be ‘multilingual’ – able to communicate both upwards and downwards, well informed with regard to their company's internal and external circumstances and able to make best use of any synergies between the two.”

The roles of middle managers are extremely diverse, varying from one department to another, as well as from company to company. Practical advice, therefore, must be individually tailored says Dr Christodoulou, adding that being able to draw on the various elements of the above types as the circumstances demand is probably a good starting point.

The personal characteristics of a middle manager play a large role in strategic behavior, with strategic baladeurs and synthesizers most affected by qualities such as assertiveness. Communicators and implementers are the types most affected by the internal environment – more formalized communicational procedures can limit the scope of the impact a manager can make.

“Finally, one should always be aware of a middle manager’s political behavior as regards procedural justice within an organization,” Dr Christodoulou warns. “If middle managers feel they are being treated unfairly and that they are not engaged as they should, they may develop a shadow behavior that could, at worst, sabotage a project.”

On the Frontline: the Vulnerability of the Middle Manager

The dynamic nature of the middle manager’s role, while not without its positives, also sadly means that they are vulnerable to change. In the late 90s, for example, many middle managers lost their jobs as a result of a slew of mergers and acquisitions.

“Middle managers are the agents and the victims of change since they are 'crushed in the middle’,” says Dr Christodoulou. “It seems that they were laid off exactly for the same reasons they were important: their place in a firm’s hierarchy, their multi-task job description, their experience and age.” But this is not the basis for a sob story, he qualifies.

“It is not a matter of being prudent or fair, it is an element of their job's nature, their role's genetic construction if you prefer. They are managers in very neuralgic positions, where elements such as information, authority, and responsibility are disseminated throughout the organization.  Being in such a position, you need to learn and adapt very quickly both for personal and organizational reasons.”

The hazards of being on the frontline, are many – but then so are the opportunities for success. Proving yourself in a middle management role is as good a qualification for a senior management position as you can get – and that, after all, is the ultimate goal of many an ambitious MBA.

Fuente: QS TOP MBA

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HOLACRACY (by Dilbert)

HOLACRACY (by Dilbert)

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

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ON THE FRONTLINE: THE MIDDLE MANAGER

(Part 2 out of 3)

Management Types: from Synthesizer to Communicator

From this we can perhaps glean that the middle manager’s role is multifarious. However, as with any stratum of the professional world – particularly management – different people work in different ways. Based on literature in the area, Dr Christodoulou identifies several widely accepted management types in the realm of the middle manager.

Synthesizer

The main role of this management type is to collect information from all the possible sources, to process and impart them with a practical and strategic meaning within the company’s vision, and to present them in a way which prepares the field for any following proposals directed towards to the top management.

Facilitator

This facilitator has to gather knowledge and information gleaned from their experiences and interfuse it through the whole organization; a matter of organizational learning. This management type has to support his or her subordinates during difficult personal and professional periods. Finally, the facilitator has to fight against inertia by creating a climate that favors experimentation along with the development of new ideas.

Implementer

The role of the implementer is to turn the indefinite goals of top managements’ business strategies into specific action plans that are more easily understood by the lower hierarchical levels of the organizations. Clearly, this creates some scope for creativity in interpretation, depending on the formality of processes.

Champion

The champion promotes strategic options upwards, and detects potential and capability inside the organization. These tasks are often non-official, although there are many examples where such actions have been the catalyst behind important changes or innovations, so this management type – focused on ensuring others don’t get overlooked – should not be overlooked themselves!

Communicator

The communicator is responsible for the morality and psychology of their subordinates, with the goal of making them feel safe – almost akin to a therapist. They convey requests upwards and communicate with cooperators at all levels of the hierarchy.

In his research with Professor Vassilis Papadakis, Christodoulou came to understand that these roles varied under different contexts. “For example, in Greece's turbulent environment and financial crises another role seemed to emerge – the ‘strategic baladeur'; a completely differentiated role, emerging in response to contemporary corporate and market needs. The behavior of this management type is multitasking and adaptive according to necessity.”

Fuente: QS TOP MBA

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Taller de ESTRATEGIAS EFECTIVAS para ESCENARIOS TURBULENTOS

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GOALS - METAS (by Dilbert)

GOALS - METAS (by Dilbert)

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

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Taller de ESTRATEGIAS EFECTIVAS para ESCENARIOS TURBULENTOS

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ON THE FRONTLINE: THE MIDDLE MANAGER

(Part 1 out of 3)

MBAs – prospective, studying, or degree holding – are an ambitious demographic. The 2013 QS TopMBA.com Applicant Surveyshowed that 43.2% of surveyed MBA applicants saw themselves as a CEO or director of a large company in a decade’s time.

However, it’s fairly unlikely that one will come out of one’s MBA and simply fall into such a role. There are a few steps on the career ladder that will have to be negotiated first – namely ones that fall into the category of middle manager, typically defined as managers who have at least two hierarchical levels below them.

The middle manager, like the bureaucrat, often gets a negative press. Neither can it be said that the term carries with it strong connotations of glamour or power. However, is this reputation somewhat unfair?  In terms of strategic decision making, people management and implementation, these middle levels of management are surely an instrumental part of any larger organization’s success – or failure.

Role of middle managers in business strategy

Dr Ioannis Christodoulou, a senior lecturer in business strategy at Westminster Business School, emphasizes the strategic importance of the middle manager: “Like it or not, the middle manager is a crucial part of the contemporary business world. Unique attention should be paid to them as a totally crucial workforce inside an organization. Middle managers are always involved in the frontline action.”

Despite this, Dr Christodoulou argues, the role of the middle manager and their strategic importance has been somewhat overlooked. “Although plenty of previous authors have made efforts to identify how middle managers should be managed by a top level perspective, very few have actually looked into what exactly middle managers do inside an organization in terms of strategic decision making and behavior, in terms of what makes them successful or a threat and how this is linked to the performance of the company.”

The actions of middle managers, he continues, can also be a window into an organization, allowing insight into how business strategy is implemented, how strategic decision making is translated into action, how change processes are managed, and the creation of core competences and competitive advantage is maintained.

Strategic Decision Making to Create Success

The military metaphor of middle managers being on the frontline is apt. Their role is to interpret and translate the larger tactical notions of the business strategy of generals into action from the foot soldiers, reacting when things don’t go to plan and moving quickly to seize unexpected opportunities.

“Middle managers have a clear effect on a company's implementation processes; as competition rates and the pace of change are increasing rapidly, they are more empowered to take strategic actions and hold a greater amount of responsibility to deliver them successfully,” says Dr Christodoulou.

The metaphor extends to communications, as they work to both convey orders from above, as well as conditions in the trenches.

“Middle managers clearly affect how strategic decision making is formulated and implemented. At the same time they are responsible for the effective two way communication from the bottom to the highest levels of hierarchy. That implies that they are the information gatekeepers, responsible for transforming and giving meaning to information from all levels of the organization. In some cases they translate the vision of the top management to the lower levels but in some other cases they communicate upward, channeling ideas from the lower levels towards the top.”

Knowledge is power as they say, and it’s clear how being in possession of information which others need puts the middle manager in a position of power and responsibility.  Consciously or not, this gatekeeper role means the personal stamp of the middle manager will be put on operations.

Fuente: QS TOP MBA

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DIFFICULT CO-WORKERS - COMPAÑEROS DE TRABAJO DIFÍCILES

DIFFICULT CO-WORKERS - COMPAÑEROS DE TRABAJO DIFÍCILES

(by Dilbert)

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

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Taller de ESTRATEGIAS EFECTIVAS para ESCENARIOS TURBULENTOS

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MINDFUL LEADERSHIP: UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT AND PRACTICE

What is mindful leadership and why does it matter?  Chris Saunders, FTMBA director at Lancaster University Management School, explains why being a better manager and a better leader requires a more holistic perspective than is often acknowledged

How to be a good manager

Does learning how to be a good manager also mean learning to be a good leader? Saunders believes that the answer to this question lies in understanding the close relationship between leadership and management.

“If you’re a good manager, then you’ll be able to decide what needs to be focused on, you will be able to come up with good policies, good procedures, and you will have good methods of implementing those policies. You will be able to plan well, to measure what you’re doing, and to take your team with you,” says Saunders.

Leadership, on the other hand, calls for a wider vision. “Where a good leader comes from is really understanding his or her purpose, and the purpose of the organization. This enables you to understand where you must focus. When you’re in a position of leadership there are huge demands on your time. You have generally got to the position because you’ve been very good at managing something, at the detail, but now as a leader you have to let go of some of that detail in order to allow others to be able to grow into their roles, and so it is imperative that you understand where you will add most value. An understanding of your purpose helps with this,” he says.

Saunders also believes that while it is possible to teach a person how to be a good manager, you can’t always teach them to be a good leader. “You can give them ideas or theories about mindful leadership, and you can help them with methods on how to reflect on what they do so that they can learn from their experience, which is very critical, but you only really learn how to lead from the experience of actually doing it. That’s the only way you learn leadership, you don’t learn it from sitting in a classroom, you learn it from getting out and taking leadership,” says Saunders, adding that on the MBA program at Lancaster University Management School, students work with a variety of companies and charities in order to gain and reflect on their experiences to improve their leadership abilities.

Mindfulness in the workplace

Mindfulness in the workplace is an idea that is impressed upon many MBA programs, including Lancaster’s in which it is central, and is crucial both to managers and leaders. So what does it entail?

Saunders explains that his school’s approach to mindful leadership has its roots in Artistole’s three approaches to knowledge: episteme, techné and phronesis.

“Episteme is essentially knowledge, and on an MBA this is the knowledge you get from core courses such as accounting, marketing or operations.  Techné refers to the skills needed to manage, such as negotiation and presentation skills, skills that can be gained through training. Phronesis best translates as having the practical wisdom needed to make good decisions. This is something that can only be gained through experience, and can only be built if one can learn from experience," says Saunders.

He explains that part of the concept of mindfulness in the workplace is being aware of how you think and act and how that impacts on others.

“The ideas of mindfulness can be taught. For example, on our program what we get students to do is use different reflective techniques to understand a little bit more about themselves, their cognitive processes, and what captures their attention at any one time. And that helps them develop skills for mindfulness.”

General Mills – a Fortune 500 company in the food industry – has such a program, where employees use meditation techniques to help them focus and understand how the mind works in relation to the information overload most people are subject to.

Saunders adds that the concept of mindfulness is a discipline unto itself. “You can’t just get it on the course. You must learn disciplined reflection, and apply this to your experience, which helps you become more mindful. Being mindful helps students to develop practical wisdom, and they capture this by defining the principles they have for managing and leading. The principles are the things they consider important for themselves as a manager or leader, regardless of the job or company in which they work,” he says.

Defining leadership qualities

Leadership qualities are not something which can be defined in a textbook. Again, mindfulness is required.

“People generally come in to a leadership class looking to be told the answer as to what leadership is. But, if it’s a good leadership class they’ll come out of it understanding that leadership is different for each person. So, it depends on who you are and your context and it depends on the environment in which you’re leading. Context is very important,” says Saunders.

“We try to get our MBAs to think of mindful leadership as something you do for your whole life. We help them to look back at their life and learn from it. Leadership is an on-going apprenticeship, and the key quality of a leader is the ability to reflect on experience, and to learn from the people around you. So, a key quality of a leader is a desire to learn; the desire to be curious; and the ability to be mindful,” he concludes.

Fuente: QS TOP MBA

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CRITICIZE THE BEHAVIOR - CRITICA LA CONDUCTA

CRITICIZE THE BEHAVIOR - CRITICA LA CONDUCTA

(by Dilbert)

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

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Programa Ejecutivo en GESTIÓN DEL CAMBIO

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Taller de ESTRATEGIAS EFECTIVAS para ESCENARIOS TURBULENTOS

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