The middle manager stays in the middle, as the name suggests: he is the mediator between the strategic vision expressed by top managers and the daily activities of the operators, and acts as a communication channel from top to bottom and vice versa. This is why it’s a position that requires a lot of work on the method of interacting with the team, studying the collaborators and their personal objectives and seeking to draw lessons from contacts with top managers so as to grow at a personal and professional level.
The role of the middle manager in the company.
According to research conducted by Quadrifor, 31% of companies consider middle managers “important for the definition of strategies”, 57% see them as “significant for achieving performance objectives”, and according to 58.8%, they are “necessary for the proper function of the company”.
The role of the middle manager is also fundamental to top managers, who view it as a direct and constantly attentive connection with the team. At the same time, the middle manager plays an important role for collaborators at various levels of the company who know that they can count on a prominent figure to act as spokesperson thanks to the level of respect and consideration he receives from top management.
The middle manager of the future.
Business evolves, and with it the prominent figures that carry forward.
There are some characteristics that a middle manager must work on in this transformation:
Development of new soft skills that were previously only required of top managers.
Learning to listen and developing relationship skills to communicate in a clear and effective manner.
Agility within the company interacting and working with one’s collaborators and with other complementary teams: the middle manager must become both leader and coach.
Focus on the skill development of members of his team, while maintaining his role as support, rather than as control.
Focus on surpassing push logic: pull logic wins out.
Throughout all this, a good middle manager must also develop a passion for his work, which should coincide with the company mission, making everything more authentic and spontaneous.
According to experts Sarah Young and Dr. Allison Poss, the best way to develop the link with the company is to create a list of subjects that inspire us and that we know we are good at, and to then compare them with the needs of the company: in this way it is easier to identify the similarities which can become the basis for motivated and motivating work.
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