One of the keys to an organization's productivity , while also fostering a healthy and positive work environment , lies in the level of integration and maturity of its middle management team . The challenge of this position is enormous and often requires specific and ongoing support . In this article, I want to reflect on how to be a middle manager and not burn out in the process .

There is no doubt that companies are becoming increasingly leaner in terms of power structures, which means that the pyramidal shape is losing height. Obviously, we are still a long way from organizations based on holacracy as an organizational system, where authority and decision-making are distributed horizontally.

To move from the pyramid to the circle, postmodern organizational cultures are required that foster a more autonomous and collaborative way of working, based on trust and co-responsibility.

Although there is still a way to go, more and more organizations are showing signs of this new way of operating. But the reality is that today's "classic" organization still largely bases its operations on the distribution, and even the "game," of power. In this article about foreigners, refugees, and new forms of organization, I discuss leadership in these new organizations .

The role of middle management is key to understanding how power is distributed. In environments where the use of rank is unclear, opaque, or disproportionate, this specific group can suffer greatly in carrying out their responsibilities.

Similarly, in large companies with many hierarchical levels, the feeling of value contribution and sense of co-responsibility on the part of middle management can be very low; while organizations , or those with fewer hierarchical levels, can put a lot of pressure on this group, who can suffer greatly if they are not well prepared and integrated into the company.

Tips for surviving as a middle manager

• Understanding the dual focus of the objectives

Middle management , by its very nature, is the organizational role of the " bridge " between the objectives of management and the desires of its employees. In this sense, the person occupying this position must understand that their responsibility lies in focusing on both needs while striving to achieve them simultaneously, recognizing that this is the greatest challenge, as they can often be perceived as conflicting.

Highly experienced middle managers with mature leadership are those who do not give up on finding these points of connection; while the more junior or inexperienced ones are the ones who quickly take sides in one direction or another.

• Assume responsibility as a middle manager without becoming complacent towards your direct collaborators

In the (very common) case that the middle manager has been promoted in the past from lower-level positions, the temptation to make a primary emotional connection with those below will be very high and therefore he will identify more with their needs, emotionally distancing himself from the positioning of his superiors.

This is because their original “tribal” bond still endures on some level with the people who were once their “companions”, rather than seeing them as “subordinates”.

This often leads many middle managers to shy away from being seen as "bosses" and prefer (and even express) their desire to be treated as before; something impossible since the rest of their team perceives them as someone who is no longer "one of them".

At the same time, middle management continues to be more attuned to the realities of their direct reports, as interact much more closely with them than with their superiors, whom they sometimes see very little. This is why their level of empathy for the needs of "their people" can be much greater than their empathy for the needs of the senior management team.

In any case, the main obstacle to making a valuable contribution from this position is not fully assuming responsibility as a middle manager . Accepting that, emotionally, they are neither part of the "lower" nor the "upper" group will give them much-needed peace of mind to do their job; like the middle child of three, it takes time to accept that they are no longer the youngest nor the oldest.

• To make common decisions without playing a double game

It is very often easy for the middle manager who has not managed to integrate the dual focus to publicly position himself in one way or the other, taking part exclusively in the postulates of "those below" or "those above", and thus transmit it to the other side.

This happens, for example, when middle management believes that the decisions coming from above are not the right ones in their opinion, because they are not the best or are unpopular with their direct collaborators, but they comply with them as orders, letting their people know that they do not agree with them, but that they must be followed because that is what their bosses have decided.

Every time a middle manager does this, they are sending a clear message to their direct reports that management is wrong.

Middle managers with little experience and "adolescent" leadership can cause, although obviously not their intention, distance and distrust between the different hierarchical levels of the organization.

On the other hand, middle managers with a high impact on their leadership are those who constructively engage with their superiors to align themselves with their decisions (making requests as well as concessions), but when they fail, they still adopt the bosses' decisions as their own and communicate them to their teams without questioning management. However, they simultaneously continue to seek agreement with their superiors, as they believe this is how they must maintain a dual focus.

• To educate about the nature of the role

One of the simple actions that greatly helps middle managers to do their job, and thus avoid falling into despair, involves taking advantage of the opportunities they have to explain their "bridge" role, explaining (to those above and below) their intention to integrate the requirements of Management with the needs of the employees.

By doing so, they convey to the environment that their leadership is inclusive and whose function is to add, not to distance or divide.

• Not being jealous that they "jump on me"

Finally, I'd like to reflect on the (very healthy, I might add) reaction a middle manager when they feel they're being bypassed. This can happen when one of their direct reports approaches their supervisor for operational matters, or it can also happen when the supervisor approaches their direct report to resolve an issue.

When this happens, it is because the organizational process itself is giving signs that communication, operational fluidity, or perhaps the maturity of the different leadership styles are not at the desirable levels.

So every time this happens it's a great opportunity to reflect on what makes people (from the top or the bottom) bypass middle management.

If a middle manager approaches it this way, it will undoubtedly contribute to process improvement and the enhancement of their own leadership; and at the same time, they will gradually accept (and even encourage) that rules are broken more often for the benefit of the company's productivity and the well-being of its employees. And in the process, we will gradually flatten the hierarchy even further…

Enric Arola

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