When we enter a company and begin to analyze its structure and functions, the need quickly arises to revalue the role of Middle Management in an environment that demands flexibility, adaptability, and continuous learning.
What generally characterizes the people who occupy these positions?
» Permanence in the company
» Stable and outstanding performance over time (otherwise they wouldn't have reached this position...)
» Vast knowledge of the company, its processes and products.
» Ideas about how things work and what can be done to improve them.
How then is it possible to capitalize on these characteristics for the benefit of themselves and the entire organization?
Middle managers are responsible for employee morale.
The first key step is to encourage our middle managers to take responsibility for the work environment within their teams. While there may be difficult circumstances within the company, as leaders of a group, middle managers have a great deal of control over morale at the local level, and it is by developing certain skills and mastering certain tools that this responsibility can be fulfilled.
1. Create and communicate your team's own vision
The vision should include a description of how the group will evolve in the coming months, for example, what its main challenges will be, and what its long-term goals are.
This will help create a positive team atmosphere and engage employees.
2. Celebrate group or individual achievements
This can be done in very simple ways, such as sharing a daily breakfast or with a small gift. Inviting the manager and people from other areas can also be stimulating for the staff.
What if, despite all the work, the desired results weren't achieved? It's also great to show appreciation for the hard work, and then conduct a corresponding analysis to figure out together what happened and what we need to do to achieve our goals.
3. Provide support
Getting the tools you need to do your job better and supporting someone who made a mistake are often excellent tools for maintaining high team morale.
4. Be available
Listening to concerns, personal problems, and being willing to collaborate is a way of showing oneself and recognizing others as human.
5. Create your own mini-environment
It involves using some meetings solely to discuss the group's progress, reinforce achievements, and reminisce about moments of success. Suggest, for example, that the team can solve many of its problems by drawing on the knowledge of peers, without the need for the boss's presence.
6. Select carefully
New team members must not only be technically competent. They also need to "fit" into the group so that a positive atmosphere, collaboration, and shared learning are maintained.
7. Coach the team
One of the greatest rewards of being a leader is seeing people and the group develop. As they do, it's great to delegate new responsibilities and participate in various matters. This allows employees to better understand the task at hand and take ownership of the work.
8. Review performance
This is often an excellent opportunity to encourage team growth, not only in the more technical aspects, but also in the behaviors we want to foster. This includes encouraging them to trust each other more, accept greater responsibilities, and so on.
¿What is one of the best ways to maximize company performance?
The answer is:
| Systematically and creatively develop the capabilities of middle management. |
Let's try a quick exercise: Think about a typical quarter for your company. What proportion of management time was spent on each of the following three activities?
1. New strategic initiatives
2. Operations management
3. Building the capabilities of middle management.
In most companies, the time invested in the first two is at least three times as much as the third, even though spending time developing middle managers is the key underlying the other two activities.
This is for two reasons: first, virtually all strategic initiatives must be carried out by middle managers. Their flexibility and leadership skills will determine how willing they are to adapt their initiatives to the company's changing circumstances. Second, a strong middle management team can produce outstanding operational results, relieving senior management of the need to intervene in day-to-day decisions.
A well-functioning middle management team will proactively create a constant stream of new initiatives to solve problems and realize new opportunities.
This is where the importance of comprehensive training lies, tailored to the company's needs and organized to cover all aspects related to the position these individuals occupy.
Unfortunately, it seems that senior management simply assumes that experience, combined with some constructive performance reviews, will be enough for middle managers to succeed. In general, while some can cope with this situation, they usually settle into a routine of managing "as usual," accompanied by sporadic initiatives when major problems arise.
Lead = Educate
The essence of excellent management is excellent education. We can only create innovations and advance if our middle managers are capable of operating independently. And if we find senior management constantly challenged by day-to-day issues, we must analyze whether we have been successful in training these people.
Conclusion
Developing the capabilities of middle managers is a strategic decision for the organization. They are then responsible for successfully implementing the processes and/or products that allow the company to sustain and grow in the market.
Consider it for your 2006 plan
Until next news
