How do you decode the Middle Riddle? What are the most relevant issues involved with middle managers in the organisations?
SB “Ike was like a giant umbrella. He absorbed what was coming down from above, shielded his commanders from higher authority, and about them to fight the war without excessive second-guessing.” – Jean Edward Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace. This is a textbook definition of the Middle Manager.
Simon Sinek says that middle management is the toughest job in an organisation and it is not difficult to see why. The role requires two different and conflicting functions by the middle manager – The first is Entrepreneurial and is about growth, innovation, implementation of new ideas and is largely the task of the management layers above. The second is the Maintenance function which is to ensure current performance and efficiencies and therefore needs downward focus. Each of these functions require the...
