When you look for a list of ‘What makes a great Leader or Manager’, you get the usual suspects.

"They listen.
  They admit mistakes.
  They ask for advice.
  They are great communicators (because their messages are clear).
  They respect their teams"

It’s the same when we ask people to tell us about the best bosses they have had. What was it that set them apart from the ordinary? What made them special and good to work for?
 
In those lists, is one trait which is notoriously difficult to carry out.

It can often be seen as a weakness by those who don’t try to apply it. But lack of it can cause damage.

Humility – and a particular aspect of this leadership disposition: admitting when you are wrong and apologising.
 
I have a close friend ‘Cindi’ who has recently experienced this. 

They were accused by their line manager of failing to complete some mandatory training when this was not the case.

The line manager refused to take Cindi’s word.

After taking the issue further up the line, my friend was proven right.

It damaged Cindi’s respect for her line manager, who clearly did not trust her. But what makes this worse as well as being a real case of poor leadership, was no apology about the mix-up was given.

Has the line manager learned how to talk to their colleagues in a professional and supportive way? No.

About one month later (a Friday morning), Cindi, along with others in the same role, got a similar email from the line manager. It forcefully set out that they had received a message from HR about another section of training, and that the completion time/ date was later that day.

Cindi checked her in box. No message from HR.

It looks like someone else on the mailing list had got back to the line manager and told them that no such email had arrived because an hour or so later, an email from the line manager arrived saying:

“I’m checking to see if you have been sent the previously mentioned message” and to be patient.

Notably no apology that the accusations they made might be wrong.
 
On the following Monday morning, the message from HR is in Cindi’s inbox.
 
Any communication from the line manager?
 
Sadly not.
 
When it’s set out like this, it might look trivial. But there is a pattern here of incompetence and lack of trust.
 
Cindi’s respect for the line manager was low, but now rock bottom. She is requesting a different line manager.

How hard is it to say, ‘sorry for the inconvenience!’

That's all it will have taken.

What I never understand is why so many leaders and managers seem unable or unwilling to learn from both good and bad practice that they see.

Or maybe I do know.

Arrogance, ego and enjoying the power given to them by their position.

​Any comments?
 
 

According to research by Gallup, in 2024 manager engagement fell from 30% to 27%.

As we’ve seen previously, employee engagement is directly influenced by their managers. It’s The Role-Model Scenario.


The report suggests three ways to battle against this.

1. “Ensure all managers receive training to cut extreme manager
   disengagement in half”

We find it disappointing, but not surprising that globally, only 44% of managers say they have had training.

As the report says, even the most basic management-role responsibilities training can prevent them “feeling like they are drowning”.


What hits us here is that there are organisations that must be okay with having leaders and managers feeling that they cannot cope. How can that be productive?


Our suggestions:

*Leaders and managers need precise expectations, clearly set out and understood by all parties.

*Executive level personnel should make their expectations of the middle layer clear from the outset and stick to them. Any shifts must be discussed.

Also, senior staff must make it clear what lower levels can expect of them.

Get these approaches right, and trust will be built. Ignore them and more leaders and managers will feel like they are drowning.

     2. “Teach managers effective coaching techniques to boost manager performance  by 20 to 28%”.  

Good to see that the report says that training managers to be effective coaches is possible.
 
But there is more to this than you might expect.
 
Let’s make no mistake. The type of coaching that we expect the line managers in our organisations to do is different to having an external coach.
 
As a manager-coach, you will have skin in the same game as your coachee. You will be looking to achieve the same organisational goals, and it is highly likely that any successes and failures of your team can be attributed to your actions somewhere along the line.


The influence of bias and personal reputation protection can have a massive impact.
Our suggestions:

*Look within your organisation for colleagues who are effective coaches. They may or may not have accredited coaching qualifications. Indeed, some of the best coaches we know are pretty much self-taught.

*Consider training them up to deliver their approach to other colleagues. If they are not confident trainers, then look for programmes that will elevate those particular skills.
*We have clients who send one member of the team on a training course and ask them to cascade the training through the organisation.

This is very cost-effective and will naturally have your organisation’s values running through the content.

​Here is where good team-building skills are a benefit. Knowing your team members is at the heart of manager-coach role. And it’s at the heart of coaching too.

3) “Increase manager wellbeing by 32% through ongoing manager development
[…] and someone at work actively encourages their development, manager
thriving increases even further to 50%”

This has been the cornerstone of our work for decades. We work with people who are keen to develop professionally and generally they have the support of their bosses.

A key part is recognition of a job well done.

A middle manager been on a course to improve their budget prioritising skills? Give them the recognition they deserve.

Our suggestions:
 
Saying “well done!” is fine. For many of us it can be enough. But let’s take it a step further. Give that team member a chance to apply the new skills in a way that will motivate others to want to do the same.
 
An effective way of doing this is delegation.
 
By delegating new budget responsibilities to your colleague, you will be openly recognising their new skills, motivating them to carry on with their development and encouraging others to look for opportunities to improve their skillset.
 
But be careful, delegation is a tricky area! You need to get it right.
 
 
 
One of the suggestions is teaching managers effective coaching techniques. This can boost manager performance from 20 to 28%.
 
This reflects the views of Bhandarker and Singh in Global Leadership Perspectives. They report that millennials in India prefer their bosses to be coaches and mentors rather than having a hierarchical mindset.

This is something we see increasingly across all generations.
 
If we put this together with HRDrive’s piece ‘3 in 5 employers say soft skills are more important than ever’ and Gallup’s assertion that 44% of managers have had no leadership training, then surely it is easy to see a route into solving falling engagement.

Train leaders how to be effective coaches.

As HR professionals you know you have a critical role in equipping leaders within your organisation with right skills: coaching skills in this case.

​But never assume that the leaders and managers you work alongside know how to coach.
If you’ve never been shown how to coach, then it’s difficult to know what questions to ask.

Imagine what it must be like for a colleague to be told to ‘Be a Coach’ and they have no idea where to start.

With AI, the ‘what’ to ask is easy to find. Yes, there are many books and websites, but now the right prompt can immediately give you a list of questions to suggest. We’ve tried it.

As expected, the list is generic, but refining the prompts will get it to fit your organisation’s profile.

But, as noted above, it will be the soft ‘how’ to ask skills that need more guidance from the experienced professional like yourself.

Let’s be clear. The type of coaching that we expect the line managers in our organisations to do is different to having an external coach.

As a manager-coach, you will have skin in the same game as your coachee. You will be looking to achieve the same organisational goals and it is highly likely that any successes and failures of your team can be attributed to your actions somewhere along the line.

This is a completely different scenario and one we all want to get right.

The cost of recognised coaching courses with certification can be expensive. This is often cited as a reason for not sending people on them. Also, there is a lot of work (rightly!) for colleagues aiming for accreditation.

This is a workload issue that can be off-putting.

However, you can get your colleagues trained to an effective level by

1. using AI for coming up with list of questions
2. looking for books on coaching that take you into the psychology of ‘how’ to be effective
3. setting up your own in-house accreditation

I have found Bob Thomson’s First steps in Coaching a valuable source.

He talks about how to ask questions and notes how important your tone of voice is.

The Complete Handbook of Coaching by Elaine Cox, Tatiana Bachrikova and Daniel Clutterbuck is pretty much what the title says.

They get deep into the details.

Investigate GROW and OSCAR models, Solution-Focused and Person-Centred Approach to coaching amongst others. If you have a coaching background and have found a particular method effective, show your colleagues how to do this.

By exploring these resources, you can help colleagues become good manager-coaches. Without having to go on expensive, time-consuming accredited courses they will see advice such as:

**Build a genuine rapport: This helps the coachee to trust that you will bring your expertise to the situation so that they will benefit.

**Reframing responses: “I’m absolutely rubbish at that!” can be met with “Your high standards and focus on improvement is outstanding”.
 
If you want to get the best from this method, you might like to talk to us about effective in-house training strategies.
​
But the main thing is to react to the report and its suggestions. Get your managers trained to be effective manager-coaches and see your engagement blossom.
 
 
 
Bhandarker and Singh (2018) Global Leadership Perspectives. Sage. P103

A linkedIn post says that they haven't had a PM for 4 years. Is that good?​


If there's no feedback, at all, you are missing out on the chance for someone to thank you and recognise your strengths and accomplishments.

Where I've seen feedback sessions fall apart is when it is clearly a box-ticking, one size fits all process. And the ones who notice this are the more experienced co-workers who can't understand why it doesn't reflect their time spent in the job.

📌When you are one of the few remaining📌

Business Insider says that Amazon is trimming down its middle management.

According to Business Insider, they are increasing the number of direct reports that the remaining middle managers have whilst downgrading others – along with cutting their pay.

It is not an unusual situation and this is not specifically about Amazon.

There’s a lot we can discuss on this issue such as a culture of fear that this causes, but let’s look at the most pressing issue: what will your job look like if you are one of the middle leaders who is still there?

➡️What can you do?⬅️

👉Hopefully, you’ll be invited to talk to your boss about the situation. If not, you really do have to ask if you can.

👉Discuss priorities because if your workload is increasing, you need a clear idea of what are the most important things they need you to focus on.
It’s unrealistic to expect you to do big chunks your former colleagues’ work, along with your tasks.

👉If they are saving thousands on wages, they should be open to providing you with tools to help you do your new job efficiently. It won’t help anyone if you burnout.

👉Things like virtual assistants will be a fraction of the cost of a fired middle manager and could ease the pressure on you.

👉Up to date digital resources and automations can help too – but ask for robust training so that you know how to get the most out of it. You do not want to spend hours trying to train yourself.

👉Negotiate powers of delegation. Seek permission to assign some of your work to some of your direct reports. But be careful, they are likely to be as overloaded as you. 🔖If you need any guidance on delegation, send a DM to me here.

👉If you haven’t already, investigate prioritisation tools. This is another area we can help here, so DM if you need any advice.

It is vital that you look after yourself.
👉Set clearly manageable expectations with your line manager. And stick to them !

One last point. If things are not going well, keep an eye on the job vacancy lists.
​

One of the best things about working alongside people on our training events is hearing conversations about their work.



➕You can be sure that whatever course we are running – presentation skills, training to become expert in-house trainers, being a master facilitator or team builder, participators like to talk about how they are led. It affects everything.



Let’s be clear, here we refer to informal talking points. There are no questionnaires, just a chat. Therefore, no responding in a way that they think is wanted. Hawthorne Effect avoidance!



➕These discussions are eye-opening. None more-so than the issue of Situational Leadership.

Although we probably haven’t raised it specifically as the focus (unless it’s a leadership focussed session), the comments made are a reflection of this leadership approach.



➕We have listed the top 6 most commonly mentioned attributes that they like their leaders and managers to show.



The best leaders and managers:

☑️Are good at coming up with plans that match the way the organisation does things and have genuine value - not just being sycophants. This will cut friction.

☑️Clearly explain the vision to their team/ leaders effectively because they understand the culture and internal politics of the frontline. A real middle leader trait.

☑️Know the trouble-makers and how to deal with them. Can see why they behave as they do.

☑️Notice any value-based issues that can block wished for development.

☑️Know how enthuse their team to buy in to the plan and get involved.

☑️Have enough humility to know if things are going wrong and can work out why - then rectify things.


Our evidence is from conversations like these. We have more of you’d like to see them. Obviously, we have changed the names for confidentiality.



Here are two transcripts.

🗨️Richard: You’re not too happy with your line manager. How do they handle setting a vision for the team?

🗨️'Carlita': Frankly, I don’t think they have one. There’s a few of vague goals. The trouble is nothing that really fits with what the company stands for – at least, the way I understand it.  It feels like we’re just reacting to the latest fads without a plan. It causes a lot of confusion.



🗨️Richard: Does that lead to fall-out in the team?
🗨️"Carlita': Certainly. We don’t know what direction we’re going in. We end up wasting time on things that don’t reflect our brand or long-term goals. Causes a lot of friction.



🔖Our comment: We’re not sure if Carlita’s beliefs are shared by everyone. There could well be colleagues who do not need as much support to understand the situation as Carlita. This is where the leaders need to be sharply aware of the situation and different perceptions.





🗨️Bill:  It sounds like you are worried about ethical leadership. Are there ethical issues that impact your work? Do your bosses take any action to sort this out?

🗨️Venus: Yes and No! That’s the main problem. We’ve raised concerns about some very questionable shortcuts they have imposed. But they just brush it off. It’s very sad and very worrying! Either they don’t see the ethical risks, or they don’t care. Whichever,  it puts us in awkward positions.

​🗨️Bill: What do they do when these concerns are raised?

🗨️Venus: Nothing much really. If an issue gets serious enough, they’ll act like it’s the first time they’ve heard about it, even though we’ve been flagging it for weeks. It’s like they don’t want to get involved with anything difficult.



🔖Our comment: There’s a lack of appreciation that we can all see ethical considerations from different perspectives. Leaders should not assume that everyone has the same views as them. Work background and lived experience will have an impact.

The disengaged workforce. The need for engaged and inspirational middle leaders📌

In Gallup's "State of the Global Workforce 2024" [1], Dr Jim Harter highlights a significant issue: poor workforce engagement. He argues that the more empowered managers are, the more engaged their teams will be.

➡️In our experience with clients, we often hear of senior leaders who hesitate to empower middle managers. It can be a tough nut to crack. Giving control, even over 'minor' aspects of work, takes courage, especially in more authoritarian cultures.

You can be pretty sure that in such environments, "being inspirational" likely isn't part of the job description.

➡️But if you're a leader, at any level, ask yourself: Is it part of yours?
Clearly there are plenty of organizations where empowerment is embedded in the culture. In these places engagement flows naturally.

👉We consider it our responsibility to start asking what can be done.

🔖Is empathy a key factor?

Leaders who say, "Yes, it's mundane or a slog, but that's the job," aren't really helping—especially when they distance themselves from the problem. You know the type: the ones who think they are now above the problem.

➡️If you are a middle leader who recognises the challenges that a disengaged team is enduring, consider the less appealing parts of a frontline role.
What would you have wanted your immediate manager to do to make it better?

Are senior leaders aware of these issues? Low engagement leads to low productivity, so it's critical to speak up. Yet, we still encounter leaders who seem indifferent.

➡️Harter also points out that many managers themselves are disengaged, which makes it hard for them to engage their teams.

Consider this: By empowering their team members, these leaders can actually boost their own engagement as well.

If done with care and consideration to all parties, they will be doing something that contributes to the well-being of their team members and has a positive impact on the organisation.

➡️In my eyes, this is genuinely inspirational. Make sure you have it as part of your performance review.
​

📌The power of exceeding expectations📌

I saw this first hand in a hotel restaurant recently.

The restaurant manager worked tirelessly to attend every client to ensure they were being served to their expectations, then took it up a level.

He followed up immediately on any requests. He made everyone feel welcome and, in some way, a special guest.

I was particularly impressed by the way he looked after those of us who were on tables for one - clearly working away from home.

It was good to see how everyone was given this detail of attention. And it was appropriate. I could see that if someone was happier being left alone, he responded to that.

You could see that he was just as polite and courteous to his team. No barked orders, but calm requests and thanks for their efforts.

It was good to see someone working hard to improve the experience for everyone.

Because this is my field, I had to have a quick word on the way out. I told him how impressive his performance was.

➡️His reason: I like to exceed the expectations our guests have of us⬅️

It was a pleasure seeing him work. There is a name for it. Moral Elevation, whose definition is:

“A positive emotion that occurs when someone witnesses a virtuous act that improves the well-being of others. It can involve feelings of warmth, admiration, and affection for the person who performed the act.”

➡️So, let’s build that into our approach to Middle Leadership ⬅️

☑️Go beyond what your team expect. Improve the well-being of our team members☑️

This will mean different things to different people, but one thing is for sure – admiration and affection from your team can’t be anything but good.
​

When colleagues do not know where they stand, do not expect their trust and loyalty.

This post raises 3 questions:
➡️As a middle leader, what is the effect on you of having senior managers that are untrustworthy?
➡️What do you do when your suggestions are rejected but the evidence proves you are right?
➡️How do you approach a situation where your values do not align with your leaders'?

True story...
I met a cleaning team manager on a large holiday park last week. We'll call him Danny.
He is in the classic, problematic mid-leader position.
Danny is very customer focussed and expects his team to be as well. This means that when customers arrive, they open the door to a spotless chalet that smells fresh and looks immaculate.

⚠️But here's the problem
As Danny sees it, the company's senior management team is solely focussed on profit through cost cutting. This has meant reducing the number of cleaning staff and shortening the time they have to spend to service each accommodation. 📌Different values📌

Also, there is no compensation for different times of season - what works in low-season March is expected to work in high-season August.
This results in substandard cleaning. It's no surprise to see poor reviews and the low scores dragging the overall ratings down.

And guess who has to field the on-site complaints!

However, as Danny related, the senior team tick a "Good Management" box : They regularly ask employees for suggestions.
But then ignore them. 📌Untrustworthy📌


Danny has told them that having immaculate chalets will boost the review scores - and that will increase bookings. They don't seem to see the logic.
📌Suggestions rejected 📌

The situation is not helped by the fact that the company owners do not have experience in this part of the leisure industry.

➡️This is one for us to contemplate

🗨️I think it is more damaging to have managers who pretend to have a consultative approach than it is to be led by people who are open and honestly autocratic. At least you know where you stand.

When your team do not know where they stand, do not expect trust and loyalty.

In Danny's situation, he needs to build as much evidence as possible and get some of his team to back him. It is a good example of leading 'upwards'.

⚠️This is all fine in theory - or as the result of a ChatGPT prompt - but what about the senior managers who dig their heels in? How do we get them to budge? Please don't tell me they don't exist!

🔖I'm looking into this in depth.

🔖If you have any comments, please DM me. Be part of the conversation

​

"A great manager builds an ongoing relationship with an employee grounded in respect, positivity and an understanding of the employee’s unique gifts."

Gallup - link below

Two point to consider:
1) Whenever you read about motivation, it comes down to the same basic requirements. Meaningful work and recognition of work well done.

2) The best managers develop relationships built on respect and knowing the stregths of their team members.

➡️ Encouraging senior bosses to allow mid-level managers to build a culture of mutual respect is at the heart of what we do.

Guiding our clients to realise that they need to know their team memebrs' skills and atributes is a fundamnetal component of all our programmes - this is why you will often see a gap-analysis in our process.

➡️ We model the gap analysis in the hope that our clients will take this practice into their own approach. When you identify what your team members need and help them fill the gaps, you are showing them respect. You are not bulldozing them with things you assume they need.

In turn, this makes it easier for leaders at any level to give their followers work that is meaningful to them.

👉 Do not forget... what motivates you might not do the same for me!👈

It was good to see that Gallup's recent State of the Workplace 2024 report reflecting these beliefs.

We think this is an uplifting quote:

"An effective manager motivates team members, moving them from indifferent to inspired." Absolutely!

And the best middle leaders will be playing a big part in this.
​

Seth Godin’s recent blog post says that when you are in a leadership position you are in a command-and-control situation. “You get to tell people what to do.” This is the way many see it.
 
Seth argues that a better way is to align with the people you lead. This can be seen on hundreds posts on here. And a lot of us agree with that.
 
“Trust and the benefit of the doubt are more powerful and resilient than command and control.
It’s more difficult to earn this leadership role, and more valuable once you have it.”
 
How do you earn trust?
When do you arrive a place where your team and your managers give you the benefit of the doubt? As Seth says, these are harder to earn but once you get there, they are far more valuable.
 
Have a look at what we have posted here. It isn’t meant to be a simple “Top 5” type of list, but some starting points to think of the difficulties. A lot will depend on the people you work with and your organisation’s culture. That’s why we never claim that this is the ultimate problem solver.
 
The problems can only be solved when adapted to where you work because you know the dynamics.
 
How can you:
Gain the trust of your team?
 
By being fair. This includes being aware of perceived favouritism.
BUT - You’ll get some jealousy from people who think you are favouring a particular colleague. Avoid it.
 
Having team members’ backs.
BUT - get this wrong and the trust you have earned from your managers could be blown away. this can be difficult and not seen as a right.
 
Encouraging input into decision making.
BUT - only if you don’t always ignore the suggestions!
Too often we hear of people who are regularly encouraged to come up with ideas, only to have their managers do the opposite – or the thing they were going to do anyway.
 
Address any concerns promptly.
BUT – this is where your prioritising skills come into play. Be aware that is often the case that a team member will think their problem is more important than someone else’s. 
 
Lead by example. Be a good role model.
BUT – this is exhausting and what you are modelling might not be a good fit for your team because they are doing a different job. For example, being positive and always enthusiastic about your work might be fine for someone with a nice office, company car and international travel but not so easy for the frontline workers who are working in a booth and dealing with irate customers.
 
Trusting your team. Delegating responsibility is a common strategy to show this.
BUT – you’ve got to get this right. Do you have the authority to delegate? Does everyone want responsibility? Are colleagues going to be happy with extra workload? Unlikely.
 
The next thing to look at is how you gain the trust of your leaders.
 

​Things like performance review data, new targets, KPIs... your team is expecting important data. They are waiting for you to send it but you have not been given it or maybe you haven't had the permission to release it yet.

Your team nag you and start getting uneasy - understandably.

How much can you nag your boss?
Do you tell  your team what the delay is?
Do you stay loyal to your boss and cover their slowness?

Connecting people and tasks is a regular issue we hear about and help to solve. Communication flow is probably the Number One gripe we get from middle leaders. In particular: when they are waiting to pass on some information to their team, but this hasn’t been released by those higher up.

This raises questions:

Are senior managers holding back for a legitimate reason or are they just being slow?

Are they being slow because they don’t appreciate the urgency, or that they don’t care?

How does the middle leader approach them? Or can they?

What does the middle leader say to their team? Do they criticise the senior leaders? Do they stand up for them? Do they openly empathise with one side or both?

 
A lot depends on the culture of where you work and its different expectations. So have this in mind when we suggest this as a starting point when keeping your team notified:

"I totally understand how frustrating it is for you. I am in the same position. I am in regular contact with the senior team and have let them know that a quick resolution will be appreciated by all of us. They are not being awkward but only want to ensure that the information is accurate."
The important thing here is letting your team know that their criticism has been noted. They are not being ignored.
But what if you believe that your requests are being ignored by your manager?
That's something for next time. Any ideas?
If you want to contribute but prefer to keep it out of your manager's sight, send a PM.

There's been an increase in articles about middle leaders and managers who are promoted but don't really want the job. Sometimes they are referred to as "accidental leaders".

It's  common.

The problem is often caused by organizations who want to reward their talented employees,  but the money is not available unless that person is promoted to a leadership and management pay scale.

A key factor is not everyone is cut out to lead people or prepared to do so but they find themselves having to. Turning down the chance of a pay increase is a tough decision for a lot of us.

It's a tricky one because good organizations want to recognise and reward their best performers . But get it wrong and the damage can be significant.

For example, you will be taking a high performer away from what they are good at. Can they be replaced by someone as good? Difficult in the short-term, that's for sure.

Then what about the damage caused by their inadequate leader and manager skills?

This can wreck team performance, and cause resentment among team members.

How can we sort this out?

Find out if there is any way of transferring funds from the leadership and management budget to enhance a higher band of non-management workers. Okay. I can hear the howls of laughter! But has anyone asked? Or are expectations of this too low- do you know?

Avoid it in the first place

• Check if potential leaders are comfortable with the expectations of their new role.

      e.g. Will they be confident about dealing with conflict or delegation?
If they aren't then it's a red flag. Will a leadership preparation programme be the answer, or is it deeper than that?

​What if they are already in the job?

• Identify  training that fits their specific needs. Again, will this be enough?
• Don't overload them with too many direct reports; let them focus on what they're good at. Could this be retaining a good part of the week still carrying out frontline work and cutting back on the leadership side?

Watch out here. This often leads to a massive overload if not managed carefully.

Recognition without being promoted to manager: In larger organisations it might be possible give these star performers a training role across other departments and branches.
This is proper Change Agent work.

This will be enhanced by sending them to national conferences. Maybe even international ones. They are your organisation’s representatives. They can have a prestigious title like Global Ambassador.

The next impact will be allowing them to feedback to key personnel about the conference.


As usual, we are not trying to give a list of perfect answers. These are starting points for discussion and thought.

​If none of our ideas will work for you, that's cool. But let's modify and adapt to your workplace.

​Middle leaders: not just a conduit but people who can shape the culture of an organisation. From strategic drawing board to frontline application.
Middle managers are often seen as a conduit between C-suite and frontline. But this isn't utilising them enough. The brightest people in the middle can bring a whole new perspective to things.

Understandably, those at the top are required to have a broad, strategic view. It's in the job description. Middle leaders can tease out the intricate details and make them clear to those at the top. This will help senior managers make decisions that will work.
Done properly, it is a perfect jigsaw.
But it can only work if:
senior managers allow and encourage these conversations
middle managers have the trust of the frontline
middle managers have the communication skills to put their case


Sylvia Rohlfer, Abderrahman Hassi and Simon Jebsen point to research that suggesting empowered followers take a more proactive approach to what is happening at work. Bosses who encourage this benefit from team members coming up with things that senior staff might not think of.

A danger I can see is when leaders at any level feel threatened by what might seem to be a loss of control. It goes further.
In Global Leadership Perspectives, Asha Bhandarker and Pritam Singh highlight the evidence that millennials - and, I now suggest Gen-Z employees are looking for their managers to be more like coaches and mentors rather than order-givers.
All this suggests that we are heading for a time when the traditional top-down autocratic approach does not work.
Is this a new role for middle leaders: being the coach and mentor that helps the senior management's strategic message get put into practice?

‘Fight for your team’ seems a magnificent thing to do. Commendable.
But as an increasing number of posters here have said: unrealistic.

It is the classic middle leader dilemma.

But there’s no reason they can’t ask their seniors to be very clear about why they are issuing instructions or introducing initiatives. Suggesting that clarity is needed in order to enhance deliverability by reducing friction is a possible way forward.

It is not confrontational, it’s setting out your aim of making things work.

The best middle leaders will predict what their team will need to know. If they don’t, they will find out.

It’s about being authentic. This is not simply about fighting for your team, but having an acute  grasp of senior management’s perspective as well. Expectations in both directions should be agreed and genuinely understood.

Not sure about expectations? Find out. edit.

  “… dragging down businesses, dragging down the economy … stymying the ability of public services to do what we need them to do.” Anthony Painter, the CMI’s director of policy

This is only going to get worse.

I know nothing about nuclear physics but could ask a research candidate to tell me what’s wrong with this equation.

E_b=(m_initial-m_final)*c 

A quick prompt in a well-known AI tool can make me look like an expert - on the face of it.

After that, I’m sunk. I know the equation as a fact (meaning that I can recite it), but don’t understand it.

I know WHAT the sequence of letters and numbers is, but not a clue about HOW to apply it. In fact, I don’t know what any of it stands for.

It is an example of surface knowledge. Yes, an extreme, but worth making.

This is one of the reasons why new managers are failing and dragging their organisation down. The quick fix does not work.

YouGov’s poll for the Chartered management Institute found that 82% of new managers in the UK are “accidental” and have little or no management training.

Why do so many think that you don’t need any decent training in this area?

This is the point. Anyone can do a search or input a prompt on ‘what to do as a leader or manager’. I have a list of actions for finding out the performance of a nuclear physics research department. But what I don’t have is the knowledge of the real team, the real people in order to ask the questions:

• in the right way
• for the right people
• at the right time.

I definitely will not have the understanding of how to react to the outcomes.

 

This is why organisations need professional help. Leadership and management training is an investment with huge ROI. The CMI’s work highlights this.

Ignore it and sink.

If you want to avoid sinking, get in touch.

 

The Guardian (23 Sep 2023). Heather Stewart. Bad management has prompted one in three UK workers to quit, survey finds.