|
28/6/2024 0 Comments Colleagues do not know where they stand? Do not expect their trust and loyalty.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
0 Comments
28/6/2024 0 Comments Great middle managers do THIS"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. 📌 Making it Real for middle leaders: From AI generated infographics to real-life impact
Since AI has become a popular and increasingly used tool, there has been a swift increase in infographics appearing on LinkedIn and other platforms. A lot of leadership advice is being published using this method. As someone who uses AI to do some of the heavy-lifting, I can see why people do this. A lot of these posts come up with some very good starting points. This isn't a surprise because so much of their content has been scraped from established sources. However, there is bound to be a limit to what they can offer. Over the next few months, we will take the best of these, and by using our wide expertise, turn them into specific middle leadership tips and tactics. Here's the first one: ➡️Problem: A member of your team feels they are standing still. Their career has stagnated. 🔖Solution: First, encourage your team members to tell you when they are in this situation. ☑️ Then find out what they want. What do THEY think is holding them back? It's that simple. Often, they will have had a change of priorities since the last time you had an official review. For example, last November they had no desire to look for promotion, but something has changed and they now see that they would enjoy some extra responsibilities. This is common when colleagues have rejected the idea of any type of advancement or change of roll for years! The frustration suddenly hits them. ☑️ As a middle leader, you will now be able to consider what tasks can be delegated in order to get things moving. But do not forget, as a middle leader, you will probably have to run things past your boss - budget implications, for example. You don't want to promise things you can't deliver through no fault of your own. Also, this is a great time to use your 'leading upwards' skills - argue the case for your team member. Or perhaps a lateral move would be good. This is when you can use your 'leading sideways' skills. What can other departments/ divisions/ branches offer? In the perfect world, you shouldn't be caught out by a team member who is feeling blocked and ignored. But very often, we just don't let the right people know. Encourage your team to not make that mistake. Why do so many misunderstand what a "Boss" is ?
Titles like head of department, section lead, or marketing manager are commonplace. But one title you rarely see advertised is simply "Boss." And forget about "Middle Boss" – that's unheard of. 👉And then there's the ridiculous notion that a boss isn’t a leader. Too many on this platform state that a boss only gives orders. Increasingly I encounter perplexing comments such as: 🗨️"You don't manage people; you only manage objects"💬 It's a sentiment that puzzles me. But let's set the record straight – this is not reality. 👉A good boss has both a leadership and management skills. As a middle leader you need to possess a blend of them. Yes, you’ll be better at one than the other. That's where delegation comes into play. If you're lacking in one area, try to surround yourself with colleagues who excel in that area. 🔖Let's address another myth: the idea of natural leaders who don't need an official title. Sure, they exist, but let's call them what they are – influencers. ➡️They may have charisma and sway, but without formal authority, they lack accountability. In my experience, many of these self-appointed influencers are nothing more than troublemakers, stirring the pot without bearing any real responsibility. So, the next time you hear someone misunderstand the role of a boss by saying they are only about bossing people around, set the record straight. Being a boss at any level is about leading, managing, and ultimately, making things happen. #middleleadership #mastertraineristitute #middlemanagement 28/6/2024 0 Comments Empowering change: how pro-active middle leaders make a difference that is valuedEmpowering change: how pro-active middle leaders make a difference that is valued... lessons from a client
➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️ TRUST and COMMUNICATION Over the years, Company B has maintained an organization-wide bonus scheme, where meeting overall targets results in a bonus payment for everyone. But then, middle managers in departments that were always doing well, started to get complaints from their teams about an apparent unfairness. ⚠️ And their anger was obvious. The accusation was that while most departments consistently exceeded expectations, one department consistently lagged behind. In effect, the outstanding performance of the majority compensated for the underperformance of this particular team. 👉It is useful to note here that the frontline workers felt able to approach their middle leaders. This is an important feature.👈 Recognizing these concerns had merit, the middle leaders compiled data to present to senior management. They all agreed to defuse a potentially hostile atmosphere by being calm and factual (from experience they knew that going in with 'guns blazing' was a waste of time). The senior management team could see the point and took action to revise the bonus scheme. Rewards are now allocated based on performance. The constructive dialogue initiated by middle leaders had a huge impact. The way they went about explaining the issue effectively played a key part in initiating the change. ➡️ They: Listened to their teams ➡️ They: Knew how to approach the senior management However, an important question still remains: Why is there a significant performance gap between departments? Another task for pro-active middle leaders to carry out. |
AuthorBill Lowe. Leadership and learning researcher, author and trainer. Archives
July 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
