Last night I heard it on the radio - the “latest” news.[1] A recent Gallup poll shows that only 1 in 3 workers are engaged in their work, and the most “bummed out” of all are the poor Middle Managers, from front line supervisors all the way up. One offered explanation: Middles have moved away from the hands-on work they knew how to do as workers and into this amorphous “management” business with people from all sides nagging, demanding, and complaining about them. The “latest” solution for these bummed out Middles: A more balanced work life, get away from work on weekends, unplug from emails, and such. (meditation and therapy might also be recommended.) I have a very different picture of the causes and treatment of “bummed out Middles.”
None of the above is news. Middle Managers have been bummed ever since hierarchy came upon the scene.
The solutions on offer (Have a peaceful weekend) assume that middle positions are inherently painful and incurable, and the best one can offer is palliative care.
For close to five decades, I have been demonstrating through writing and teaching how Middles can come to love their work, feel confident and effective in performing it, make significant contributions to the well-being of the organization, and be respected for the work they do. In other words, be far from becoming bummed out Middles. I’m aware that for most people, including Middles, this seems like an unattainable pipe dream. However, it is attainable and for all Middles.
The best I can do in this limited time and space is offer the essence of what I have learned about life in the middle. [2]
1. The cause. Middle is generally the most isolated organizational position. Workers have their teams, executive and boards have their groups. Middles tend to be isolates in the organization, and all their troubles – personal weakness, complaints from above and below, poor leadership, lack of respect – stem from that condition.
2 The solution. INTEGRATION. Middles need to integrate with their peers, regularly meeting together, breaking bread, sharing information (intelligence), supporting one another, coordinating their activities, diagnosing system issues, and more. The rhythm of Middle life is moving out – leading, managing, coaching the groups they are responsible for, then coming together – sharing, supporting, problem solving, etc. – then, moving out.
3. The payoffs. Should Middles follow this back and forth pattern of existence, they will feel less alone, be part of a valued middle peer group; by sharing information they will be more informed about the larger system; they will be able to share best practices (what is working), what’s not working); they will be less surpriseable and able to provide more consistent and informed leadership to those groups they are responsible for; and they are likely to feel competent and be seen as competent by others, while making significant contributions to the welfare of the organization.
For those who have been Middles (who hasn’t?) and those who suffer with what appear to be weak, incompetent, “bummed out” Middles, this knowledge offers the possibility of creating a much-needed revitalization of organizational relationship, effectiveness, and contribution. It might even produce greater engagement of those disengaged workers.
There are issues to be dealt with in order to create these powerful Middle Integrating teams, including the resistance of Middles to integrating with their peers. Which is subject for another show.
Last night's "news" makes clear how weak my megaphone has been. I still look forward to the days when Middle Integration is standard operation procedure for Middle peers, and I will no longer be tormented by latest "news" of bummed out Middles.
[1] NPR’s Marketplace, January 23, 2024.
[2] For more detailed analyses of the causes and remedies for Middle affliction see B. Oshry. In The Middle, 1994, which is an amalgam of papers on the subject going back to as early as 1972. For a human systems analysis, see B. Oshry. Context Context Context: How Our Blindness to Context Cripples Even the Smartest Organizations. Chapter 11, A Tale of Middle Systems. This is more demanding of the reader and more rewarding since it provides an alternate framework and language for understanding and navigating life in the organization.
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