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Man, I’ve been all over Chris Brogan’s Blog this week… like some kind of fanboy. No matter, this post on Integrating Social Media- A Middle Up Down Approach really struck a nerve with me because I’ve been a part of this type of a solution in a large organization for the past year and change.
I know that I can be tough on middle management, in general… but I’m realizing now that I may have gone a little overboard in my generalization. When I think about it, I’ve also had experiences that make me think that Chris has landed on the subject of his next book with that post…
Don’t get me wrong, I still loathe the fact that a lot of good work dies due to my theory on middle management; but along those same lines, a lot of good can come from middle management as well. As Chris points out.
Four Qualities of a Good Middle Manager
I think that the key to making change, any kind of change, in a large organization lies in finding those middle managers who have the following qualities:
they have a vision Without a vision of the future, or a goal post however far away that it may be, there is no direction. Solid middle managers understand where that target lies in relation to their organization and they can see the path to get there.
they believe It’s very hard to convince people to do something that you don’t believe in yourself. For the most part, people aren’t stupid. Great middle managers truly believe that what they’re doing needs to be done and that it will make a difference. That’s how they are able to activate the people under them to start on the leg work.
they’re networked I tend to think that this weighs more on the side of being networked laterally. As great as top cover is, it’s not always available or even useful in a lot of cases, in large organizations. Having strong relationships with peers in other parts of the company allows a good middle manager to gain buy in for their vision and call in favors from peers when they hit road blocks. It’s a complicated dance, but the good ones know all the steps.
they keep pushing In any large organization, middle managers will inevitably and invariably lose momentum for the vision they have put forth. Things won’t line up the way that they should have, or someone will move to a different part of the organization, or there won’t be any funding. None of that matters to really good middle managers, though, because they are able to find creative ways around the circumstances that seek to impede progress.
What Do You Think?
So that’s where I’m at, based on my experiences. Have you witnessed the middle up/down approach to change management that Chris talks about in his post? Do you think there’s something to it, or not? Please let me know in the comments below.
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