I'm a middle manager and it's quite challenging and rewarding at the same time. I can resonate with all the content of this post, which it a lot. Thanks Gaurav.
Leaving here a relevant quote from Andy Grove, the author of High Output Management:
"As a middle manager, you are in effect a chief executive of an organization yourself… As a micro CEO, you can improve your own and your group's performance and productivity, whether or not the rest of the company follows suit."
Love that quote, thanks Rafa! HOM is one of my favorite leadership books, and you’re right about how every middle manager is effectively the “CEO” of their own team/org.
I’m a big believer that bosses should do everything they can to accommodate good employees. Too many use rules to control instead of support. I always say I’m a bender, not a breaker—there’s almost always a way to work with the rules instead of against them.
Such a great post Gaurav. I do relate with many things you have written.
The hardest part to me is when you have to cascade to your team something which you haven't fully bought in yourself.
However, a Key trait of leadership is taking personal accountability, so it is our responsibility to seek clarity from above to better serve those in our team.
Thank you Raffaele! Agreed that’s the middle manager’s responsibility to “own” the decisions being cascaded down from the top, and that’s what makes it harder!
I'm a middle manager and it's quite challenging and rewarding at the same time. I can resonate with all the content of this post, which it a lot. Thanks Gaurav.
Leaving here a relevant quote from Andy Grove, the author of High Output Management:
"As a middle manager, you are in effect a chief executive of an organization yourself… As a micro CEO, you can improve your own and your group's performance and productivity, whether or not the rest of the company follows suit."
Love that quote, thanks Rafa! HOM is one of my favorite leadership books, and you’re right about how every middle manager is effectively the “CEO” of their own team/org.
I’m a big believer that bosses should do everything they can to accommodate good employees. Too many use rules to control instead of support. I always say I’m a bender, not a breaker—there’s almost always a way to work with the rules instead of against them.
Thanks Bette! Yeah, bender is better than breaker!
Such a great post Gaurav. I do relate with many things you have written.
The hardest part to me is when you have to cascade to your team something which you haven't fully bought in yourself.
However, a Key trait of leadership is taking personal accountability, so it is our responsibility to seek clarity from above to better serve those in our team.
Thank you Raffaele! Agreed that’s the middle manager’s responsibility to “own” the decisions being cascaded down from the top, and that’s what makes it harder!