Anne's Column - Caught in the Middle

Anne McLaughlin, NZCJ, Dip. Ed.

An awkward reality of the corporate world is that middle managers are sometimes asked to implement and champion policies with which they disagree...

It might be HR policies that they know could cause hardship or ill will, maybe business change strategies they suspect may be haphazard or erroneous.

There's no denying the basic fact that middle managers are not in charge of the company. And there is a general expectation that they will deliver the message and champion the company regardless of their personal feelings. It's a simple fact of life that middle managers are usually asked to toe the company line.

There are no easy answers for the middle manager - it comes down to choosing your battles, being humble, deciding how much you trust your bosses and know what lines you are not willing to cross.

Your best options come down to expressing your concerns to your superiors and actively seeking to understand the reasons behind decisions. In our experience, many senior leaders are looking for courageous middle managers who are willing to challenge decisions and strategies, based on sound reasoning and delivered with confidence. In these ways you may be able to change the policy or, if not, come to peace with it and sell it to your own team. When the information you seek is not available, the challenge comes down to trusting your leaders.

These approaches can be useful when the task you are asked to undertake is not something you consider unethical. In the case of ethics your challenge is to know what line you are unwilling to cross and equip yourself to pay the price of your own ethical position. In all of these dilemmas the ultimate goal is to find a way in which you can be as genuine as possible in supporting the policy/change to your team - they will see through anything else!

Middle managers are actually in a powerful position. They know what their employees need and they also know what their own manager needs and wants. I believe they have a responsibility to use this power positively and become an effective conduit between upper management and staff. Voice your concerns and ask questions. Give your boss the chance to win you over. But keep in mind that some battles are not worth fighting - seek to understand, not necessarily to agree.

Trust in your leaders. Sometimes justification for a decision cannot be shared for confidentially reasons, or simply because the organisation is too large to get to the source of this information. Reflect on your relationship with upper management - sure respect needs to be earned, but that respect is also coloured by a middle manager's humility or lack of it. Sometimes you simply have to 'get in behind' and deliver the message.

Author and leadership researcher Tony Simons (The Integrity Dividend) challenges middle managers to know their own "bright lines". These are the ethical boundaries or borders that you are unwilling to cross. More importantly, know what these bright lines are worth to you - some values are worth it, but so is being able to live with your decision.

When delivering the message remember that most of us are more transparent than we realise. Often our ambivalence betrays us and we end up sending mixed messages. If you can say the decision is reasonable and explain its justification, say so. If you trust the decision makers, say so. If you still remain convinced the decision is wrong, then it is better to say less and focus on how to make the implementation work. You are walking a fine line between blowing your credibility by lying about your feelings and blowing your credibility by complaining about the bosses.

Addressing the challenge is not easy but there are constructive approaches available. Ultimately the middle manager's dilemma can be greatly reduced by building a strong relationship with upper management. This is an active, not a passive position to adopt. Your relationship with your own leader is reciprocal - it takes two of you to work at it.

Do you want to ensure that you don't get caught in the middle? For more information about Nexus Partners' leadership programmes, email us or call on 0800 4 LEADERS. More information is also available here.