Leading from the Middle: Unique Challenges and a Way Forward
Early in one’s career, a supervisor may ask for direction or guidance to figure out a way forward. By the time you make it to leading from the middle, you realize no one is coming to give you the answers or even more likely, there are no easy answers. Part of the discussion of what leadership must embrace is the reality of dilemma – defined as situations that emerge where no one right answer exists, but rather a broader nuanced trade-off type of conversation that leads to a decision made based on the best information at the time.
It has become more evident to me as of late that this critical competency of balancing trade offs and knowing how to lead skillful conversations to that end is key for middle and senior leaders.
Take the example of a recent client who was doing a mass return to office. The speed of trying to pull this off within 6 months meant that plans had to be drawn up. Facilities leadership quickly realized they needed to make tangible and visible the trade offs that would be needed to navigate this transition successfully. Between speed, quality and budget, they made it clear to senior leadership that to work within the budget and at high quality, they would need to sacrifice schedule slightly by asking for a graduated schedule. Facilities leadership made it obvious and transparent the trade offs they were seeking, making it easier for senior leadership to understand the reality of what it would take to execute the initiative.
Kwela’s new Leading from the Middle course invites leaders to tackle dilemmas by critically thinking about the problem they’re attempting to solve, negotiating with peers to come up with the best possible solution, and influencing upwards to obtain support for the solution. The negotiation aspect forces leaders to look at how they build support or ask people to give up on things. In this way, middle leaders can develop their approaches to problems and sharpen their skills for navigating when there is uncertainty and no one clear answer exists.
Leading from the middle presents other challenges as well as these leaders are navigating complex multi-level dynamics inside organizations. It is necessary to maximize opportunities for connectivity between levels, instead of allowing silo working to settle in. For these reasons, Kwela’s course also focuses on developing empathy for senior leadership as well as the front line, brokering agreements, amplifying voices upwards and translating strategy into day-to-day operational realities.
Organizations with middle leaders may want to consider providing support around critical thinking and these ‘connector practices’. Because of the immense challenges middle leaders can face, it can feel like an impossible job – often living in a state of feeling it’s difficult to make anyone happy. There is also ample research that suggests this group of leaders is prone to burnout.
Providing support to middle leaders, creating psychologically-safe work environments where it is OK to speak up around real obstacles, and helping them build important skillsets is critically beneficial. It will lead to middle leaders finding their “feet” more successfully and feeling more satisfied in the work, also benefitting the teams they lead and the organization at large.
Learn more about Kwela’s new Leading from the Middle course here.
Joanne Spalton, Partner
joannes@kwelaleadership.com
