The role of the middle manager has already evolved beyond recognition

Cast yourself back to the early 1990s.  No internet, no email, no instant messaging or video calls.  Communication was slow and structured which reflected the hierarchical, top-down nature of many organisations.  The average middle manager acted as an administrative gatekeeper, controlling the bridge of communication and flow of information between executives, support functions and operational staff.

Technological advancement of the last 30 years has evolved the middle manager role beyond recognition. Now the middle layer takes on an increasingly strategic role in what have become much flatter organisational structures. Responsible for managing up, down and across. Middle managers are the driving force of business. They are the engine of performance and they have become responsible for everything from influencing and shaping the vision to communicating and executing the strategy.

It’s not surprising that as these roles have become less bureaucratic and administrative, ‘softer’ skills have become more important. We all know the best managers are the ones that can connect with you on a personal level and have the meaningful conversations that create a sense of belonging first and foremost, ignite commitment and drive performance. In other words – to be successful, middle managers must now develop their people skills in empathy, active listening, and influencing others.

But we’ve still not got it right. Middle managers cope with high stress and often little thanks.

We are not making the middle manager role easy though, when it’s never ‘enough’ and lacking in meaningful reward. Organisations are increasingly asking middle managers to do more with less as businesses continue to tighten belts and squeeze out efficiency. Middle manager workloads are high, expectations are higher, and both the external and internal operating contexts are often uncertain, changing and ambiguous. While we know that ‘ruthless prioritisation’ is the answer, it’s almost impossible to achieve. It’s no surprise that a global pandemic has forced many to re-consider their priorities, lifestyle and options, and that younger generations are shying away from progression into middle management in search of roles that offer less stress, more meaning.

The advancement of AI and agentic workforces could change everything. Again.

And what’s more we are facing into a very real and imminent scenario of being on the brink of another major shift in the way our workplaces operate. As AI capabilities continue to advance and business continues to de-layer organisational structures, middle managers may once again find themselves in a very different environment altogether. One where they are managing a broader, more cross-functional set of responsibilities, a mix of human and AI agentic teams, and perhaps in many cases even less resource.

Beyond the initial reaction of fear, this future holds an exciting opportunity for middle managers to make higher-value, more meaningful contributions to the business performance. But doing so relies on an enhanced set of capabilities over the ones needed today.

To succeed in the future middle managers will need different skills and capabilities.

If business wants the middle layer of their organisation to succeed, they must look to upskill and equip them in the essential skills of the future. This will become less about being the most applauded subject matter expert operating with the highest technical proficiency. Going forwards, leadership development must focus on a combination of:

• the technological competence required to manage workloads in an AI world. This is about understanding AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity and having expert technical proficiency;
• the emotional and people competence required to lead, connect and collaborate with other humans. This is about building individual, team and organisational resilience and adaptability to manage through changing environments. It’s about developing a growth mindset that celebrates learning, continuous improvement and the courage to overcome set backs. It’s about creating strong teams built on trust and under values-led leadership. It’s about driving ownership and accountability through organisations to make things happen.
• the cognitive competence to think critically and creatively in the face of ongoing disruption. People will continue to play an essential role, always, and even in an AI-first world, the human ability to think critically, with curiosity and a growth mindset will continue to be the essential ingredient to continued success and innovation.

But leadership development alone is not enough. It’s time to reinvent middle management and strengthen leadership at the essential core.

And yet, even if capability building will become an important lever, it’s not enough by itself. We know that even the very best leadership development courses don’t change business by themselves. It will take more than a 2-hour, 2-day, 2-week training to be able to shift what it means to be a middle manager, to embed a shift in ways of working that allows for higher-value contribution, to ensure that executives are playing a role in empowering this layer to step up. It will take a reinvention of middle management to strengthen leadership at the essential core.

The reinvention of middle management requires a systemic approach.

If we really want to shift the role of middle managers for the future, it will take a systemic approach that reviews organisational culture holistically, going beyond the mission statement and values.

It’s about reviewing the embedded ways of working in the organisation that come to characterise a middle manger’s day. The way individuals and teams collaborate and communicate with each other; the way work is managed and performance is measured; and the way the organisation learns and adapts to evolve. These, often unspoken, rules about how things get done must support the reinvention of middle management if we want to strengthen leadership at this level.

And this may mean reviewing the operating model, structure and accountabilities; how the business strategy is cascaded to inform day to day activities; the organisational symbols, rituals and stories as well as the leadership style – how are these factors contributing to the role of middle managers, and how do we shift them in support of the reinvention?

And if we get it right, middle management will become the pipeline of emerging leaders that it ought and deserves to be.

If it’s time for a reinvention of middle management in your organisation let’s talk about how United Minds can partner with you on:

Change & transformation: supporting the adoption and embedding of AI-driven ways of working.

Leadership development and capability building: in the competencies your leaders need to for today, as well as the technological, emotional and cognitive competencies they’ll need to lead humans in a future AI-enabled workplace.

Organisational redesign: designing sustainable structures, and future-proofed job roles with realistic expectations that are adaptable to technological, AI advancement.

Organisational culture: shifting expectations, mindsets and beliefs, as well as the ways of working, activities, and processes that either enable or prohibit progress towards the strategy.