Which one of the following is an important job responsibility for a middle manager?

Leading High-Performance Teams

Teams are the backbone of every organization. Middle managers play an essential role in facilitating the formation of groups that collaborate, solve cross-function problems, uncover efficiencies, and develop innovations to serve their customers better. However, great teams don’t just happen by chance, and middle managers play an important role in building teams and creating the right conditions so they can thrive, which is even more critical in a remote and distributed workplace.

Any middle management development plan should include significant time in developing knowledge and skills to lead high-performance teams. As Debra Kasowski noted in her article for Forbes, “High-performing teams do not form on their own. They are led by leaders who bring out the best in their people, utilizing their skills and abilities to the fullest.”

Communication

Every skill listed will not happen without strong, inspiring, and clear communication. You can't coach and develop others, lead teams, build relationships, or manage change without it. Leadership and communication are one and the same. Whether it is conducting a staff meeting where you’re speaking one-to-many or a catch-up meeting where it is one-to-one, developing and honing the skills of effective communication is critical to being a successful leader.

Communication needs to go beyond relaying information from senior leaders and vice versa. Effective communication leaves the listener motivated, inspired, and ready to take action. Skills such as active listening, storytelling, difficult conversations, and delivering presentations should be part of any middle management development plan.

Relationship Building

Building strong relationships in trust and open communication has never been more critical. More than ever, people are looking for connections, not just personally but also professionally. They want to feel connected to their boss, colleagues, and organization.

A middle manager’s ability to provide purpose, present empathy, show vulnerability, resolve conflict, and demonstrate humility when they make mistakes, is central to building trusting and productive relationships with employees. In the VUCA world we find ourselves in, focusing middle management development around people-centric skills is paramount.

Resilience and Agility

Being able to bounce back from setbacks, pivot quickly, and change, as opportunities or challenges arise, are skills that middle management need to lead their teams. The current business world is changing rapidly, and those who don’t let challenges hold them back, are able to solve problems amid complexity, make decisions quickly, and understand change as the only way to remain competitive are the ones who will succeed. 

Being an agile and resilient leader, especially during times of crisis, can be the difference between an organization weathering the storm or complete collapse. As we’ve witnessed over the last two years, those organizations and leaders who were able to make fast decisions and absorb and adapt to challenges are the ones who are coming out ahead.

To be prepared, all middle managers should pursue training in resilience, agility, adaptability, and leading change. Being equipped with these skills before they’re needed will ensure that middle managers have greater resilience, adapt, and lead their teams to do the same when the next crisis hits.

Strategy, Alignment, and Execution

Middle management is the linchpin if a corporate strategy is actually executed on the frontlines. As Simon Sinek pointed out in his video (found in the “Why Middle Management Is So Hard?” section of this guide), middle managers are the ones who take the strategy as directed by executives and implement it to the masses. However, if the strategy is going to break down, it will break down in the middle, at the middle management level.

The middle management roles require understanding and aligning actions with the strategic direction, leading the change to ensure a smooth strategy implementation, selling the strategy and benefits to their people, and closing the loop with feedback from the front line to upper management. To do this, middle managers need a solid foundation of knowledge on the functional areas of the business to be able to comprehend the strategy, as well as training in change management.

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