Party Like it’s 1776: Declare Independence from Middle Management Syndrome!

Today being Independence Day, I thought it would be an ideal time to explore a topic directly affecting many of those who plan and attend NYC team building activities. As a manager in your company – perhaps you are in charge of the team or division, head of the HR department or even the company itself – you are under a tremendous amount of pressure from both above and below to get things done. In a sense, everyone in a leadership role is a middle manager dealing with both direct reports who have their needs, issues and concerns, as well as bosses, clients and other stakeholders whose expectations must be met.

When I was in business school, we had a case study in our organizational behavior management class which I loved called “Bob Knowlton.” Perhaps one of the best-known studies in its area, the piece depicts a fictional employee, Bob, a skilled tech worker who does his job well – so well, in fact, that he is suddenly promoted into a management role, directly supervising a handful of his former peers. Sounds pretty good, right? The only problem is, while Bob is technically proficient in a specialized practice area, he is neither trained nor experienced as a manager of people. Bob soon finds his days filled with the frustrations, fears and politics of middle management, on top of his own work duties.

This “middle manager syndrome” is really quite typical, isn’t it? Someone becomes competent at their job, get promoted, and soon faces a host is scenarios & situations which have nothing to do with the work itself, but with delegation, performance and supervision. At the same time, those above are seeking accountability from the newly-promoted on a far greater scale than ever before. What is a middle manager to do, when there are so many stakeholders to appease?

I argue that “middle manager syndrome” can be kicked to the curb the moment managers decide they are no longer going to try and please everyone all the time. Yes, of course it’s important to keep the bosses and clients happy, and direct reports cannot simply be ignored; however, to truly break free of the familiar “Bob Knowlton” trap, managers should  instead seek to devote themselves fully to a set of key professional goals and objectives, and do whatever it takes to get there. It’s a change of mindset from “keeping everyone happy” to “getting things done” which will make all the difference, and allow people to declare independence from “middle manager syndrome” once and for all.

But that’s just my opinion, a lowly NYC corporate event entertainment company owner. Are you an HR professional, management or industrial organizational expert? What are your thoughts on how to overcome “middle management syndrome?”