There will always be senior-level decisions. Don’t focus on the outcome, focus on the effort – then work together to solve the problem. Demonstrate that you will be there for them when they make mistakes. Share with your team that you believe in their leadership, skills and abilities. Give them parameters for when leadership should be looped in.Įxpress confidence and vulnerability. Start with the big picture and invite them to articulate how they will contribute to achieving the mission.Įnable autonomy.Encourage staff members to make their own decisions to support their teams/stakeholders. Although the strategies and goals might not always be clear as an organization evolves, you can help your staff connect meaningfully with the vision and mission of the work. If you don’t have a plan to build a resilient ecosystem through intentional intervention at all levels, It’s inevitable.Įnhance the meaning of the work. It’s nothing personal – there’s no need to be defensive. Recognize that this is happening in your organization. How can we shift this paradigm? What would it look like to help our staff get unstuck, especially during these times?įor middle managers and organizational leaders, here’s a place to start: Desperate for someone to help me get unstuck. I reflect often on the many times I was stuck in the middle. “I’m not capable of leading ” “I’m always trying to communicate with my staff, but I get mixed messages from my supervisors ” “I feel like I am always defending decisions that I don’t have any say in.” Though the characters have changed and our world in a different place, this story has been recounted time and time again by the leaders that I coach. All I wanted was to make an impact without worrying about what strange new rule or policy was coming down next. I was stuck in the middle - all I wanted was a clear direction. I took phone calls from my superiors during family celebrations while trying to protect the team I managed from the instability at the top. With emails flying at all hours of the day and night and calls from senior leadership triggering fear and anxiety, you can imagine the emotional toll.Īs a twenty-something, in an exciting new organization, poised for impact, I jumped every time a senior leader said, “jump.” I couldn’t risk my job, I couldn’t risk my livelihood, so I did everything in my power to demonstrate my abilities, even when I felt in over my head. Our organization was new and our goals and strategies were endlessly changing. More than a decade ago, as a city director for a national organization, I had my first encounter with this phenomenon. With uncertainty, inconsistent messaging, lack of direction and too many rising stars competing for too few leadership roles, we lose talent to burnout – to other organizations – and to other industries.īut what if senior-level managers were empowered to recognize, re-direct and help get these individuals unstuck. “It’s your team – you know what’s best… but wait – that’s too out of the box – we don’t know how to support that.” Limited by their organizational infrastructure. Now, on the other side in my coaching and consulting practice I work with rising stars who also find themselves stuck in the middle–empowered to lead but only so much. For years I served in “middle management” with a robust team of colleagues in the field and a senior team above us. *Same as first verse only with two D’s instead of four at the beginningīe sure to check out my PDF for more information.Reflecting on my twenty-year career, I’m surprised to notice that “stuck in the middle” remains a common theme and especially at this moment as we face a global pandemic. Fun song that utilizes some of the things I discussed in previous lessons… D Movable chord shapes for the intro, muting while strumming and “Jumping The Measure (Anticipation)” all while using some familiar chords.
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