Middle managers are an integral part of any medium to large organisation. Responsible for acting as the go-between for top-level executives and the employees on their team - and ensuring ideas and objectives are clearly communicated and properly understood - middle managers are often responsible for executing up to 80% of their company’s strategic initiatives.
Despite playing a critical role within their organisation, middle managers often receive less training and less support than other employees. They are regularly perceived as “Doing fine”; this can leave them lacking the key communication and leadership skills they need to effectively develop their team and achieve their goals.
Middle managers are responsible for implementing the strategies created at the executive level. They need to be able to communicate effectively both with people working at a high level within the company and with their employees and so need to be skilled at managing people, interpreting ideas, delegating and decision making.
Because middle managers have a huge amount of responsibility and play a crucial role in the running of a company, they face a lot of challenges. Often, middle managers come under pressure from company executives to get results as quickly as possible. If things don’t go exactly as planned, they can be held accountable for any failings and, on top of these huge responsibilities, they also have to manage the members of their team and keep projects on track.
Providing middle managers with leadership training benefits them, their team members and the wider organisation. One of the most important ways that leadership training helps middle managers is by enhancing their communication skills. Being able to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels will help to keep things running smoothly, prevent a project hitting roadblocks and ensure everyone is working towards the same objective.
Leadership training can also help middle managers to increase both their internal and external influence and give them the confidence and ability to improve their decision-making and delegation. Training will also enhance conflict management skills, help middle managers to improve the morale of their team and, in turn, boost productivity.
In order for leadership training to be truly worthwhile, it needs to be high-quality and effective. Training should cover key topics like how to deliver important messages with clarity and how to understand why the people they manage behave or respond in certain ways.
Training should also include the opportunity to practise, experiment and even fail in a safe, low-stakes environment. Our leadership training uses cameras to help participants to see first-hand the impact of their actions, helping them develop their self-awareness and body language, two things that make a huge difference to communication.
When you think about how important middle managers are to your organisation, do you think you’re investing enough in their development? Considering they may be responsible for the execution of up to 80% of your company’s strategic initiatives, do they get anywhere near 80% of your training budget?
If the answer is no, now is the perfect time to make a change and give your managers the support and training they need to thrive. Investing in your middle managers brings benefits to your entire organisation, helping you achieve your goals and boost your productivity. Get in touch with a member of our team to find out more.