Leadership: Middle Management Part ll

Middle Management illuminates the often messy and frustrating nature of cognitive dissonance, where idealism and reality grind at each other.?It is an eye-opening education of what happens when self-assuredness butts up against the nitty-gritty facts of business operations highlighting that what you do not know can surely get ya!?Oh, and you get to drive boats and teach waterskiing ??

It was also my initial foray into understanding how to lead without being directly in charge of the outcomes, both with those I was responsible for and responsible to.?Ranger Director was the first of the two middle management jobs I had, beginning at age 18, when I became responsible for the troop guides of camp.?Balancing between being one of the team and ensuring enough distance to ensure accountability and responsibility can be a challenge during this pivotal transitional time, especially when considering the year before I was working alongside many of those of which I was now responsible.?It was a steep learning curve.?

The next significant Middle Management job was as Waterfront Director and here two experiences left an indelible mark on my ideas of leadership.?The first came when I was almost relieved of my position for not understanding the political dynamics of the time.?The camp was in flux and under two flags (two Scout Council’s operated the camp during most of the 1990’s. One managing the program and the other the bookkeeping) with neither willing to reasonably invest in an unknown future.?Investment in the camp and equipment was meager and, out of frustration, I let it be known to the two CEO’s.?As you can imagine, that did not go over well resulting in both Executives asking the Director of Camping to fire me. Luckily, he did not, vouching for my character and promising that I would not be so impertinent in the future.?It was through that experience I learned the value to seek out win, win, wins: that it is not just someone else’s problem to solve and listening to what isn’t spoken is sometimes more important than speaking.??

Leadership in this phase of life becomes more nuanced, requiring greater observation and attention to details.?One needs to look to the future and how your actions can impact your goals, the goals of others, and the institution you work for.?You now have an ability to influence decision making in a more defining way.?It is affirming and humbling simultaneously.

Until next time,

Lee