Mid-level manager focus is key to engagement success

Culture initiatives frequently wrongly concentrate on lower-level employees and those who interact directly with customers, yet when not properly included, mid-level managers are typically the ones who obstruct cultural improvement.??

Focusing on an organization's lower-level staff when making cultural adjustments is understandable. After all, many businesses struggle with a high turnover rate for front-line employees, who are often the face of the organization to customers. It is essential to maintain their interest by ensuring that they understand and embrace new cultural goals and vision. But, mid-level managers, who lead these front-line personnel, can do real damage if their attitudes and actions do not reflect the desired culture.?

In most organizations, leadership at the top sets the strategic direction and provides resources. Employees at lower levels are the ones who do the actual work. Middle managers translate strategic direction from leadership, organize the work, and manage those handling operational duties.?Additionally, middle managers lead hiring and manage the company's working environment. They interact with people who have different sensitivities and appropriately manage them for the benefit of everyone. These interactions demonstrate the organization's true values through both words and actions. So these managers directly impact employees' daily lives more than anyone else.?

To accomplish the broader goals, middle managers must be aware of all organizational activities. They must promote a positive work environment where teams are motivated to do their best work. They ensure processes align with organizational directives and employee needs. Middle managers typically keep a sense of the pulse of lower-level sentiment, share concerns with leadership, and change course to maintain the team's motivation as appropriate.

Oft-heard sayings like "people quit managers, not corporations" emphasize the importance of middle-manager to front-line employee interactions.

Middle managers could abuse their power if left unchecked. It is common for middle management to fight change because it is seen as obtrusive. They will protect the status quo while being reluctant to relinquish any perceived power they feel they have achieved. As a result, they might hinder growth, productivity, and efficiency by conveying their disdain to lower-level subordinates and thereby undermining new efforts.

Oft-heard sayings like "people quit managers, not corporations" emphasize the importance of middle-manager to front-line employee interactions. Inconsistent?actions relative to the organization's core values and/or withholding necessary information deprive team members of the resources they need to become aligned and ultimately engaged.?By demonstrating the attitudes and behaviors that fit cultural expectations and explaining their importance, middle managers can be positive cultural role models and coaches.

Unfortunately, middle managers are frequently an organization's most disengaged employees. They experience higher rates of anxiety and depression than people at the top or bottom of organizations, according to research from Columbia University. Also, they typically participate the least in culture-building initiatives. This might be because they are engaged in routine tasks that divert focus away from duties they believe are tangential to their true mission. They may also be unaware of how culture impacts every aspect of business performance, which makes it directly important to the mission. Middle managers frequently lack the information necessary to understand the strategic cultural vision or their crucial role in bringing it to life. This happens too often because organizations see them more as workers who need to be persuaded than as the powerful influencers they are.

The rest of the organization suffers when middle managers become alienated from culture initiatives. As much as their higher- and lower-level counterparts, middle managers must be motivated, provided the necessary authority, and enabled with the appropriate tools to foster the desired culture. After all, every manager (no matter their level) becomes a key driver in the leadership chain that links culture to outcomes.