Unless you are a true car aficionado, you probably won’t give the engine much thought. In fact, most buyers won’t even bother to look under the hood. But beyond the glitz and sparkling alloy wheels, the engine is the most vital part of the car. Without it, you won’t go anywhere. The same can be said for the middle manager (MM). An organization that lacks strong MMs won’t get very far.

Why MMs Are More Important than Ever

A strong management team is essential to a successful organization. Culling middle management from within the company yields high-impact results. Yet in reality, MMs are often hired from outside.  Why?  I’m not sure. Developing staff from within must seem more daunting than hiring someone from the outside with, in theory, the right skillset.  The more I think about it, this approach is silly. When was the last time you highlighted your shortcomings on your resume?  Seems like an unfair comparison, doesn’t it?

Making a commitment to develop MMs from within not only underscores the corporate philosophy, branding and culture but also boosts morale and motivation by reinforcing the values the company rewards – a visualization of personal future success. Employees naturally see their future career opportunities within the company, unless they do not share the same vision.

Where Do You Start?

When developing MMs, technical skills alone are not enough – yet that’s how MMs identify their own success.  MMs must be given the opportunity to expand beyond their technical abilities, learn new methods and grow beyond their current capabilities.  If you’re a manager responsible for MMs, focus on helping them: 

• Exercise diplomacy. Middles are well-known for their ability to appease others, yet often defer to senior managers during difficult situations.  Help MMs by exploring alternatives and developing an approach that works for that MM; keeping in mind your approach may – or may not – be natural or comfortable to the MM.
• Be adaptable. Middles, by nature, must be flexible since they can be overlooked, discounted, bumped into a new role at whim or expected to shoulder unrealistic burdens. Help Middles adapt by understanding how they see the situation. Allow them to borrow your knowledge rather than just telling them what to do.
• Look at the big picture. The most successful MMs explore all aspects of a problem and look at all potential solutions before implementing a plan. This ability to think strategically is essential to a strong MM, yet many need permission to think so broadly.
• Bring out the best in your team. A good MM allows the team to participate in decisions then rise to the occasion and meet/exceed their expectations. Good MMs are enablers, but for time efficiency we often skip the enabling process. Create a safe environment where teams can develop ideas, act upon them and then follow up understand the effectiveness of their decision-making.  Growing together creates solidarity and trust – a cornerstone of teams that excel.
• Focus on results. In the same vein as ego, a strong MM does what it takes to achieve the results that align with corporate objectives. Sometimes, that means setting aside agendas or ideas about how the results will be attained.  Let others figure out the how. Who knows, you might learn something new. 

 Why Bother?

While it is important for MMs to be proactive within their positions, it behooves the organization to be just as hands-on in ensuring that they have a strong middle management team. Why? The reasons are plenty: 

• Reduce costs. Workplace stress and burn out costs organizations more than $300 billion annually in absenteeism, health care and stress-reduction programs, according to 2004 New York Times article. Bolster your mid-section and you’ll see a boost in your bottom line.
• Improve morale. An inefficient, unstable workplace only compounds the duress MMs face. When MMs are valued and supported, they are better equipped to ensure that their employees are happy and well-cared for, which improves morale across the organization.
• Higher productivity. Happy workers are busy workers. Better morale among MMs and workers translates into greater productivity.
• Better employee retention. Successful MMs retain loyal employees. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 23.7% of U.S. workers voluntarily left their jobs in 2006. As a result, direct replacement costs on a departed employee can reach as high as 50-60% of his/her annual salary, according to a Society of Human Resource Management report. What’s more, strong MMs also attract highly qualified employees who desire to work in a positive, successful environment.    

All too often, organizations overlook or dismiss the middle manager’s quagmire. However, this level is more important than ever to an organization’s viability.

Middle Management’s Quandary – Like being the Middle Child

The middle manager (MM) often parallels the middle child in a family. The oldest children (or senior level executives) are privy to information often withheld from younger family members. They also receive other advantages such as their parents’ and younger siblings’ adulation, first crack at the family resources and more opportunities than subsequent children. Older siblings (senior executives) are pressured by their parents (board of directors, shareholders, clients and the public) to live up to sometimes lofty expectations. Many of them succeed. Equal numbers look to their younger siblings (particularly the middle ones/middle management) to deflect the pressures placed upon them and pass undesirable responsibilities onto them.

The babies in the family (or those working under middle management) try to keep up with their older siblings. They also covet the MM’s privileges but haven’t put in the time yet to earn them. Often, they receive the desired attention when they misbehave or entertain through their antics. Frequently, they are left out of the information loop and as a result, become frustrated. In these instances, the youngest turn to their closest siblings (the middle children) to vent those frustrations. What’s more, these middles are expected to “fix” things when they go wrong.

The “middle child syndrome” isn’t limited to children per se. Today’s corporate MM suffers from similar feelings regarding his or her position in the pecking order. Sure, they have more advantages (i.e., higher salary and better title) than lower level workers. But they also have fewer perks than top management. Worse, MMs rarely receive the glory yet shoulder more responsibilities than the most and least senior managers combined.

Help Middle Managers Succeed Because You Can’t Succeed without Them

First, recognize the situation that MMs are in – caught in the middle.  Yes, they get more pay because of their increased responsibilities, but remember they were most likely promoted to their current position by demonstrating aptitude in their technical area of expertise (e.g., accounting, IT).  They more than likely have not been trained to delegate effectively, connect their action with corporate priorities or ask the questions necessary to ensure the teams makes the highest and best use of their time.

Second, remember MM can often be a thankless job; akin to a no-man’s land.  Doing the right thing for an employee is not always rewarded at the top – and vice versa.  This “reward system” can often lead to great confusion and sometimes political methods to manipulate an outcome rather than achieve it through open persuasion and discussion.

Third, someone new to MM will make mistakes.  Managing people and getting things done through others is complicated.  Where are we actually trained in these skills?  Yet, this powerful and permanent teaching method – learning from mistakes – is often rewarded with reprimand or removal of responsibilities.

It’s a wonder that MMs do successfully matriculate to senior management. 

How Senior Management Can Leverage MMs Fostering Success

Here’s what smart executives recognize and incorporate to ensure their MMs help them succeed:                                                      

• Identify those employees whose personal values are consistent with the organizational values. Inconsistency between what the organization rewards with regard to work ethic and approach is a common point of contention. Getting results is important, but MM also represent the company with their teams and with clients.
• Mentor so that they can hone the skills to effectively step into middle management roles. Opportunities include maximizing their time; fostering appropriate delegation skills; and mastering effective communication-both listening to others and articulating their own ideas.
• Treat them with respect and enable their learning. Embrace their mistakes and help them learn. Enable them to succeed.  You’ll create highly loyal employees who are motivated beyond their paycheck.
• Allow them to stretch their big picture/strategic thinking muscles. The more top management allows mid-level executives to do so, the more skillful they’ll be at managing/dealing with both upper and lower level employees. Rather than dictating from the top, bring the MM into the fold to help create and implement strategic plans. The more invested in the plan the MM is, the more likely he/she will be able to successfully carry out the company’s mission.
• Encourage proactive thinking among MMs and give them the leeway to make decisions on their own. Doing so encourages them to circumvent problems, reduce the amount of time they spend reacting to complaints and problems from the top and the bottom as well as customers. In fact, creating a cultural shift in how MMs respond to the aforementioned can drastically change not only the workplace environment but how successful the organization will be overall.
• Ensure that your MMs have a vested interest in the organization’s strategy. It falls under the “what’s in it for me” category. If your MM sees an opportunity to hone and/or acquire new skills that will help him/her move up, they’ll be more likely to reinforce the strategic plan during difficult times, rather than react in the moment.
• Get personal. It’s easy to forget that the workhorse MM is a person with family, friends and interests apart from the business. Acknowledging this aspect of the MM’s life will go a long way towards making sure that they are content and have the energy and dedication to carry out their responsibilities well. Moreover, if you provide your MM with specifics that will personally fulfill them, they will return the favor with efficiency, productivity and happy employees.

Finally, think of the MM as the mother of the family. As long as you acknowledge the MM’s efforts, listen and respect them when they want to be heard, and support them to ensure that the organization is a well-oiled machine, the home/workplace will then be a happy one.
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This article was first published as a guest blog by Bryan Malickson, The Title Attorney, http://www.thetitleattorney.com/.

Yes and no – both! Yes, the truth beneath the mysticism is based in cognitive psychology which has a firm research footing. What people think will drive how they feel and what they do. If a person focuses on the negative it will impact their mood, their expectations and their actions. If an individual chooses to be optimistic and look for opportunity, they will be more positive, open and confident. As a result, they seize opportunity when it arises. In fact, a British researcher found that “lucky” people actually behave differently than “unlucky” people. Those who are “lucky” are more optimistic, open and skilled at seizing opportunities. Lucky people do not have exceptional fortune or magic power; they behave differently and thus get different results. I believe that the Law of Attraction is similar to the idea of luck. If we focus on the positive and seek opportunity we will get better results.

If this is true, then is Law of Attraction real? Can we attract all good things by thinking the universe towards our wishes? Much to our deep dismay we are not able to wish things into reality. There are endless examples of hopes dashed by painful disappointment.  We all know people who have bravely fought illness with great optimism and succumbed. Great positive hope did not stop the force of the disease.  Even more, as a group we are completely incapable of stopping natural forces that regularly wreak havoc. If people could truly wish hopes into existence, we could use our will to chase away a hurricane, a tornado or a flood. This never happens! When considered on this scale the overreaching myth of the Law of Attraction is evident. If we live at such a high level of expectation, we are going to be disappointed!

What to do? Top Performer’s are anchored in optimism and realism. They know the power of their perceptions and will choose beliefs that are positive and productive. They also know that they must correctly manage the realities on the ground.  They strategize and adjust to events as they unfold. Top performers continually work for themselves with both optimism and realism. So go ahead, use the Law of Attraction ideas to create positive energy for yourself and use that energy to strategize, plan and build success!

Reprint permission granted to Sorrell Associates, LLC by Barbara A. Kay, MA, LPC, RCC Co-Author, The Top Performer’s Guide to Change

This week, before school, we were laughing about “the butterflies” in his life – those interesting things that come along and distract him while he is trying to get his work done.  It might be the sound of the ice cream truck traveling the street outside his window, or it could be a 3-D puzzle sitting on the edge of his desk.  The “butterflies” take many forms, but universally they have the same impact.  His concentration and productivity are derailed in a nanosecond as a beautiful colorful butterfly catches his attention and becomes his new focus.

Later that same morning, I was working with a client and her executive management team to refine the action plan required to ensure the organization meets its critical goals for the fourth quarter of this year.  The CEO had been making terrific progress on key revenue, profitability and operational goals, when a significant new opportunity had arisen that required a tremendous amount of her personal dedication and effort to bring the opportunity to fruition.  As we worked through the ramifications of this new opportunity, I found myself wondering:  is this a butterfly?  Is it worth chasing this “once in a lifetime” opportunity which falls far outside this organization’s core service offering, at the risk of losing focus on  critical 2009 goals?

So I asked my client – have you ever heard about the challenges of chasing butterflies?  As I relayed the story of my son, faces lit up around the table.  That’s it, they said, we’re distracted from our core purpose and we are at risk when we do that.  We agreed that chasing butterflies can be fun and productive – not always risky – but that for now, we needed to return to the critical goals that were going to ensure that 2010 will be everything we plan for it to be.

by Lesley Boucher

Intellectually, we all know the importance of a good strategy. At the same time so many organizations fail to have one, or they have one but it sits on the shelf with limited following. Clearly, when the organization is aligned to deliver against the vision, it possesses competitive advantage that is hard to match in any industry.

Alignment is so underrated. Having the people, process, and planning all targeting the same direction is a mechanism for growth, particularly those in a responsive market.  For those in a sluggish environment, it can be the difference between being in business and being out of business.

Alignment ensures your resources are properly allocated. It keeps hidden costs down, improves productivity, and accelerates customer and employee satisfaction.  Need we also mention alignment brings predictability to profitability and growth?

More importantly, alignment isn’t that hard to achieve yet few excel. It can be difficult to initiate in an organization where misalignment has taken over in defense of personal agendas and philosophies on where the organization should direct it’s efforts.  After all, organizations are made up of people who in lieu of a good strategy create one on their own. We’re all very driven by objectives – yours if you give them to me, but mine if you don’t.  When the objectives that drive my decisions are not aligned yours, we create inefficiency – and it’s costly inefficiency.

Here’s a fun exercise. Calculate on average for a given employee the number of hours wasted on doing the wrong things, talking about things that aren’t relevant to achieving strategic goals, re-doing work that could have been done correctly.  Now multiply that by the number of people in the organization who do those inefficient things.

Many of these costly issues hide under the label “poor communication.”  Start with communicating clear direction and expectations.  And, if you haven’t sat down to do a strategy, it’s only a couple hours of your time and could have hundreds of hours of staff time. Still need an incentive?

At the end of the day he saw a worker cleaning up and asked what her job was.  Her reply was simple, “I’m part of a team that’s going to send a man to the moon and bring him back safely by the end of the decade.”  Decision made! 

This is an example of strategic alignment at its best. Everyone knows the organization’s charge, and all of the stars are in alignment (strategic intention: systems, processes, leadership, management, expectations, authority, responsibility, individual empowerment and supportive behavior). But what happens when the stars are misaligned; when the systems and departments are out of sync?  What happens when a department exists for the good of itself and individuals behave selfishly rather than for the greater customer and organizational good?

The simple fact is that the more an organization’s systems and processes are aligned with its strategic intention – and all of the employees support this alignment behaviorally – the greater the opportunity for success.

In fact, if the plan is sound, it’s almost impossible to fail no matter how ambitious the organization or that plan is – even if that includes sending a man to the moon.

By Grant Stewart, Performance Matrix LLC.

Establish a clear vision of who they plan to become;

• Constantly communicate that vision so everyone understands the bigger picture and sees their role in translating that “picture” into reality;
• Develop a 12-18 month action plan, with SMART goals and action steps that guide how resources will be utilized to attain that vision; and
• Monitor and measure progress at regular intervals throughout the year to ensure the plan remains evergreen and that resources across the organization remain in alignment.

The article below picks up on this theme of measurement and “alignment” – what it means and why it is important.  We have seen some incredible results for clients who choose to focus on alignment, assess the degree to which all of their resources are being consistently channeled towards their overall goals, and who regularly measure whether the changes they are making are increasing or decreasing strategic alignment within their organization.  As always, we hope these insights help you in your efforts to grow and prosper!

According to author, Jeffrey Gitomer -“Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless”

Apparently companies like Costco understand the difference. They have been recognized as the leader in customer loyalty among warehouse retailers, rocketing from start-up to Fortune 50 status in less than 20 years, while spending next to nothing on advertising and marketing because of word of mouth referrals. They know that companies with the highest customer loyalty typically grow at more than twice the rate of their competition. And, by raising customer retention rates by 5% it is possible to increase the value of an average customer by 25% to 100% (The Loyalty Effect, F. Reichheld).  Rather than spending time trying to remember if you’ve ever seen a Costco advertisement, let’s talk about behavior and why emotions matter in the customer experience.

Regardless of how high a company’s satisfaction levels may appear, satisfying customers without creating an emotional connection with them has no real value. This should be a red flag issue, especially when you consider that it’s reported that 90 to 96% of customers won’t complain. They simply walk away. Emotions Matter…because customers and staff are always emotional, and in service industries where the interaction with customers is often personal and stressful and the emotions are more intense.  A healthy way to view emotions is not as a problem But as the basis for forming relationships – This is how to develop loyalty!

Start with a discussion about the vision of the company. If it’s written, you can usually find a statement about customers under glass on a conference room wall. It often goes something like this – “We believe Customer Satisfaction is our #1 Priority.” But when you ask people inside the organization what that statement really means and how it is measured, the silence is often deafening. If the people in the organization don’t have a clear definition of what you mean by customer satisfaction, then how do they convey it to your customers?

I have come to the realization that “Customer Loyalty is all that matters,” especially when you define loyal customers as people who will do business with you again, tell others about you without hesitation, and refer people they care about to do business with you. Hugh McColl, founder of North Carolina National Bank, ultimately became Bank of America had a simple philosophy: “I take care of my people, my people take care of my customers, my customers take care of my shareholders.” He never said, “I want to be the number one bank on the planet.” Loyalty is earned. It stems from actions that are taken and the words that are spoken by employees. It’s not just business as usual!

By Norm Gauthier. Reprinted and adapted with permission for Sorrell Associates.

When selecting a tool, opt for one that has proven to provide useful data and covers a variety of dimensions.  It’s helpful if it is easily adapted to include your areas of focused interest.

One such tool is a model adapted from the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. The results generated by Baldridge winners are consistent and astonishing. The seven Baldridge categories provide a simple framework to assess the perceptions of your staff, proven time and time again to illuminate problem areas.  These seven criteria are called the Criteria for Excellence and address the elements for the health and survival of your organization. 
 

1. Leadership – Includes creating and sustaining values, organizational direction, performance expectations and customer focus that promotes performance excellence.
2. Strategic Planning – How the organization sets direction and how plans are put into action. 
3. Customer Focus – Addresses how the organization determines the requirements and expectations of customers. It also addresses how the organization strengthens relationships with customers and determines their level of satisfaction.
4. Information and Analysis – Deals with the use of data and information in the organization to better understand areas for improvement and how the organization is performing.
5. Human Resources Development and Management – Determines how employees are encouraged to maximize their potential, as well as maintaining an environment conducive for performance excellence.
6. Process Management – Identifying how processes are designed, managed, improved and their cycle times reduced.
7. Business Results – Focuses on performance improvement in key business areas and how effectively these results are communicated throughout the organization.

Should you consider conducting an assessment?  If the following symptoms sound familiar, give serious consideration to assessing your organization:

• Profitability is slipping 
• Customers are defecting
• Employee turnover is high
• Market share is eroding
• Internal conflict is the order of the day, excessive meetings, lack of personal accountability, communication breakdown, time management issues, reactive rather than proactive thinking (shall I continue?)
• You spend more time reacting to competition

A baseline assessment allows you to see where you are today.  If you are planning any organizational interventions, then the baseline will allow you to measure true progress in the future.

Adapted with permission from Grant Stewart, Performance Matrix LLC. 

We see from surveys, experience and observations that many sales professionals set goals for themselves or the business yet never reach them. We want to reach the goal, but we often fall short.  Did you ever wonder why and what to do about it?  Here are some common reasons and approaches.

We lack motivation. Consider evaluating the goal and the benefit of achieving the goal. Many times we find that the lack of motivation is the result of losing sight of the end game or personalizing why life will be better if you achieve this goal. Clarify for yourself exactly why dedicating effort to achieving a goal is critical to your eventual success.

Goals are not congruent with our values and beliefs. You will continue to struggle working towards goal completion if they do not align with your internal compass. You are much more likely to address deeper personal objectives. Make the connection between where you focus your sales efforts and your beliefs.

Goals are too easy or unrealistic. Find the fine line of setting goals realistically high or there may be no desire to attempt them at all. If our goals stretch us enough we are exhilarated once we achieve them, then our goals are set realistically high. When set too low (that is, too easy to achieve) or unrealistic, we often find ourselves not working to achieve them because we simply don’t see the point.

Goals are not our own.  We may not connect to the reason behind achieving the goals resulting in lack of motivation discussed above. Evaluate each goal and determine the “WIIFM” (what’s in it for me). Goal achievement proficiency sky rockets when we truly understand our own role in the effort and the personal impact of the results.

We don’t write down our goals. Without a written plan, we find ourselves unprepared to address obstacles that come up along the way. In this fast-paced world, people vie for our time, which can derail achievement of our goals. By creating a written action plan to achieve our goals, we will have a clear path defining who, what, where, when, why, and how we are going to accomplish our goals as well as where we are on the on the path to success.

Goal setting is one of the most powerful sales tools known. It can help us achieve more in less time! It is one of the common denominators of all high achievers.

In fact, crystallizing goals is the first step to Success in Sales. Why? Because the key to success in sales is excellence! The key to excellence is planning! The key to planning is commitment! The key to commitment is having a clear picture of your future and how you plan to achieve it!

Source: Gary Sorrell, President of Sorrell Associates, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. Copyright protected.