@sauber33
Middle management was all the responsibility and none of the credit or freedom to make impact decisions in my experience. It can be a horrible place in a company.
@JosephinaHerrmann
talking about middle management, yeah, its tough out there! i used to tangle in my own knots with case interviews, tried doing it all solo like some lone ranger. then i found The Thinksters. they taught me to crack those cases with a structured mindset — i wasnt just winging it anymore! snagged an offer at Bain, back when they offered free coaching, crazy times. cant say how it is now, but it was a whirlwind back then. feeling those managerial vibes now!
@stephenchristopher9809
I've seen this happen so many times. Middle managers have to be part visionary, part leader, part accountability partner, and be able to have a very strong self confidence. The biggest thing I've learned is to help teach middle managers leadership skills. Thank you Simon!
@doomguy8884
I try to avoid being given responsibility for something without also being given the authority to make it happen. I just become frustrated and it benifits no one.
@mty1966
0:00 “The middle management is the hardest job in any organization.” 00:30 “...the problem is they don’t give you any training to do that.” 1:14 “...there are 2 factors..we don’t people to lead..” 1:57 “...why on earth do we think we could promote someone to a leadership position without showing them how to do it.” 2:16 “...to be the leader you wish you had...” 3:29 “...diamond in the rough...”
@antonioalviar575
Overheard middle management at a company i used to work for talking to each other about how difficult they find managing the workers under them as in their own view the company was taking advantage of the lowest paid workers, but at the same time they have to enforce a work culture that said "we care" when not even middle management are really cared for.
@lsw2519
Middle management exists only because the top management wants a middleman to do the part of the job they hate. All corporations should head towards a more deflated hierarchy if they want a fast adapting and less bureaucratic culture.
@TheStrategicKeys
I have never agreed with anything more in my life. This is my current life, and it is the hardest thing I have ever done professionally.
@GS-nh1ur
Yep, I did 30 yrs. In the Army... big difference between leadership and management. Civilian organizations that recognize this are successful, those that don't tend to fail for the very reasons he speaks about.
@jonstump
I’ve talked about this at a lot of orgs I’ve worked at with bad middle managers. It frustrates me that high performers get upgraded to a manager and left to drown rather than given the education they need to support their team and org. Which usually causes them to default to what they did previously leaving a team to lead themselves. Which can be chaotic if it’s not a good group.
@akkabomey
Well said! When there is no good leadership, you can either 1) quit or 2) take on the challenge and be the leader you wish you had, and take care of those under your care. It’s then the bosses job to take care of you if you’re doing well. But yea, I agree with Simon if you have a strong and solid leadership team, word will spread and attract talent!
@tonysoprano9370
My experience is as an Electrician your expected to be an Electrician, be a supervisor, be a project manager all in one. All the things the project manager should be doing is put onto you. And you can’t concentrate on being a supervisor because your still trying to do the electrician role at the same time. This is why I no longer work as a supervisor. It was making me ill.
@Tsunami14
I've been saying the same thing for years, though for different reasons. The pattern I've seen if that the lower levels of an organization are primarily responsible for supporting the people below them (managing down, AKA: leaders), but the higher levels are instead primarily responsible for supporting the people above (managing up, AKA: managers). This leads to an inflection point in the middle, typically closer to the bottom, where either there are people who need to manage both directions simultaneously, and get burned out, or the organization is left with a complete disconnect between the "up" and "down" sides of the organization.
@GuitarWithBrett
When I went from coder to manager , it was extremely hard and took 5 years until I really felt like I “got it” because of all the new things I had to learn. I find it funny when people on YouTube say managers aren’t needed, as I’ve found the culture super dependent on the management to lead exactly like explained in this video.
@5MinutePsychology
It is almost impossible to be a good leader without the right level of emotional intelligence. Luckily we can do a lot to increase it and make it stronger.
@thehobbyist533
In my organization, the problem is not with middle management. The lives of middle managers are hard because the people above them don't know how to let go of the action. I've been a senior manager in a smaller part of my organization, and my team was so successful and happy that they all threatened to quit when I was transferred, because they were afraid of what would come next. Now I'm in a larger part of the organization as a middle manager and my problem is not with leading, it is with having no authority and insecure bosses who can't let go. I have no idea how to deal with this. People like to blame middle managers, but now that I'm here and have already been on top, I can see it is more the senior's responsibility.
@jordanforbes2557
This perfectly describes my situation now. I was given less than a days worth of training before taking up my position and am expected to know as much as managers who have decades of experience.
@chunkylefunga
I've seen this issue happen at almost every company that I've worked at. Senior managers do not hire people they think will be a threat to their job. So they hire mediocre middle managers who do enough of the job to not get fired, but aren't great at it. This way they aren't a threat to the senior managers role but it doesn't help the company.
@LucieCreates
As a manager, one year I read 18 books about Leadership. I'm not sure my Director has EVER read a leadership book. So right on. Love the message of motivating oneself 💗
@hamsterbrigade