A recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggested there could be a single fix for many of the big problems that companies experience: hiring better middle managers.¹

The article featured a Gallup study from a few years back that found a company’s productivity depends on the quality of these crucial leaders. The study found that managers didn’t just influence the results of their teams, they explained a full 70 percent of the variance—something Gallup called “the single most profound, distinct and clarifying finding” in their 80-year history.

This didn’t surprise me and I was really glad to see the role of the manager being recognized. I see this truth play out with many of the organizations I work with. Great middle managers are the key to creating great companies.

The irony is that middle managers often have the smallest training budget of any group in the organization. Given their level of responsibility, and their impact on organizational performance, this makes no sense.

Being a manager is hard. Good managers have to know dozens of skills. Plus, they face pressure from many directions: bosses, employees, and customers.

It’s important that we hire and promote the right people for these critical positions and that we train them well. But first we need to understand exactly how managers impact an organization.

Here are just a few of the reasons middle managers are so important:

• They are in a position to impact the greatest number of people and processes. Their actions can make or break a company. They typically supervise the greatest number of employees, are often closest to the products, the customers, and the vendors. Day-to-day operations are highly dependent on the leadership of middle managers.
• Managers control the culture of the company. They must model values for everyone else and make sure others live up to them as well. They propel values forward.
• They are on the front line with employees. As such, they are the key to employee engagement. They know what’s going on. They know where the performance problems are and they know who’s doing well.
• They have a huge impact on attracting and retaining talent. Relationships matter in business, and nowhere do they matter more than between a middle manager and a direct report. Managers often determine how employees feel about their jobs. People don’t quit the company; they quit their boss.
• They’re responsible for bringing out the best in people. They must be able to inspire and nurture creativity, innovation, teamwork, and so forth—the “soft skills” that are so important in today’s complex business environment.
• They’re on the front line with daily processes. They know how things can be improved. They must manage a multitude of tasks and projects and make sure they get done efficiently.
• They’re the “messaging valve.” They determine what gets reported to senior management and how news is broken to their direct reports.
• They make change happen. People are never comfortable with change. It’s up to managers to understand the psychology of change and move people through the various stages.

In short, managers have a hugely important and difficult job. We owe it to them (and to the organization!) to make sure they receive the resources and training they need to do it well. Please take a hard look at how well your company develops its middle managers—or, if you are a manager, what you can do to make sure you get the training you need.

All that said, it’s vitally important for a business to know (a) what skills the leaders in your organization must have, and (b) how effective each one is in these areas. This can be achieved through a combination of self-assessment and assessment by a direct supervisor.

Tips for Developing Your Middle Management Team

• For each manager in the organization, write down the top four measurable goals. One example for a sales manager may be to renew 90 percent of current clients. These goals usually fall into categories of revenue, expense management (productivity), employee engagement (turnover), or customer service.
• Create a list of the skills necessary for a manager to meet the company’s performance. This book contains many of the ones I feel are important. Your list may include others as well.
• As an executive team, review the list of management skills. Decide which ones are best to focus on and train managers in. You will gain better consistency this way.
• Have each manager rate their own proficiency for each skill on a 10-point scale. Every manager needs to be self-aware and coachable. This is a good exercise to help them start zeroing in on where they may need improvement.
• Next, senior leaders should rate each manager who reports to them on a scale of 1–10 in each category. Hopefully, senior leaders and managers will agree on these ratings, but if not they can work together to do a deeper dive into the areas where there was disagreement.
• Have each senior leader meet with their direct reports to create a development plan for each person. (The CEO will meet with each senior team member.) Certain skills are just more important for certain managers to master. It’s necessary to prioritize to ensure that managers get the right training and development.
• Senior leaders, ask each person: “What do you need from me to assist in your development?” “What barriers or challenges can I help with?” “Is there anything you feel will keep you from building your skill set to the point that you and the company’s goals are reached?”

There are various ways you can provide this training. A leadership expert or coach for more formal training in a specific area can be brought in. Managers can attend off-site workshops or seminars. Managers can be matched with a mentor who is skilled in the needed area.

Often, there are local experts who can help. Use them to do training when you can. In Pensacola we are committed to helping local entrepreneurs and small business owners develop key leadership skills. We firmly believe that a thriving small business presence is the heart and soul of every vibrant community. (Helping new ventures get off the ground is important, but it’s just as critical to help them master the skills they’ll need to thrive—otherwise they may not be in business for long.)

That’s why a series of monthly leadership development workshops featuring local experts are provided, as well as small business “roundtables” where owners can get together with a facilitator and talk about the issues they’re facing. It’s also why we host the annual business conference EntreCon^®—it’s a cost-effective, convenient way for local companies to get world-class training without the expense of travel. Visit www.studeri.org to learn more.

The organization with the best middle managers wins. Great leaders are great developers of people. This is both a responsibility and an honor—and few things are more rewarding than helping others become the best they can be.