Insigniam Survey: Roadblocks for Middle Managers

Have you seen the politically incorrect organization chart on the left? The caption reads as follows: "When top-level guys look down, they see only s---heads; when bottom-level guys look up, they see only a--holes." It's a crude joke (mostly to get your attention), but it shows a kernel of truth: many middle managers find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Jokes aside: the management consulting firm Insigniam last week published its 2014 Middle Management Survey of Global 1000 companies to shed light on the unique predicament of middle managers. The finding is troubling. Middle managers face three key challenges: out-of-touch executives; few promotional opportunities; and insufficient decision-making power. What can C-level executives do to mobilize the perhaps most under-utilized and most ridiculed assets in their organization? And what can middle managers themselves do to take charge and tackle the situation?

To implement strategic plans that are key to meeting their business imperatives, C-level executives rely on middle managers to execute, implement, and create buy-in with employees across the organization.

Insigniam, the international management consulting firm, surveyed 200 middle managers from Global 1000 companies around the world on their jobs, their futures and their executives. (Disclosure: I used to work for Insigniam.)Its just published survey reveals that while middle managers are motivated by the work they do, dire issues persist in their ranks.

A few examples:

• More than two-thirds (70%) of middle managers said they are frustrated by their immediate boss.
• Less than one in six (15%) believe they will be promoted at their current company.
• Half (50%) say decision-making is taken out of their hands, and 43% are sometimes demotivated by their company's senior leadership.

Middle managers might love their careers and be motivated to do good work at their jobs, but these and other deep frustrations keep them from being content in the workplace. 

The cause? Executives who are out of touch with their managers' needs, as well as declining advancement opportunities and a lack of appropriate decision rights to get their jobs done.

In the survey, almost half (44%) of managers said they are highly inspired by their work, and a full half (50%) even highly motivated. 

But 61% said they would not be happy staying in their current job for the next five years.

70% reported that they were frustrated by the communications disconnect with their immediate supervisor.

At least part of the problem is how middle managers are perceived by other stakeholders and even by the public, as this hilarious video shows: 

Seriously, top and senior management might be part of the problem. "Senior leadership worries that managers are becoming complacent, but the truth is that executives are themselves taking actions that are causing more problems than they are solving," says Nathan Owen Rosenberg, an Insigniam founding partner.

"50% of managers say their biggest frustration on the job is not being able to make decisions. That loss of power, coupled with a lack of promotional opportunities and pressure from executives who are focused more on immediately available results, creates a greater sense of demotivation for middle managers. It is a vicious cycle."

The good news is that if C-level managers contribute to the issue, they can also contribute to the solution. They can (and must) involve middle managers in strategy design. They can give them voice in key decision and offer them advancement opportunities. Above all, they must respect them as key agents in strategy execution.

The full results of Insigniam's 2014 Middle Management Survey are available for download now. 

What do you say? What is holding back middle management in your view? What can top and senior managers do about it? And what can middle managers themselves do? I look forward to reading you on my blog:http://thomaszweifel.blogspot.com/.

Dr. Thomas D. Zweifel is a strategy & performance expert and coach for leaders of Global 1000 companies. His latest book Strategy-In-Action: Marrying Planning, People and Performance (with co-author Ed Borey) was just published by iHorizon and provides a 7-step process for aligning key stakeholders on strategy alignment and mobilizing them for execution.