Service-oriented companies rely on the competence and performance of their people in delivering quality services to their clients. Each time a new account is added, new employees are also hired; the bigger the headcount, the more challenging it becomes to manage them. The gap between the top management and individual contributors also becomes wider.
From a tight-knit organization that knows almost everyone, social relations at work shift into peer or team-based dynamics. It’s a normal occurrence for growing companies. After all, we can only manage a number of people to a certain extent.
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Why this position requires mental resilience (+tips on how to become a better middle manager) |
It’s also something that I’ve observed firsthand at D&V Philippines as we grow into a 1,000+ strong workforce from being a small team in our early years.
Now that I’ve become a part of our organization’s middle management, one of my duties is to keep all ends tied together, so everyone feels seen, involved, and a part of a larger mission. This includes setting the expectations of our top management, employees, and clients; and coordinating with several administrative departments like HR and IT to maintain a smooth delivery of our services.
Here, I’ll share our usual roles and responsibilities, including some best practices for being a good manager, to help you prepare once the opportunity to step into this role comes your way.
If we look at the traditional model of the managerial hierarchy, it’s easy to understand why middle managers are uniquely positioned to connect all ends together.
Middle managers work close enough with the top management to be updated with high-level corporate priorities and plans; and close enough with first-line managers, who are more commonly known as team leaders or supervisors, to know what’s happening on the ground.
Middle managers also act as the biggest filter.
In cases of employee concerns, they try to resolve issues at their level to prevent the need for further escalations. The same goes for the new directives or company policies they receive from top management. Middle managers need to package each message properly to ensure everyone understands the rationale behind it, thus increasing compliance among employees.
To give you another perspective, we can also look at middle managers as mediators who see to it that everyone meets halfway; that expectations from all sides are clear, properly communicated, and well-acted upon.
The following section provides a more detailed explanation of a middle manager’s role
Whenever I think about the middle management role, I remember the line from the movie Forrest Gump:
“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Everyday feels different.
One day, I’m meeting with the top management to report on the performance of our team. The next, I’m checking on the leaders of my team to hear their respective teams’ progress, concerns, and issues. Those meetings can be unpredictable as well. Sometimes, concerns and issues can be trivial. At other times, it can be alarming and hard to ignore.
True to its title, being a middle manager means being at the center of the action. And as the one positioned to be in-between, those in middle management have the responsibility “to connect and integrate people and tasks so the organization can function effectively,” as this excellent piece from McKinsey describes.
Based on our current setup at D&V Philippines, a middle manager’s responsibility can be categorized into four core areas:
Employee management makes up a huge chunk of my responsibilities as a middle manager.
In my case, as someone who goes by the title Senior Director, I mostly deal with the Associate Directors of my team. They are those who have an equivalent position as a supervisor or team leader.
I work in tandem with these ADs in addressing employee concerns, resolving conflicts, managing staffing requirements, and overseeing the productivity and performance of their respective teams.
Nurturing leaders is one of the most fulfilling roles I have as a middle manager. In photo: D&V Philippines' Vice President of Global Operations Narene Nicholas (top left) and I (top right), along with the talented employees of D&V Philippines.
The beauty of our current setup is that aside from working alongside these talented leaders, I get to coach and mentor them. This opportunity allowed me to do two things:
With competent leaders under my care, most of my employee management-related duties now happen behind the scenes. The team leaders take charge of managing the performance and needs of their teammates while I take care of most administrative requirements to ensure the smooth delivery of our services to clients.
In cases where the team leaders face situations outside their control, or are too serious for them to handle alone, that’s when I step in.
[In photo] The Chief Executive Officer of D&V Philippines, Vice Presidents of Global Operations and Corporate Service Departments, and the middle managers.
Providing regular reports to the top management about my team’s performance is another critical role of being a middle manager.
The top management at D&V Philippines consists of our CEO, CFO, several Vice Presidents of Global Operations, and the Vice Presidents of each administrative department. These executives are focused on strategizing where our company is heading and how we can get there.
To help them make the right business decisions, we, the middle managers, must provide them with high-level reports about our team’s performance, client downscaling and/or disengagements, and other critical operating issues.
Reporting to the top management is also a great way to keep them knowledgeable of what is happening on the ground. Thus, giving them an avenue to be more connected with the employees.
When it comes to client management, my role revolves around these three areas:
a. Onboarding
During the first three months of engagement, I set regular meetings with our new clients to check how they’re adjusting with our outsourcing setup and get feedback on their staff’s performance.
A hands-on approach is crucial in this phase because we need to ensure that our clients have positive experience working with their outsourced team early in the process. Should concerns about a staff member’s performance arise, I would intervene right away to help the staff improve and meet the client’s expectations.
b. Monitoring
Once the client has become accustomed to the setup, I entrust the entire day-to-day client management and communication with the team leaders. My role shifts from direct client engagement to monitoring the performance of their staff through regular reports from each team lead.
I also check in with our clients quarterly to ask how they are and if they are satisfied with their ongoing engagement with us.
c. Mediating
Every now and then, our clients raise concerns about their engagement. There are clients who would want to grow their team and hire more talent. Others, meanwhile, plan to downscale or make process improvements.
These concerns are often out of a team leader’s control. When it comes to these, I intercede and make the necessary arrangements with our client, the top management (if needed), and the appropriate administrative department.
To ensure that all client needs and requests are met, I get in touch with various departments across our organization.
Here’s how I, and other middle managers at D&V Philippines, collaborate with other departments.
a. Human Resources (HR) Department
In terms of talent acquisition, we coordinate with the HR Department by:
To evaluate a staff’s performance, we assist the HR Department by:
b. Information Technology (IT) Department
When onboarding new clients:
We let the IT Department know the equipment, software, and data security measures needed for the account. This is to ensure that our systems are properly integrated with the ones used by the client.
When onboarding new employees:
We let the IT Department know what the new hires need based on the account they belong to so they can start work with ease.
For process improvements:
When a client asks for our help to improve their finance and accounting processes through automation, we ask the IT Department for advice and assistance. This way, we can be confident that we’re setting up the systems properly without compromising data integrity and security.
We submit reports on our team’s operations to the Finance Department. The latter then uses these reports as source materials in preparing revenue forecasts, labor costing, and company expense reports.
Being a middle manager is challenging.
Most days, it activates your adrenaline. You cannot really tell what new challenges you’ll be facing. Like most people-oriented jobs, you get to deal with different types of stakeholders with different personalities, priorities, and values.
But for me, the very nature of this role is also what makes being a middle manager more exciting.
It’s always full of action. It sharpens your problem-solving abilities. It trains you to become a better, empathetic leader.
But sometimes, being sandwiched between the directives from the top management and the concerns from the employees can feel overwhelming. This is why becoming a middle manager requires mental resilience. You must not break in the face of challenges. Rather, you must gracefully lead your people towards success.
Here are some of my realizations that taught me become a better middle manager for a team of 120 talented individuals:
Middle managers must balance the expectations of the top management, the employees, and the clients. However, it’s often trickier than it seems.
When caught in a difficult situation, one of the best ways is to look back at the company’s core values. What are our shared principles that took us to where we are now?
D&V Philippines, for example, is guided by our FIRE core values, which stand for Fun, Integrity, Relationship, and Excellence. When I remind myself of what these values mean, it becomes easier to make decisions that can work best for the parties involved.
Managing a huge team, particularly one that exceeds a hundred, is a challenging feat if you do everything alone. Having trusted leaders beside you can make this responsibility more manageable.
To nurture great leaders, you must show them that you trust their ability to lead and make decisions.
The first step to make it happen? Take a step back. Let them do their thing but be available whenever they need your guidance and mentorship. When you do this, you give them the liberty to lead their team in their own style and the assurance that they’re not alone.
Every month, I meet with my team leaders to discuss matters about their team. These monthly meetings have become a safe space for us where everyone can share their concerns without judgment. We make it a practice to listen intentionally and help others think of solutions instead of drowning them in criticism.
When your team knows it’s safe to speak with you, it’s easier to identify and resolve issues before they snowball into bigger concerns. The quicker you resolve issues, the smoother your day-to-day operations will be.
Middle managers are more than communicators and implementers of directives. It's a role with many hats; a fulfilling yet challenging job that requires mental resilience.
For growing organizations, especially those belonging to service-oriented sectors, having effective middle managers is essential to closing the expanding gap between the top management and the employees; the strategists and the doers.
About the author
Lisette Ramos is a Senior Director of Global Operations at D&V Philippines. She’s also a key member of the company’s Products and Solutions Unit. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
—Written in collaboration with Mary Milorrie Campos, a senior content and creative specialist at D&V Philippines.
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