Protect the middle management

Widespread myth significant explanation on why middle managers are overloaded.

In-house communications departments risk enhancing the adverse effects of the economic crisis. They often demand much too much from middle managers regarding to middle managers ability to be instrumental in passing on large amounts of knowledge to their employees.

Yesterday the business daily Børsen gave coverage to the consultancy Cococo, which in an analysis documented that Danish companies appoint too many middle managers. Especially on this background it is important that companies are realistic in their demands on middle managers.

In many companies communications has become a strategic management discipline. Therefore it has great effect on the working conditions of middle managers that in-house communications departments often believes that an employee’s immediate supervisor is the employees preferred communicator.

This is a myth, which also exists internationally, and which is a significant explanation on why middle managers are so overloaded with requirements concerning their communication skills. Middle managers are expected to have an incredibly large amount of knowledge on matters such as strategy, customers and complicated internal circumstances in their companies. Without any realism the top expects, that middle managers are updated on all this knowledge and that they are able to pass it on to their employees.

The economic crisis has resulted in significantly increased pressure on middle management. This was documented in August by the consultancy McKinsey in a global analysis. More than every fourth middle manager says that they find their current role less meaningful and exiting than before the crisis. Only one out of three middle managers thinks that it is very likely that they are with their current employers two years from now.

Small clone of the CEO

The top often demands that a middle manager far down the hierarchy in reality be a small clone of the CEO. Luckily there are significant exceptions to this. But the undisguised demands from the top on many middle managers also increase expectations from their employees on, what they as employees can demand from their immediate supervisors. Hence pressure on middle managers also builds up from below.

As a matter of fact it is simple to help middle managers. In-house communications departments should think as anybody else. Who would you like to tell you about how your company is doing at the moment? The top management or your immediate supervisor? If you refer to a middle manager somewhere down the hierarchy, and if the top management of your company has an open and dialogue oriented style of communication, there will seldom be any doubt on what your answer will be.

This opinion was published in the leading Danish business daily Børsen 1 August 2009.