152 152
153 153
154 154
155 155
156 156
157 157
158 158
159 159
160 160
161 161
162 162
163 163
164 164
165 165
166 166
167 167
168 168
169 169
170 170
171 171
172 172
173 173
174 174
175 175
176 176
177 177
178 178
179 179
180 180
181 181
182 182
183 183
184 184
185 185
186 186
187 187
188 188
189 189
190 190
191 191
192 192
193 193
194 195
195 197
196 198
197 199
198 200
199 201
200 202
201 203
202 204
203 205
204 206
205 207
206 208
207 209
208 210
209 211
210 212
211 213
212 214
213 215
Introduction
It was a yellow fish with bright blue stripes, unlike any other in the aquarium, that drew my attention.
Regally, intentionally, it circled the center of the glass encasement at a measured pace, surrounded by myriad other fish darting wildly about. My co‐worker, sitting next to me at a noisy work‐dinner party, asked what I was staring at. I brushed the question off and reentered the fray of conversation, albeit half‐heartedly. At a time when I felt frazzled in my middle management role, I kept stealing glances at the Pisces protagonist, my mind lost in association.
I was that fish.
Maneuvering in the middle of an oversized fishbowl, all eyes privy to my every movement. Surrounded, yet lonely. Pressure from all sides; the weight of water. Watching other fish with their own agenda zip by while I labored to remain steady and purposeful in the middle of it all.
Such is the plight of the middle manager, of those who lead from the middle.
Which would be anyone who has a boss or is a boss, at any level, anyone who must influence in all directions to do their job well.
Me. You.
My existential moment happened in the middle of my three‐decade corporate career. Even as I moved closer to the “top” at Procter & Gamble to run multibillion‐dollar businesses, I was still always in the middle at some level, with people to influence above, and always plenty of those to influence down and across. It was exhausting at times, exhilarating at others. I found myself wishing someone would study the unique challenges of middle managers and offer help. Then I decided, “Why not me?”
And so began a journey that carried on for 15 more years in corporate; intensely studying those who lead from the middle and their challenges, watching how they operate effectively (or not), learning the success secrets of influencing up, down, and across, all as I rose at P&G, knowing that understanding the middle was how I was able to rise at all to begin with.
It became a mission, a mission for the middle, one that has carried over into my post‐corporate life. I leverage each class I teach as faculty at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business for Executive Education to study the middle manager. I conduct studies, interviews, surveys, and focus groups with these heroes. I wrote hundreds of articles about middle‐management struggles for my top Inc.com column, garnering well over a million clicks a month, which speaks to the unmet need in this arena. I wrote the multi‐award‐winning books Make It Matter and Find the Fire that speak to leadership and self‐leadership, all while harboring a burning desire to write the book that addresses head‐on the challenges that middle managers face.
Which brings us to here.
I've been where you are. I know how challenging it is to have to influence in every direction, saddled with an undoable workload, often under‐resourced, under‐appreciated, and over‐stressed. Surrounded, but alone.
It's time the specific challenges of middle managers are recognized and specific help is provided. And while I know the experience, research, data, and volumes of work poured into this book will serve you well, there's another reason it will become your playbook for leading from the middle.
Because it comes from the middle. My heart.
1 The Unique Challenges of Those Who Lead from the Middle
At one point, any mid‐level manager who worked for the Lego company had the set of directives in Figure 1.1 hanging on their office or cubicle wall.1
The middle is messy, full of contradictions and opposing agendas, and couldn't be more critical for a company's success.
And it's you. Those who lead from the messy middle work in spots higher or lower in the organization, from Vice Presidents, General Managers, and Directors to Sales, Marketing, and Design Managers, and many more. They have a boss and are a boss, at any level. It's anyone who has to lead up, down, and across an organization.
Don't