Elise Finn and Kate Franklin, co-founders of Nkuzi Change, creating courageous, accountable cultures by unlocking the brilliance of Middle Leaders in large organisations. © Richard Cannon/FT
We were featured in the Financial Times in their article: “Middle Managers - On the new front line of office life”. The importance of middle leaders is often overlooked and the interest in this article shows that finally middle leaders are receiving the attention they deserve.
The article features interviews with Middle Leaders on the challenges they face in their workplaces. From navigating autocratic parent-child relationship styles, managing the balance between work and family life, and the tension created by the need to juggle being a leader, role model and technical expert.
Not only are Middle Leaders overlooked, they are often viewed as the ‘frozen layer’ who ‘block change’. The stereotype of the bureaucratic manager, going nowhere and marking time is so out of touch with the experience we have from spending 1000s of hours talking one on one with Middle Leaders.
Middle Leaders are the beating heart of a large organisation. Not only are they responsible for day to day performance and operations, but they are also relied upon to deliver strategic change that they have had no part in designing.
Yet they are often overlooked and under supported.
The statistics referenced in the FT article underscore this point. 74% of managers say they don’t have the influence or resources to create positive change on their teams and 54% say senior leadership is out of touch with employees.
Faced with these issues, Middle Leaders often default to their comfort zone of technical or functional expertise, leading them to neglect their roles as line managers, as a leader and ultimately role models.
Recognising and addressing these tensions can unlock their true potential, aid their careers and serve the organisation in many powerful ways.
The article closes on a quote from one of our co-founders Elise Finn “when they’re good, they (Middle Leaders) can be catalysts for positive change.”
You can find the article here. We recommend you read it if you're in a position of influence in a large organisation. We work to unlock the brilliance of Middle Leaders and have plenty of evidence to support the impact of our programmes. If you're interested we would love to hear from you.
We would also like to thank the Financial Times for featuring us on an issue that is so central to our mission
Connect with us on LinkedIn Elise Finn Kate Franklin where we post on issues relevant to creating courageous, proactive cultures in large organisations.
