I spent seven years in middle management spanning two different companies. That gave me a good flavor of what the job entails and what it takes to do it successfully.

Before I get into that, I’d like to spend some time explaining what middle management is not:

Middle management isn’t anything like front-line management

Front-line managers oversee individual contributors. When you are a front-line manager, you are directly accountable for the execution and delivery of services within your functional area. You are on-call by default and a constant point of escalation. The outcomes are tangible and easily measurable.

Middle managers manage the front-line managers. They are not key to execution, as long as they have delegated appropriately. Several times, I took a three-week vacation, and my department hummed along swimmingly without me. My cell phone didn’t ring once. My front-line managers knew what they are doing.

Middle management isn’t anything like executive management

I define executive management as the roles that are VP and above, typically no more than two levels down from the CEO. Executives are responsible for formulating the strategic direction of the company. As officers, they are ultimately accountable for company performance, and often face-off to media, the board, and investors.

Middle managers don’t carry that burden. They aren’t in the public spotlight and don’t define company-wide strategy.

Middle management is expendable

This is Rule #19 from my Rules for Advancement series. If you haven’t read it, check it out here. This is the natural conclusion of the first two statements. If middle management isn’t key to execution of service delivery and isn’t key to company-wide strategy, then it probably isn’t all that critical.

I knew this risk going into middle management and I accepted it. The role itself is expendable and easily interchangeable. Job security doesn’t come from an employer, it comes from within. I know I have marketable skills, and that’s enough for me.

Middle management is uniquely valuable

I’ve painted a pretty bleak picture so far. Now that I’ve torn it down, I want to build it back up the right way. Middle management is intensely valuable to an organization. That value cannot be realized if middle managers are acting like front-line managers or executives. Their role is unique.

Middle managers contextualize the vision

Executives do a fantastic job of casting vision and setting strategic direction, but that does not translate into action. Individual contributors and front-line managers are likely to attend a rousing speech by top executives only to go back to their desks afterward to continue doing what they’ve always done.

This is where middle managers shine. They are close enough to the top and bottom to bridge the gap and make vision real and actionable. Middle management has the explicit duty to contextualize everything to be applicable to the department. If individual contributors cannot see how they fit into the mission, vision, and strategy of the company, then the middle manager isn’t doing their job.

Middle managers master soft power

Most organizations consolidate the bulk of hard power (carrots and sticks) to the top-level executives. That leaves middle managers with a lot of responsibility but very little hard power. Good middle managers develop their ability to influence and persuade through effective communication.

They are adept at navigating the political landscape to negotiate and broker authority when needed. They do all of this without a fancy title but instead rely on their own expertise and professional presence.

Middle managers connect

Middle managers understand the power of networks and organizations to get things done. If they didn’t understand this, they would still be front-line managers. They leverage that skill not only with their direct organization but indirectly across the entire corporation.

Middle managers can be some of the best-connected people inside the organization. They know how to get things done because they know who to talk to.

Middle managers do change

I saved the most important aspect for last. Front-line managers run their organizations. Middle managers change their organizations. The latter is really hard to do if you are busy running things. You need to be a little above the fray to see the future and devise a pathway to get there.

Middle managers need to have a longer planning horizon. Organizational change takes time, persistence, and patience. The rewards and outcomes are there, but they don’t come overnight. This takes a tremendous amount of fortitude and will.

Work worth doing

To all of the middle managers out there, this is what you do. It’s not glamorous, but it’s incredibly important. To my readers that aspire to middle management, know what you are getting into. It’s a unique role that’s altogether different from running a team of individual contributors.

Anything you’d add to the list? Please comment below. Like my blog? Please share it with your colleagues.