Success of Middle Management Depends on Upper Management

Burack-Weiss
Silverstone

Through basic leadership and supervisory skills, human service organizations can ensure that the pipeline is open in both directions—communication of performance expectations downward and upward communication of frontline workers’ experiences to inform those directives. By empowering middle managers in this fashion, middle management remains equally credible to those above and below them in the agency hierarchy.

Upper management plays an important role in helping middle management personnel understand and more effectively fulfill their middle management role. Upper managers not only can provide opportunities for the development of administrative, educative, and supportive skills, but they also can model the application of these skills in a “parallel process.”
The middle manager, or “supervisor” in many human service agencies, is often a line worker who was promoted from within because of his/her longevity and/or superior work performance.

Because this person is familiar with the agency culture and the challenges workers face each day, it is assumed that she is in an ideal position to interpret and implement agency directives. However, a continuing identification with former peers often makes for difficulty in assuming an authoritative role. Rather than judiciously balancing the viewpoints of both sides, she may find herself thrust into a role as advocate for frontline staff.

When the middle manager is imported, the situation is reversed. This individual may have demonstrated supervisory capacity elsewhere, but she lacks knowledge of agency culture or the day-to-day demands on frontline workers. Her continued advocacy of upper management views can make her a target for staff discontent.

Regardless of how she came to her position, however, upper management can empower a middle manager so that she does not perceive competing points of view as a conflict. Rather, she sees it as a creative opportunity for staff development. She is able to balance directives from above with support and educational development opportunities for those under her supervision, thereby empowering frontline workers to learn and grow on the job.

The Administrative Role

Let us imagine that a human service agency is faced with the necessity of cutting back on services, increasing caseloads, or requiring more paperwork. All of these are common situations in today’s practice climate, and none will be greeted comfortably by line staff.

If a memo or e-mail is issued from the CEO to all staff stating the new requirement and its reasons, the middle manager is left to her own devices in implementation. If middle managers meet personally with the CEO and are convinced of the necessity for change, they may have greater “buy in,” but are still rendered powerless.

In neither case is the middle manager invited to think through how the need can best be addressed or, as importantly, engage her line staff by using their firsthand knowledge of daily practice.

The middle manager who is empowered by upper management recognizes that there are many options when it comes to implementing policy. She will move comfortably through these, combining individual and group strategies—in person and through the written word—to reach the desired goal.

She will use some strategies learned on the job, modeling her actions on the ways that upper management has dealt with her. She will learn others through networking with peers and taking off-site or online courses about supervision and management.

The Educative Role

The effectiveness of a human service agency depends, to a large degree, on the knowledge and skills of its line staff, who often are faced with complex and challenging individual and family problems.

Some line staff enter the workplace with professional or paraprofessional training and experience; others have little relevant background. All require some level of agency-based training and a supervisory structure that helps them apply best practice information to their daily work.

The middle manager usually inherits a supervisory structure formulated long before she came on the scene. Rarely is this a paternalistic, rigid approach that allows workers little room for autonomy. More often it is a laissez faire, “open door” policy in which workers are encouraged to drop in and ask for help on an as needed basis.

The empowered middle manager will be able to assess the training needs of her staff as well as design and implement a strategy that takes individual strengths and challenges into account. Agency-based training can include participation at outside conferences, participation in online courses, or presentations from consultants or outside speakers.

The middle manager can supervise these trainings through individual meetings, peer-led groups, case conferences, and staff meetings. Any educational structure should have a minimum of one individual meeting with line staff each month—a time to explore their concerns or ideas and convey an interest in their personal development.

The middle manager will learn some of these educative techniques from the way upper management interacts with her and agency peers. She can also be encouraged to attend outside training seminars and online training opportunities on supervision.

The Supportive Role

There is some truth in the oft-repeated adage, “Workers don’t leave their jobs; they leave their bosses.” While there are many reasons why some human service agencies have difficulty retaining staff, discontent with the personal relationship with one’s supervisor is surely on the list.

In today’s climate of diminished resources, management can rarely do as much for staff as they would like. More pay, smaller workloads, and better working conditions may be impossible to come by. Yet, recognition of a job well done goes a long way towards building staff morale and productivity.

Support is more than pats on the back, celebratory lunches, and commemorative plaques—as valuable as these may be. “Great job” comments made in passing have little value, especially if overused.

More effective is management’s recognition of specific strengths of individual workers and positive reinforcement that builds success. This means acknowledging the case manager who has a magic touch with securing entitlements or the direct care worker who knows just the words and actions to calm a distraught child. Frontline staff need to hear that their skills are noted and valued.

Good Process will Reap Success

The empowerment of middle management is an ongoing process. It consists of a blended approach in which outside resources such as online or in-person courses and readings on leadership and supervision are mixed with upper management modeling the very strategies they wish to instill. This includes the provision of regular feedback to the middle manager.

Knowledgeable and skilled middle managers allow for the pipeline of communication to be open in both directions, benefitting frontline workers and ultimately also the families and individuals they serve.

Ann Burack-Weiss and Barbara Silverstone are the founders of SBW Partners. They offer more than 40 years each of administrative and training experience in nonprofit human service agencies. SBW Partners provides collaboration on staff development and training in supervisory and mentorship skills, and assistance with strategic planning related to developing social and mental health services for older adults and their families.

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