A Middle Manager is trusted with a variety of roles and responsibilities. Since the individual is the direct link between the top authorities and the employees working in different departments, he/she is working all around the clock. He/she is expected to communicate various requirements, needs, and requests of both levels of management. Even though a middle manager does not control and run the whole organization, he is entrusted with overlooking and monitoring all departments’ working. Moreover, they need to create a healthy working environment and deal with any conflicts between the higher and the lower authority. Which is a vital Job Responsibility for a Middle Manager?
Note that all responsibilities of a Middle Manager are essential and are considered to be of equal value. So be it any organization; each company needs a middle manager to resolve conflicts and ensure the staff is operating in the right direction. On the other hand, he/she also provides that the higher authorities create frameworks aligned to the employees’ requirements and not against their interests.
In the opinion of more people in this job position and people who have worked closely with Middle Managers, one job responsibility is considered the most essential. It ensures that there is effective communication between the boards of directors and the people working in all departments. This requires the manager to understand needs correctly and make sure that they are conveyed properly. For this purpose, there needs to be effective communication and zero risks of misunderstandings.
On the one hand, the middle manager needs to make sure he is supervising the lower managers and reporting and being of use to the top authorities. A person who is trustworthy and reliable is the right pick for this post.
What are the must-have skills for a Middle Manager?
While a middle manager needs to have a whole set of skills to ensure the smooth functioning of all departments, leadership skills are the most important for this job. Managers in the middle position need four different kinds of skills that all come under leadership. Based on real-life experience and detailed research over the years, here’s a brief account of the skills that are must be acquired –
- Self Awareness – This means understanding yourself and your work style. The workload and pressure can sometimes get too much. It is only when you know your limit and how much you can push yourself on certain days that you can avoid breaking down. Once you know your strengths, weaknesses, motivators, quirks, and needs, you can make better daily decisions for your well-being. You need to realize what the big picture for not only the organization but also for yourself is.
- Influence – This is one of the most critical skills that need attention these days. You need to get work done, and this will not be possible with only your expertise. To get people on board and agree on what you think is best for the company, you need to develop relationships and create a bond with the employees. It is okay if some people are against you and your ideas.
- Thinking and Acting Systemically: It requires you to give up the constant urge to please and satisfy people around you. You need to practice self-control and have complete clarity on your priorities. Even though you need to make sure you understand people and empathize with them, you cannot let others’ opinions and problems affect you and ultimately lose concentration. You have to pay attention to patterns and relationships in the organization. Look at the bigger perspective and be open to different opinions.
- Learning Agility – Just your skills, qualities, and knowledge is never enough. You have to be okay with adjusting, being resourceful, and adapting to situations that sometimes are not ideal for you. Make sure you are never tired of learning. Since being a middle manager is a long career, constantly learning new things is the best way to enjoy it and make the most of it.
What are the Roles and Responsibilities of a Middle Manager?
A middle manager has more work to do than only bridge the gap between the employees and the higher authorities. The individual’s work is very flexible as well as of variety. While there are some tasks that he/she performs in their day-to-day work life, most tasks are spontaneous and keep changing from time to time. Another essential task is motivating the employees and ensuring they are dedicated enough to reach deadlines and indulge in high-quality work. Apart from these basic duties, here are the primary responsibilities that a middle manager is entrusted with –
- Overseeing the work of all employees and being updated with the work of all departments. This can be tricky since companies have various departments and quite a few employees in each of them.
- Monitoring the performance of all employees and providing the board with an in-depth performance review of each staff member.
- Effectively communicating the suggestion and feedback given by the board for the employees. Apart from communication, making sure that this feedback is worked on and there is a considerable improvement.
- Being familiar with the company’s overall goals and making sure that the employees are working enough and are in the right direction to achieve goals set at the beginning of the year.
- Organizing and controlling the day-to-day operations that take place in the company. Using leadership skills to assign tasks and take action in case goals are not met.
- Creating monthly/yearly reports in terms of financing, budgets, and overall expenditure.
Without a doubt, both working, as well as leading, is a difficult job to do. Work can get tricky when you need to understand constant orders from above and make sure the lower departments deliver quality work in a timely fashion. Make sure that you think strategically and are already prepared for any challenges that may come your way. Your ability to think and act spontaneously is vital in this job post. If you have a knack for it, being a middle manager can be one of the most exciting career options for you! To reiterate, while all job duties are essential in this role, balancing between the lower and the higher authorities and making sure both are satisfied is the essential responsibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the highest and the lowest expected salary of a middle manager?
Middle Managers are paid exceptionally well. Since this job does not have a specific description and requires a skill set that is diverse and includes knowledge from various disciplines, most companies need an individual fit for this job role. For this reason, the highest salary of a middle manager is $156,696 per year. However, when it comes to the lowest salary in this post, this is mostly for people who have just started their careers and have minimal experience. As a result, the lowest pay in this industry is $59,581 a year in the United States.
- What is the key to becoming a good middle manager?
Like all other job posts, there is not an order of steps that will make you excel at the job. However, effective communication skills, along with the ability to correctly intermediate between both the lower and the higher authorities, will take you a long way in this industry.
- What are the primary roles and duties of this job role?
As discussed earlier, being a middle manager requires you to carry out duties of various disciplines and, sometimes, different departments of the organization. Here is a list of primary duties that each individual in the middle level is supposed to perform –
- Allocating and distributing resources as and when needed to meet the goals and objectives set at the beginning of the year.
- Managing and monitoring the performance of people that work under you.
- Creating a healthy work environment and being the go-to person if there is any conflict between employees, different departments, etc.
- Being accountable to the top management about the workings of all departments and taking responsibility in case of a discrepancy.
- How important is communication to excel in this post?
Not just communication, but effective communication is one of the most critical skills needed to excel in your job as a middle manager. Since your primary role is to coordinate and communicate between departments and the lower and the higher authorities, you need to make sure that you correctly listen and convey the correct meanings as and when required.
- What are different job positions under the umbrella of a middle manager?
Managers are of different types. Various managers can be required to fulfill the duties of a middle-level manager. These job positions mainly include general managers, department managers, vice presidents, branch managers, regional managers, divisional managers, and much more.
- This job is considered to be one of the most exhausting. Is this true?
Yes, this is true. Sometimes, the workload gets so much that it can also lead to stress-related and heart-related problems. However, there is not much to worry about if you are well aware and take precautions before too late. Balancing between working and personal life is as important as excelling in your company.
