Serve Up, Coach Down: Mastering the Middle and Both Sides of Leadership

by Nathan Jamail

Shows leaders in the middle just how powerful they are without pretending that leading employees and reporting to bosses don’t require different skills. It fills the gap between the books those leaders read and the information they actually need and answers the big questions that constantly confound leaders and their companies: The answer: Leaders in the middle too often serve down to their people and defend up to their bosses, instead of serving up to their bosses and coaching down to their employees. This is why so many companies struggle to innovate and get stuck—leaving everyone frustrated and looking for answers.  Serve Up, Coach Down  changes all that. Great leaders don’t feed their people fish; they coach them on how to fish for themselves and then beat the competition by catching more fish. Those people in return serve their leaders and the people those leaders report to by delivering maximum performance for the organization. Achieving that performance, however, requires leaders in the middle to focus, have confidence, and commit to changing their mindsets.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Management, Psychology, Audiobook, Nonfiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[EB · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book of little use. Some of the main messages of this book are:

1. Do not question or disagree with your manager, assume they have made their decisions on sound information which you are not party to.

2. Do not show loyalty to long serving staff members or those that question upper management choices. If they are not contributing or working hard, your primary loyalty should be with the corporation you work for.

3. If your manager cuts staff from your team, meaning you and others are overworked, do not push back or question it. Assume your manager has reviewed the workload and has a vision for the team which is in your best interests in the long term.

4. The final mantra you should follow is serve up and place your trust in upper management. Coach down and drive your team's performance.

I only finished this book because I found the advice so one sided and nonsensical it was entertaining. Most middle managers will recognise this book as indoctrination which serves the upper tiers of management only.

[Quinns Pheh · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Serve up, coach down” should be the mantra of the middle management. Applying this in practice, you put trust in the upper-level management and also the energy into driving your team’s performance. Ultimately, you could build up your own power and influence by mastering these two components of middle leadership.

Moreover, consistency is key in many things including maintaining professional relationships. Report even when there is nothing to report. The author advices to check in regularly with your boss, staff, and your clients. Making it a point to check in even without a report shows that you are invested in the relationship.

[Chuck Cova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any good book, there are some things I took issue with, but all in all give this two thumbs up. Thanks to Donnie for the recommendation! Instead of Defending Up and Serving Down, the secret sauce to leading from the middle is to Serve Up and Coach Down. The book is full of excellent practical examples and methods for how to do this (as well as making a solid case for Why).

[Zhivko Kabaivanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serve Up, Coach Down (2018) is a corporate leadership guide for middle managers. It empowers workers to “master the middle” by sharing the strategies they need to effectively manage both their team and their boss.

[Maxine Blackwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serve up, coach down.” That should be your mantra if you want to lead from the middle. Put your trust in upper-level management and your energy into driving your team’s performance. Master these two components of middle leadership, and you’ll build up your own power and influence.

[Timeo Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book that addresses a realm of the corporate structure that is rarely addressed: middle-management.

Nathan does a great job of giving examples of when to take certain actions, how to adjust to different employee behavior and the standards and mindsets you should embrace.

[Mark Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful information

Very useful information presented in an easy to understand manner. The section on time management is worth the price of the book all by itself.

[Enz816 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting philosophy that seems obvious yet runs counter to current corporate philosophy. Worth a read…and perhaps implementation.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the most important point I took away was something I continue to learn - ruthless delegation. Every time I think I've delegated all I can, turns out I could delegate a lot more. I need to trust people.

[Nightkid · Rating 1 out of 5]

這本企業管理書籍的內容，就是副標題中提到的服務上級，所謂服務的含義，作者一直強調是並非拍馬屁，而是要懷著謙卑的心去完成老闆的指示。坦白說，我還真看不出其中的分別。

凡老闆說的，就是必須完成的使命，所以接下來就要進入培育下屬的程序了，中階主管必須鞭策下屬完成更多工作，令到下屬成長——這不就是典型的馬屁精主管嗎？只管對上級說YES，無論指示多麼含糊，他們只需把工作全丟給下屬去做就好了，反正最後都有功勞。

這種類型的企管書籍，我還真是讀不懂。