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Truth About Middle Managers
Middle management" is a term associated with relentless downsizing, corporate drudgery, and career dead-ends. Bashed by management gurus, dismissed by social scientists, and painted as victims by the media, middle managers seem permanently relegated to the sidelines of corporate power.
But is this popular picture accurate? Are middle managers really no longer valued by today's performance-driven organizations?
The truth is surprising. MIT management scholar Paul Osterman has analyzed over thirty years' worth of employment data, interviewed a wide sample of managers, and uncovered a very different picture of middle managers today. Not only have their numbers increased dramatically, but middle managers are wealthier, more productive, more autonomous--and they gain real pleasure from their day-to-day work.
But there's another side to the story: while managers have maintained their commitment to their tasks and to their colleagues, they are increasingly cynical and distant from their organizations. They are confused about their future and how to manage their careers. This comes at a time when the value of middle management is much greater than ever before. Organizations must rethink their understanding of this vital workforce segment--now.
Understand the issues for yourself with The Truth About Middle Managers' refreshing and counter-intuitive look at what's really going on.
But is this popular picture accurate? Are middle managers really no longer valued by today's performance-driven organizations?
The truth is surprising. MIT management scholar Paul Osterman has analyzed over thirty years' worth of employment data, interviewed a wide sample of managers, and uncovered a very different picture of middle managers today. Not only have their numbers increased dramatically, but middle managers are wealthier, more productive, more autonomous--and they gain real pleasure from their day-to-day work.
But there's another side to the story: while managers have maintained their commitment to their tasks and to their colleagues, they are increasingly cynical and distant from their organizations. They are confused about their future and how to manage their careers. This comes at a time when the value of middle management is much greater than ever before. Organizations must rethink their understanding of this vital workforce segment--now.
Understand the issues for yourself with The Truth About Middle Managers' refreshing and counter-intuitive look at what's really going on.
189 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 21, 2019
When I chose this book, I though that as a middle manager, I would gain some insight into my work niche, but I find having finished it, that I don’t feel that I learned much. I am guessing that this book is better directed to HR employees/managers, and that they might get more out of the graphs and statistics that I did.
The book ends, seemingly in the same place it begins, saying that most middle managers are committed to their jobs and colleagues, but that they have lost much of their commitment to their firms and are suspicious of upper management. But…isn’t this true of the workforce as a whole? Aren’t we all, management or no, recognizing that there is no loyalty to be had from most companies and that upper management (speaking here of CEOs in particular) is living in an entirely different universe than the average American worker?
Again, I am perhaps not the right audience for this book, but I just didn’t find much that was enlightening regarding either my day to day life or career as a middle manager. Times have changed for employees, on all levels of the org chart.
I did find one section that really struck home, though. In defining “middle managers” – Osterman does it well. “Middle managers are responsible for both internal and external management of teams, act as the transmission belt between the top of the organization and the bottom, and make day-to-day choices and trade-offs that escape the attention of top management yet are central to the organization’s performance.”
Too true, too true.
The book ends, seemingly in the same place it begins, saying that most middle managers are committed to their jobs and colleagues, but that they have lost much of their commitment to their firms and are suspicious of upper management. But…isn’t this true of the workforce as a whole? Aren’t we all, management or no, recognizing that there is no loyalty to be had from most companies and that upper management (speaking here of CEOs in particular) is living in an entirely different universe than the average American worker?
Again, I am perhaps not the right audience for this book, but I just didn’t find much that was enlightening regarding either my day to day life or career as a middle manager. Times have changed for employees, on all levels of the org chart.
I did find one section that really struck home, though. In defining “middle managers” – Osterman does it well. “Middle managers are responsible for both internal and external management of teams, act as the transmission belt between the top of the organization and the bottom, and make day-to-day choices and trade-offs that escape the attention of top management yet are central to the organization’s performance.”
Too true, too true.
February 10, 2014
By way of a very short definition, middle managers are those who interpret and execute decisions; they do not set agendas but carry them out.
And a little history:
1950- 1980 managers were the heroes, the victor.
1980-2000 managers expanded to the point of dysfunctional. Managers became so compartmentalized that a spirit of noncooperation in the company resulted where one manager would be inclined to hide projects from other managers. Senior managers may have over hired middle managers because their senior compensation depended on the size of their empire.
2000- today. Rather than lifetime employment managerial jobs have become short term. Pay has stagnated and they have lost their privileged status, they have become the victim. Companies have down sized and managers deal with a huge range of issues.
Osterman book is full of real life examples, real people, real companies that give proof to his ideas about middle management. Osterman gives us a real people, real middle managers who have had that job and tells what it's like for them. For example: "James E. Sharlow, a $130,000-per year manager at Eastman Kodak Company who lost his job as the firm downsized and who commented, 'I believe in the American Dream. I feel it fading.'"
Companies today have created managers who do not feel loyalty to their company but do feel a great deal of concern and loyalty to their group or team. Managers hold their team together internally and also play ambassadorial role across teams.
"Middle managers may be under increased pressure and may feel greater stress, but to stop there would miss what is the most important part of the picture... middle managers have strong commitment to the work itself." But to their company? Not so much. That commitment is conditional and tentative.
Osterman addresses what the needs are for middle managers, how they feel successful and when they feel betrayed and most importantly how to remedy the misconceptions and problems of being a middle manager.
Middle managers in essence live in their own little world. This little world enables them to survive but the problem is that these middle managers are not committed to their employer or the company's strategy. This book addresses what can be done.
Middle managers are essential to a company's success but companies need to reevaluate the care and feeding that these essential workers receive.
And a little history:
1950- 1980 managers were the heroes, the victor.
1980-2000 managers expanded to the point of dysfunctional. Managers became so compartmentalized that a spirit of noncooperation in the company resulted where one manager would be inclined to hide projects from other managers. Senior managers may have over hired middle managers because their senior compensation depended on the size of their empire.
2000- today. Rather than lifetime employment managerial jobs have become short term. Pay has stagnated and they have lost their privileged status, they have become the victim. Companies have down sized and managers deal with a huge range of issues.
Osterman book is full of real life examples, real people, real companies that give proof to his ideas about middle management. Osterman gives us a real people, real middle managers who have had that job and tells what it's like for them. For example: "James E. Sharlow, a $130,000-per year manager at Eastman Kodak Company who lost his job as the firm downsized and who commented, 'I believe in the American Dream. I feel it fading.'"
Companies today have created managers who do not feel loyalty to their company but do feel a great deal of concern and loyalty to their group or team. Managers hold their team together internally and also play ambassadorial role across teams.
"Middle managers may be under increased pressure and may feel greater stress, but to stop there would miss what is the most important part of the picture... middle managers have strong commitment to the work itself." But to their company? Not so much. That commitment is conditional and tentative.
Osterman addresses what the needs are for middle managers, how they feel successful and when they feel betrayed and most importantly how to remedy the misconceptions and problems of being a middle manager.
Middle managers in essence live in their own little world. This little world enables them to survive but the problem is that these middle managers are not committed to their employer or the company's strategy. This book addresses what can be done.
Middle managers are essential to a company's success but companies need to reevaluate the care and feeding that these essential workers receive.
May 27, 2009
Rare examination of middle management
Forests of trees have been felled and oceans of money spent studying corporate CEOs and top executive management. In this much-needed book, Paul Osterman does something different: he takes a good look at the ranks of middle managers, how they have fared during the past decades of corporate upheavals and how their jobs have changed. You may be surprised to learn that more middle managers are at work now than three decades ago, even though management has many fewer layers. Middle managers ensure the successful completion of the corporation’s work. Top management may set the agenda, but the supervisors who run the teams execute it. Osterman explodes myths about middle managers and what has happened to their jobs. getAbstract recommends his fresh insights into these vital jobs and the people who fill them.
Forests of trees have been felled and oceans of money spent studying corporate CEOs and top executive management. In this much-needed book, Paul Osterman does something different: he takes a good look at the ranks of middle managers, how they have fared during the past decades of corporate upheavals and how their jobs have changed. You may be surprised to learn that more middle managers are at work now than three decades ago, even though management has many fewer layers. Middle managers ensure the successful completion of the corporation’s work. Top management may set the agenda, but the supervisors who run the teams execute it. Osterman explodes myths about middle managers and what has happened to their jobs. getAbstract recommends his fresh insights into these vital jobs and the people who fill them.
March 30, 2013
A must-read book on middle management for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews