Summary: Middle management is a very broad category that covers a lot of management positions. Generally, it’s defined as a manager that primarily manages managers but reports to a higher-level manager. The larger the organization, the more middle managers it’s likely to have.
Many businesses have been shifting away from middle management, instead prioritizing agility and smaller teams. There are advantages to this approach, of course, but middle management serves many different purposes that are then being pushed onto other positions to fulfill.
Because middle management is often ill-defined, managers stuck in the middle will sometimes have unclear instructions on what they’re expected to do. Or will be assigned other non-managerial tasks in addition to their primary duties.
Key Takeaways:
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Middle management is typically defined as a management position that primarily manages managers but isn’t C-suite level. Therefore, they’re someone who manages managers but also reports to another manager.
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The primary responsibilities of a middle manager include implementing policy, assisting the teams under their supervision with their projects, monitoring employee performance, and acting as a bridge between upper management and the people on the ground.
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Examples of middle management positions include: regional manager, general manager, branch manager, and department head.
What Is Middle Management?
Middle management is usually defined as being between the top, C-suite managers, and the typical role of a supervisor. In other words, middle managers manage managers but are, in turn, managed by other higher-level managers.
Due to their position in a neither-nor category – neither someone who works directly on the project nor someone who runs a department – middle management has become synonymous with unnecessary bureaucracy. Despite that, there are many different important roles and responsibilities that those in middle management positions serve.
Middle Management Responsibilities
Middle management is a very broad category, covering a large number of positions. Due to the fact that it’s extremely varied – and sometimes ill-defined – middle managers can get stuck with responsibilities that are outside their jurisdiction. Here is a list of what middle managers are typically responsible for.
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Policy implementation. Middle managers are usually the ones who put policies into action. They come up with ways to enforce and measure different policies and make sure that the teams under their supervision follow the organization’s policies and procedures.
This can easily make a middle manager feel removed from the members of their teams, so you have to do your best to bring the supervisors under you in on the policy implemented whenever possible. That will help prevent resistance and deliberate non-compliance.
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Allocating resources. Tho people in middle management are typically the ones who allocate resources. They’re given a certain budget and materials that they have to dole out among the teams under them. That requires knowledge of how many resources different teams need as well as how forgiving upper management is about going over it.
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Translating top-level management strategies into doable tasks. It’s not uncommon for a middle manager to oversee a project. That means that they need to take the C-suite executives’ vision and turn it into something that has deadlines and goals. Those pieces are then handed off to the supervisors and the teams who do the work.
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Monitoring performance. A major component of being in management is assessing employee performance. This is primarily that of those directly under you, which would be the supervisors. However, middle managers are often involved in the career paths and assessments of lower-level employees too.
Many middle managers will be involved in training, reviews, and the creation of professional development plans. This isn’t usually something that they do directly – that’s the job of the direct supervisor – but they set policies and expectations and make sure that milestones are being met.
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Assisting teams in meeting their objectives. As with all management, middle managers’ primary job is to make sure that their subordinates can do their jobs. That means that you shield them from problems in upper management, make sure that they have the resources and information they need, and offer assistance when needed.
Managers help with potential conflicts, problems, and snags as well. Another part of their job is checking up on employees to make sure that everything’s going well. This can require a lot of juggling, which is why managers in this position should only have one task – managing.
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Bridging the gap. One of the foremost responsibilities of a middle manager is to work with both higher management and supervisor positions. That makes you the go-between.
You are responsible for communicating higher management’s policies and expectations to the supervisors. Additionally, you need to inform upper management of potential problems and what the teams on the ground will need to succeed.
Examples of Middle Management Positions
As middle management is a very wide category, there are numerous positions that fit under the umbrella. The term has a certain faceless quality, though, which can make it difficult to imagine what a middle management position would look like. Here are some examples of job titles that qualify as middle management positions.
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Department head. While the head of a department is often considered high-level management – and it is –it’s still middle management. Department heads still report to another manager – often the head of the whole enterprise – and primarily manage other managers.
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Regional Manager. While being the one responsible for an entire region is a lot of responsibility, you still report to another manager. Some will have managers that look after several regions, while others will just report to the head of a particular aspect of the business. But either way, you manage managers and report to managers.
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General Manager. This is often a step down from a regional manager. You’d be in charge of managing the location – a retail store, car dealership, etcetera, but would report to the regional manager.
However, as a general manager, you’d primarily be in charge of managing the other managers, such as the inventory manager, sales manager, and assistant manager. General managers often regularly interact with lower-level employees, but they don’t primarily manage them.
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Branch Manager. A branch manager is going to be similar to a regional manager in many ways. But it’s the same concept – they report to someone higher up in the company, while other managers report to them.
Middle Management FAQ
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What’s the difference between middle management and top management?
What counts as middle management is ill-defined, but the generally accepted definition is a management position that isn’t at the top – C-suite, ownership, or the like – but is still someone who primarily manages managers.
That is an extremely broad category. It can mean anything from a department head to a project manager, to a program manager, to a regional manager, or even a store manager.
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What skills are important to be a successful middle manager?
To be a successful middle manager, you’ll want to have excellent communication skills, be adaptable, be organized, and possess leadership skills. Middle managers often perform a balancing act between upper management and supervisory positions.
That means that they have to be able to make changes on the fly and convey information from one side to the other on a regular basis.
References
Author
Di Doherty
Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
