Management Challenges - Stuck in the Middle

How to stop feeling like a sandwich filling

It can feel quite strange when you become a manager, you can feel like you’re the filling in a sandwich, stuck between the demands of senior management and the needs of your team.  Pressure from both sides can leave you feeling overwhelmed if you’re not careful. 

Part of your job is to be a conduit between the two, from senior management down, and from coal face employees up.  You need to try and avoid misunderstanding. It can take quite a bit of getting used to.

First thing’s first, just because someone gives you a job to do, doesn’t mean that you are the one that actually has to do it!  Before you go adding it to your to do list consider if you could delegate it.  Is it a development opportunity for someone, does one of your colleagues do something similar for a different area – can your task be combined with theirs?

Likewise, if one of your team comes to you with a problem, don’t feel under pressure to solve it yourself.  Ask yourself if it’s something that you should really be handling – is it more appropriate for someone else or another department to deal with, perhaps HR, or a more senior manager needs to review.

Now I’m not suggesting that you develop slopey shoulders and try and get out of all your work by delegating it, or subtly pass all your management responsibilities to someone else!  No, just don’t get yourself into the position that you feel squeezed with pressure from above and below.  Deal with what’s appropriate for you to deal with and get support on everything else.  It’s not a sign of weakness if you ask for help – it’s downright sensible!!

You can also use the 3Cs to help you manoeuvre your way through these tricky waters.

Communication –

Always be open and transparent with those above and below you in the corporate pecking order.  Pass on and share everything you know (and are allowed to) about what’s going on in the business to your team.  Contrary to some points of view knowledge is not power – it’s selfish.  Let your team know what you’re working on (how often have you heard people complain that they have no clue what their manager actually does?) and tell them any projects you are aware of.  Make sure that if your team raise any issues you keep them informed on how you are doing.  If it’s something you can’t deal with yourself you feed the issue up through to your manager for action – and keep a track of what’s going on so you can let your team know. 

Clarity –

Make sure you understand what senior management priorities are so that you and your team are working on the ‘right stuff’.  On occasion you may have several conflicting priorities – don’t be afraid to ask which, of all the important things you and the team are working on, is the most important!

Messages and instructions going up and down the organisational structure can become confused and lead to misunderstandings, when you pass information on, check the understanding of the recipient.  Conversely when someone is communicating with you, reiterate what they’ve said so you both know you’ve got the message right.

Consistency –

Being in the middle isn’t always comfortable, but if you’re purposeful and clear with your communication, and consistently so, both senior managers and your team will respect and trust you.

There’s no getting away from being stuck in the middle, but by using the 3Cs you will be a much stronger link in the chain of command.