Why Middle Management is the Hardest Job | Simon Sinek

The middle management team is stuck between strategic and tactical thinking - they're the translator between the two. Things break when we don't train people how to lead OR the senior leadership's focus isn't aligned with the people below them.

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Simon is an unshakable optimist who believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single day feeling inspired, feel safe at work, and feel fulfilled at the end of the day, Simon is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and Find Your Why. His new book, The Infinite Game, will be released in 2019.

Simon’s WHY: To inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, each of us can change our world for the better.

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Simon’s books:

[sauber]

Middle management was all the responsibility and none of the credit or freedom to make impact decisions in my experience. It can be a horrible place in a company.

[doomguy]

I try to avoid being given responsibility for something without also being given the authority to make it happen. I just become frustrated and it benifits no one.

[stephenchristopher]

I've seen this happen so many times. Middle managers have to be part visionary, part leader, part accountability partner, and be able to have a very strong self confidence. The biggest thing I've learned is to help teach middle managers leadership skills. Thank you Simon!

[GraceJudson]

This is so true. I have said for a long time now that the first-line leader (a.k.a. middle manager) is the most valuable AND most overlooked asset in any organization. The person in that role, if properly supported, can - as you say in the video - make SUCH A DIFFERENCE for the people who work for them and for the company as a whole. I am not one iota surprised that everyone wanted to come work for that team whose leader was trained and supported in being a true leader!

[MinutePsychology]

It is almost impossible to be a good leader without the right level of emotional intelligence. Luckily we can do a lot to increase it and make it stronger.

[BoramyKhlokFILMS]

Well said! When there is no good leadership, you can either 1) quit or 2) take on the challenge and be the leader you wish you had, and take care of those under your care. It’s then the bosses job to take care of you if you’re doing well. But yea, I agree with Simon if you have a strong and solid leadership team, word will spread and attract talent!

[TheStrategicKeys]

I have never agreed with anything more in my life. This is my current life, and it is the hardest thing I have ever done professionally.

[paulholland]

“Be the leader you wish you always had”

[AnnabellaRedwood]

I just can't thank you enough Simon. You're helping me so much during a really difficult season - you just can't know how much you've helped me on dark days. God bless you Simon xx

[hanvour]

I used to think that I already know all the things in the world from my formal education and many self-help readings, until I became a middle manager for a division of 40+ colleagues. Now I’m in this position for almost 7 years, it’s a journey of bitterness and sweetness, hatred and loves, betray and loyalty....
Finally, I now realize it’s a great journey only a lucky few can value.
Thank you Simon!

[jonstump]

I’ve talked about this at a lot of orgs I’ve worked at with bad middle managers. It frustrates me that high performers get upgraded to a manager and left to drown rather than given the education they need to support their team and org. Which usually causes them to default to what they did previously leaving a team to lead themselves. Which can be chaotic if it’s not a good group.

[droptozro]

Love how Simon Sinek can do a short explanation that better explains my beliefs about middle management when I tell my own managers why I internally fight and push back against them about being promoted myself.

[abcxyz]

Thanks so.much, Simon... for finding my WHY. As internal Auditor (ISO 9001 Quality Management System). I have the privelege to be allowed to dive deeply into processes of our global company (in Europe)... and to adress opportunities and risks.. without having a fear to loose my job.... cause internal audits are a must to get the cerificate. I am soooo in resonance with your mindset... and your videos help me finding much better words and pictures to encourage our people to stand up for their visions how to improve "crossfunctional process orientation" and to avoid silo thinking. How to fullfill "Customer first" by serving and helping each other. It is all about human communities to "survive". And today... had an Audit follow up meeting... and I am so happy to see how the invitees are so engaged to work together to overcome the identified issues. And the most root causes for issues... to my experience... are a lack of real face to face communication. Our meeting today was so succsessful cause we were sitting together in one room... no virtual skype meeting. My WHY is serving my colleagues to create a much better human working world for themselves and their teams. The audit results encourage especially the middle management and give them the permission to speak up, be creative, doing networking, to feel own power and strength to overcome the issues. My job is "helping others to help themselves" and to make them proud to go through challenges and fix loving co-operation.
Without this Auditor Job I guess I would have been totally burned out in that shareholder value driven company.

[dabro]

I can relate to this sooo much. It's hard to be in middle level management.

[deldia]

The classic issue is senior management are scared of holding each other to account and try to force the issue by using people below them to be the messengers.

[AniKulkarni]

Thank you for your books and training. I had this experience and did exactly what you mention in the video. Ours is a small company and now rest of the groups want to work with our group/team. Not only that, my team is excited to work not because they have to but because they really want to!

[HisBelovedSonx]

Thank you for taking the time to share your insight Simon, much appreciated

[monnaojangsenye]

Be the leader you had, always ask yourself to do something that you want someone to do.

[thehobbyist]

In my organization, the problem is not with middle management. The lives of middle managers are hard because the people above them don't know how to let go of the action. I've been a senior manager in a smaller part of my organization, and my team was so successful and happy that they all threatened to quit when I was transferred, because they were afraid of what would come next. Now I'm in a larger part of the organization as a middle manager and my problem is not with leading, it is with having no authority and insecure bosses who can't let go. I have no idea how to deal with this. People like to blame middle managers, but now that I'm here and have already been on top, I can see it is more the senior's responsibility.

[racaciaruth]

Amen. Leadership must be learned especially how to deal with people. Most people in higher positions forget about how they were in the positions below. 🙏 ❗