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1 The Unique Challenges of Those Who Lead from the Middle

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At one point, any mid‐level manager who worked for the Lego company had the set of directives in Figure 1.1 hanging on their office or cubicle wall.1

The middle is messy, full of contradictions and opposing agendas, and couldn't be more critical for a company's success.

And it's you. Those who lead from the messy middle work in spots higher or lower in the organization, from Vice Presidents, General Managers, and Directors to Sales, Marketing, and Design Managers, and many more. They have a boss and are a boss, at any level. It's anyone who has to lead up, down, and across an organization.

Don't be fooled by the old Dilbert cartoons or Office reruns. Those who lead from the middle, let's use the often‐derogatory term “middle management” for a moment, aren't the go‐nowhere, has‐been, mediocre bureaucrats that block progress as popularized in pop culture. They're the ones that love what they do (mostly) and whose passion and talents make the company hum. They account for 22.3 percent of the variation in revenue in an organization, more than three times that attributed to those specifically in innovation roles, according to Wharton research.2 A five‐year study from Stanford and Utah universities found that replacing a poor middle manager with a good one boosted productivity 12 percent, more than adding an incremental worker to a team.3


Figure 1.1 Lego Directives

Source: Adapted from P. Evans, “Management 21C,” Chapter 5, Financial Times, Prentice Hall (2000), in “Emerging Leadership: A Handbook for Middle Manager Development” (IDeA).

Those leading from the middle are the key to employee engagement. They interact with the largest part of the organization and have the most direct impact on attracting and retaining talent. In fact, research shows that employees who have strong middle leaders are 20 percent less likely to quit their job if offered more money from another company.4 The Boston Consulting Group defined mid‐level managers as “vital to success,” according to their massive survey of executives spanning 100 countries that found nearly two‐thirds of respondents said middle managers were more critical than top managers.5

Whether you lead from the upper middle, mid‐middle, or way lower middle, if you have a boss and are a boss, if you lead up, down, and across an organization, take pride in your career‐making position. And know the best realize that being in a position in the middle doesn't mean being stuck in the middle.

It means a chance to lead.

Marty Lyons, legendary former player and longtime radio announcer for the New York Jets football team, would know. Lyons played for the Jets for twelve seasons and led from the messy middle. Literally.

Lyons was a middle lineman sandwiched in between outside linemen Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko, who along with Abdul Salaam, made up the famous “New York Sack Exchange,” a group that led the NFL in sacks three times between 1981 and 1984.6 Lyons told me on leading from the middle, “You have to know and embrace where you are and realize that being in the middle is a blessing. It means you have the opportunity to lead in all directions.”

Lyons knew that his role as the middle lineman was to lock up the guys on the opposing front line so that the speedy outside linemen Gastineau and Klecko could get the edge in rushing the quarterback. He wanted to lead from the messy middle so the entire team could lead on the scoreboard. Later on, as Klecko, the locker room leader, got older, Lyons began stepping up to passionately yell and scream and psych his fellow players up before a game. Being in the middle always means the chance to lead, it just requires a keen awareness and understanding of the conditions around you, so you know exactly what actions to take at what time.

And like in football, it requires a playbook. This playbook.

Of course, you don't run every play in this book all at once and you might not even use all the plays. To succeed in leading from the middle, use the right play in the right situation that's just right for you. The plays will take many forms of specificity: examples, frameworks, checklists, pointed advice, questions to ask, powerful acronyms, and much more. But before you run any plays, let's make sure you understand the field conditions.

Leading from the Middle

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