book report - Power to the Middle
Power to the Middle —Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work By Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, Emily Field
If you have a knot in your gut, worrying about AI taking over the world, let this book be the calming salve.
If you have been pushed into a role you didn’t want, but instead knew in your gut you were great at being a middle manager, let this book give you the pat on the back you always deserved.
If you are struggling to incentivize your team from the C-suite, let this book inspire you to develop your Middle managers.
Power to the Middle reminds us we need competent humans to analyze the multi-layered work environment that integrates processes, technology and people’s styles.
Why I’ll keep this on my bookshelf: The data and research will be part of my consulting conversations and create new Employee Wellness and Human Resource Centric workshops.
My top coaching and consulting tips from The Power to the Middle:
Middle managers can help connect technology, AI processes and the actual humans in the process. The complex systems need human interaction. As technology advances, consider more training and shifting your performance metrics to match the times.
You can be in the Middle forever. Promotions or climbing to take a bigger job are not always way forward.
Surveys and subsequent follow up surveys year over year are important. Google found that people who did not fill out the surveys often quit within 6 months. Be consistent, analyze the data follow up with conversations about what folks want and need to succeed. Middle manager’s success is your success.
