800-CEO-READ Excerpts

High Impact Middle Management - Part V

Introduction (cont.)

Who Is a Middle Manager? Depending on the size of the company, middle managers may hold the title of vice president, director, or manager. Middle-management positions are responsible leadership posts typically two to seven layers below the president. They may have other supervisors or managers reporting to them and are responsible for managing at least one function within the company. Middle managers are not CEOs, but are high enough up the corporate ladder that they are expected to understand and take part in creating business plans, budgets, and other planning documents.

The Motivation for This Book

Middle managers have a more direct impact on business results than any other layer of an organization does; it is vital, therefore, that they receive the resources and development they need. Sadly, there are few books or training programs targeted to meet the unique needs of middle managers. This is unacceptable and a serious concern because businesses suffer when middle managers do not know what to do. As the glue that bonds corporate strategy to work productivity, middle managers can either enable or impede corporate accomplishment. Developed and perfected over many years, the observations, tools, and suggestions that make up the H.I.M.M. system have helped many middle managers do their jobs better. This book is one of the few that explains and illustrates successful middle-management practices and tools. Its goal is to share the H.I.M.M. system of management in a way that is clear and easy to implement. Middle managers who incorporate this system into their daily practices will receive a payoff of improved management skills, better results, and increased promotability. Implementing H.I.M.M. will enable you to enjoy your job more fully, see better results, and experience peak performance from yourself and your team.

How the Book Is Organized

This book offers a comprehensive look at the challenges and opportunities that middle managers face in today’s business climate. Each part addresses a dimension, or layer, of the middle manager’s job. Part 1 focuses on helping you to fully understand and appreciate your important role as middle manager. Part 2 offers techniques for planning and measuring results and performance. Part 3 looks at how structure and time can enable or hinder your success and defines practices that will help you improve your productivity. Performance optimization and leadership are at the heart of part 4. In part 5 you will learn how to fully utilize the techniques included in this book.

While the information in each chapter and part can be read and applied separately, you will find the techniques to be complementary and additive in nature. The more you try and use, the greater your results will be. Please enjoy the book’s chapters in the order that addresses your needs the best; however, I do recommend reading part 1 prior to other sections, as it explains the foundations and assumptions of the H.I.M.M. system.

High Impact Middle Management - Part IV

Introduction

In any organization, there are two kinds of middle managers. There are those who get the work done but never think beyond what needs to be completed in the short term. They rush from one task to another, never quite recognizing which is most important to their company’s larger objectives. Though they may work hard and have good intentions, they fail to see the big picture and, thus, add little value to their organization or the functions they manage. Then there are high impact middle managers. High impact middle managers see the big picture. They know how to manage operational practices and execute tactical goals to support strategic initiatives. They add value to their organization and thus elevate their position from that of middle man to key player.

There is an almost magical synergy in a work environment when a high impact middle manager operates at peak efficiency. Their questions are timely and on target; their ideas are provocative in ways that help move the work forward. They know how to think strategically. Transitions from one task to the next seem choreographed. As they walk through the office, their demeanor is calm but with a sense of urgency. Busy, focused, and driven, these managers produce results and imbue the workplace with energy. Those who watch these managers may feel motivated or intimidated—but they are not unaffected.

Although their days are full, they have more time at their disposal than other middle managers who produce less. That’s because effective middle managers use tiny pockets of time to accomplish big things. They plan well and anticipate whatever is coming their way. When they do make a mistake, they quickly solve the problem and learn from the experience. These middle managers are effective because they understand what they need to do, methodically do those things, and adjust quickly and proactively when barriers pop up or conditions change.

Unfortunately, most middle managers have never experienced this kind of productivity. They spend their days trying to catch up, never mind moving ahead. Barriers and challenges bring their productivity to a grinding halt. They focus on the urgent rather than the important. Disconnected by a lack of communication with their peers and managers, their work is no longer aligned to achieve results, and team members lose sight of how their work influences the organization or why it even matters. Results suffer because the middle manager and his or her team are not set up to deliver them.

It is heartbreaking to see smart, hardworking, and well-meaning managers fail. Unfortunately, in today’s ever-changing and competitive work environment, it happens all too often. Success is most difficult for middle managers because their role is more complicated and challenging than the roles of either frontline supervisors or senior executives. Even so, middle managers can experience peak performance with the right guidance, development, and support. To do so, they need to learn the craft of middle management and overcome several challenges that can wreck their capacity to perform.

A great middle manager—referred to in this book as a high impact middle manager—is an individual who makes substantial qualitative and quantitative contributions to his or her organization and moves work forward with velocity—speed and direction. The high impact middle manager can straddle several planning periods to address the needs of today, this week, this month, this year, and the next few years. He or she understands the difficult and complex nature of his or her role and feels energized by being the conduit linking corporate thought, action, and results. High impact middle managers “get it.” They know that their job is the most exciting for those who relish being in the thick of things.

This book offers a vision of high impact middle management and a system for achieving this superior level of performance.

High Impact Middle Management, or H.I.M.M., is a management system created to provide busy middle managers with an integrated set of practices and techniques that maximize results and success. This is a distinct system because it addresses corporate execution and success from the perspective of middle management. H.I.M.M. recognizes that middle management is the engine for corporate results and offers regimens and practices to ensure performance.

High Impact Middle Management - Part III

Foreword

It has been ten years since Flight of the Buffalo, the book that Jim Belasco and I wrote together, was published. These ten years have provided a lot of time to study and reflect on the ideas and principles espoused in that book. An active career as the CEO of a large, rapidly growing company and as a coach to leaders of other companies has provided many opportunities to test and refine my beliefs about what it takes to create an organization that continually performs at a high level.

We know that people are what make the difference in an organization. Their performance determines the performance of the organization. Great people make great companies. But what makes people great? That is what my book was about—helping leaders to create an environment that helps and encourages people to rise to greatness. The question I have been pondering since that book is a more difficult one. What keeps people great over a period of time?

What I have found is that greatness doesn’t just happen. People and organizations learn how to become great through constant effort. The few people who maintain their greatness over many years have learned to focus on becoming great, not on being great. It is that focus on becoming that keeps people learning and growing even though their performance is already at an extraordinary level.

Tiger Woods didn’t start out great. He learned how to become great through many years of training both his mind and his body. This resulted in a great victory at the Masters, where he won with a record margin. Shortly after that victory, he realized that he had flaws in his swing that would prevent him from reaching his goal of being the greatest golfer in history. He spent the greater part of a year removing those flaws and has since played at a much higher level. I suspect that, even now, he is working on ways to once more widen the gap between him and his competitors.

Lisa Haneberg is very much like Tiger. She is driven to continuously learn and improve her effectiveness. We first met while working together to create high-performing leadership teams at a division of the Mead Paper Company. Her work there was outside the ordinary for a human resources person and it had a huge impact on her company. This work served as a springboard for her learning about performance, which she has doggedly pursued to this day. H.I.M.M.: Solutions for Today’s Busy Managers is a result of that work.

H.I.M.M.: Solutions for Today’s Busy Managers is a very important contribution to the study of organizational effectiveness because it focuses on the people who are the key to any organization’s performance: the people in the middle. These are the people whose efforts determine the success of any endeavor. Leaders can design wonderful strategies, but the success of the organization resides in the execution of those strategies. The people in the middle are the ones who make it work. Based on all of the companies I’ve seen, including my own, I’ll take an average strategy that is extremely well executed over a great strategy with mediocre execution every time. That is why we spend a substantial amount of our development efforts on this group of individuals at my company. We know who drives our performance.

That is why this book is so valuable. When Lisa first asked me to write this foreword, she sent me the book to read. I found a number of excellent development concepts in it when I read it, so I gave it to our personnel development department. They found the book very helpful and have incorporated a number of concepts into work at Johnsonville Sausage. We think it will be very helpful in our efforts to become the best sausage company in the world. I am sure you will also find value in it.

Ralph C. Stayer
CEO & Owner
Johnsonville Sausage, Inc.
Entrepreneur, Consultant/Coach, Author
Author of Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead

High Impact Middle Management - Part II

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ralph Stayer
Introduction

Part One H.I.M.M.—A Powerful Force for Executing Results
Chapter 1 High Impact Middle Management and the H.I.M.M. System
Chapter 2 How to Think Like a High Impact Middle Manager
Chapter 3 H.I.M.M. Power Partnership

Part Two Planning for Execution—A Must for H.I.M.M. Leaders
Chapter 4 The H.I.M.M. Reality Check—Measuring Current Performance
Chapter 5 Using the H.I.M.M. Playbook to Facilitate Peak Performance

Part Three H.I.M.M. for Day-to-Day Execution
Chapter 6 Mucky Muck Obstructions—Navigating the Corporate Obstacle Course
Chapter 7 H.I.M.M. Organizational Alignment—Ensuring the Department Delivers Results
Chapter 8 H.I.M.M. Leaders Are Unstoppable!—Wiping Out Limitations to Results
Chapter 9 Using H.I.M.M. to Make the Most of Your Busy Day

Part Four H.I.M.M. Performance Leadership—Ensuring Team Members Excel in Execution
Chapter 10 Performance Management Myths—What Not to Do
Chapter 11 Using H.I.M.M. Principles to Optimize Individual Performance
Chapter 12 H.I.M.M. Coaching—Helping Others Achieve Breakthroughs

Part Five Honing Your Craft as a H.I.M.M. Leader
Chapter 13 H.I.M.M. Coachability—How to Reach Goals Faster and Better
Chapter 14 The H.I.M.M. System—Putting It All Together for Maximum Managerial Flow

Appendix

Additional H.I.M.M. System Information Available
List of Recommended Reading for Middle Managers
Web Site Resources for Middle Managers
Want to Learn about High Impact Middle Management at Work?

Index

High Impact Middle Management - Part I

High Impact Middle Management: Solutions for Today's Busy Managers
by Lisa Haneberg
Adams Media - January 2005
237 Pages - ISBN 1593371586

This week we are going to feature the opening section to High Impact Middle Management. We will publish the Table of Contents, the Foreword written by Ralph Stayer, and the Introduction written by Lisa.