Migration to a LO LO14389

Jay Spitulnik (jspitulnik@aedinc.com)
Thu, 17 Jul 1997 11:39:45 +0000

Replying to LO14376 --

>You know, from experience, I also think the middle level of management has
>a great deal of impact as well. I think they are also the most threatened
>by downsizings and change. Middle Management positions tend to be the
>ones we eliminate, through such te rms as leaderless groups, self-directed
>work teams, rotating project managers, etc. From actual experience, I
>think middle management has the most fear because they have the most to
>lose. In a hierarchical organization, they also have the most impact on
>lower level employees.
>
>Debbie

Debbie,

You're point is a good one, and actually supports the need for real,
demonstrated top management support.

Middle managers are usually in their position because of their experience.
They know the customers, products, services, processes, co-workers, etc,
as well as or better than anyone else. An organization which truly
practices "modern management" and professes to be a learning organization
must properly apply the knowledge in this group. Proper application means
their roles change, not that they are eliminated.

That's where top management comes in. If they are truly committed, they
will establish, encourage, and reinforce culture, structures, processes,
and tools which support the middle managers in their new role. Among
other things, they must demonstrate that coaching, mentoring, and advising
is as important in the new environment as directing and controlling were
in the old.

Jay Spitulnik
AED, Inc.
600 Unicorn Park Drive
Woburn, MA 01801
617-932-9090 (phone)
617-932-9077 (fax)
jspitulnik@aedinc.com

-- 

Jay Spitulnik <jspitulnik@aedinc.com>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>