10 June 2019

Middle management: key players in a company

middle management

Table of contents

Within any company, between employees and managers, there are the middle managers, people who take responsibility for creating and managing teams to respond to the objectives set by the management, but without being part of the management. This is therefore a very important and at the same time complex profile, which requires finding the right balance between the balance between employees and management to ensure that every part of the company functions properly and successfully.

What are middle managers?

Middle managers are people who have the responsibility and quality of a manager but belong to the management of the company. Thus, they are people who represent the authority and leadership within the company, but their scope of action is more limited, generally referring to your own staff or department

It is a figure essential in any company, especially in larger companies. Middle managers are usually the ones who face the most problems, as they have to respond both to the needs from above (management) and from below (the bulk of employees). They thus find themselves in a delicate balance which, if managed correctly, can be an important factor in the success of a company. business support element, The latter can be a problem in conflict resolution and project development if not, however. 

What are the roles of middle management and why are they so important?

The functions of middle management are varied. In general, their main function is to apply management resolutions at the level of their work team or department. In this way, they have to adapt these resolutions to the reality of their immediate workplace and workers. 

At the same time, the middle management is responsible for to convey to management any problems or issues that have arisen from the grassroots level of the company. In other words, in addition to taking care of the implementation of the management's resolutions in their own small area, they also act as a communication bridge between management and employees. 

Middle management: essential qualities

As can be seen, the functions performed by middle managers make them key parts for correct operation of any company. Precisely because of these functions, there are a series of qualities that they must have and which are essential for their work to be a source of conflict solutions and a handicap in the day-to-day running of the company:

  • Being a good communicatorAs mentioned above, one of the most important functions of middle management is to act as an intermediary between the management and the employees of the company. Therefore, middle managers must being good communicators, They act as intermediaries between each other. 
  • Leadership skillsAnother necessary quality of a good middle manager is leadership ability. One of the problems with some middle managers is that, when they are promoted to this position, they continue to treat their subordinates as mere colleagues. This is a mistake, since a middle manager, in addition to being a colleague of the people in the team, is the leader of the team, and is therefore expected and needed to act as such. 
  • Organisational skillsThe fact that he or she becomes the team or department leader means that a good middle manager must have the necessary skills to organise the team and the project he or she is in charge of. 
  • Knowing how to say “no”Closely linked to leadership, one of the qualities that a good middle manager should have is to know when to say no. This applies to both subordinates and management. This applies to subordinates as well as to management, as sometimes the distance between management and employees leads to unrealistic targets being set. 

Ability to develop team spiritFinally, another of the essential qualities of good middle managers is the ability to create a sense of teamwork within the work group of people under their charge. The job of the middle manager is also to unite the people under him or her, as this is the only way to achieve a good working atmosphere and to ensure that all the work of the team is directed towards the same common goal.

Edenred Spain

Related publications

two companions eating together

How to foster valuable connections between your teams?

a happy woman opening a present

Edenred Gift: why is it the perfect basket for your teams?

A GROUP OF YOUNG BOYS SITTING IN THE UNDERGROUND LAUGHING AND TALKING

Sustainable mobility: a pillar for CSR