Manager Sandwich: The Middle Manager's Survival Blog

Maj. Richard Winters      While I was watching HBO's " Band of Brothers " mini-series, for the twenty-something th time, I recognized something poignant. Maj. Richard Winters , who serves as the central connecting character, continually demonstrates exceptional middle management virtues.  His leadership is exemplary, not just in a military sense, but for any organizational setting.  He led by example and was always willing to go first, where he sent others.  He knew how to balance compassion with expectations. When it was necessary to be stern and authoritative, he was. When it was necessary to show empathy, he did.  He learned to delegate, even though it was never easy.  He gained the respect of his peers and his subordinates through his actions, not by intimidation or cruelty. Damien Lewis as Richard Winter s      Richard Winters knew he wasn't perfect. He didn't demand perfection, he demanded ultimate accountability. In co...

This article title comes from the eponymous song by R.E.M off of the Document album back in 1987.  I remember this distinctly because I listened to it often on my Walkman while in between classes while in college.  The song wasn't about the end of the world, but on how people overreact to events, change, death, etc. and simply think the worst is going to happen.  In the end however, life goes on, and gets better, and worse, and better again and again.  November 9th 2016 is nothing like September 12th 2001, or December 8th 1941.  On these other days, and many like them, Americans of all ages reflected on dire tragedy these days and with steel resolve vowed to overcome the day after wards. While I was in elementary school, one of our projects was to interview our grandparents about their reactions to the attack on Pearl Harbor.  My parents  were too young to truly understand the details in the moment, but my grandparents on both sides s...

I lived in the dorm during my first year at The University of Michigan.  It wasn't so new to me since I had started college the previous summer just after high school.  During that summer semester I lived in West Quad, and had a pretty decent introduction to college life and communal living.  I also had the privilege of having an older brother and sister who both attend U of M and lived in the same dorms. College dorm living is an experience all in its own, especially if you choose to room "blind" and live with a total stranger that the University pairs you up with.  Back then, most universities didn't use personality dimensions to pair up compatible roommates, and from the look of things, didn't really pair up people with any semblance of consideration at all.  Not only do you have to learn to live with someone that you normally wouldn't be friends with or hang out with otherwise, you also share a hallway and in my case, a communal bathroom with another f...

    Over six months ago I experienced something that I haven't been through since my very first job renting prom tuxedos; I was fired.  Don't get any gossipy ideas, I wasn't let go because of anything immoral, illegal, or unethical.  My employment was terminated for "not achieving the goals of my position".  This is a very nebulous statement, and one that is very common when you are in upper management or on the upper end of middle management.     There is a strata in middle management where as long as you are doing your job, and business conditions aren't disastrous, you are pretty secure in your position.  You will notice that your manager or boss doesn't enjoy the same flavor of stability.  In my 25 years in heavy industry, I have seen countless regime changes that have resulted in a purging of the upper management.  Are these managers incompetent? Not always.  Are they insolent and stubborn? Sometimes....

As a middle manager, we are often the target of the frustration from our direct reports.  This is particularly intense if you are in a manufacturing environment where you may have dozens of hourly employees as well as salaried supervisors reporting to you.  In a previous post back in February 2011, I wrote about the importance of communication ( www.managersandwich.com/2011/02/karaoke-communication-dont-be-talking.html ) when relaying news, both good and bad.  The ultimate squeeze play is when we are the bearers of bad news and are forced to deal with the negative response of those in our charge. In many situations, I have correctly and politely communicated to my superiors of the probable response that a new directive or program will illicit from the workforce. This is mainly an informative exchange, and not a refusal to relay the information.  Sometimes I am not so polite, in fact, my responses have been recently characterized as frank, succinct, and colorful...