Start with Middle Management in your Change Approach

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Start with Middle Management in your Change Approach
Marl van der Toorn, Manager, Netherlands, Moderator
Following up the discussion “Bottom-up Approach Towards Organizational Change” I think that even in a bottom-up or top-down approach, the key to achieving a successful change in a (large) organization, is the middle management. Without the commitment of those managers not much will happen.

Also according to Patrick McGurk (Sept 2011), "middle managers have traditionally been seen as the organisational ‘linking pins’ (Likert 1961), a view which is echoed in more recent research on managerial work by Mintzberg (2009: 138), who finds that middle management is the place in which the organisation best integrates its activities. Balogun (2003), identified middle managers as ‘change intermediaries’. In this study, middle managers played the dual role of ...Sign up 		 

 
Change Management Starts in the Middle
Hor Kam Peng, Business Consultant, Malaysia, Member
Couldn't agree with you more, Marl! Top Management is expected to lead the change and best implementors are the middle managers as they are closer to ...Sign up
  

 
Middle-out Change Management
Andrew Blaine, Business Consultant, South Africa, Member
I agree entirely with your hypothesis and suggest it could be accurately named "Middle Spread Management"?!...Sign up
  

 
Change-readiness, a Crucial Factor
Sonny Vicente, Coach, Philippines, Member
I agree that organizational change would have to be two pronged. Support from the top and buy-in from the implementing layer of management should be p...Sign up
  

 
Mid-Managers Make it Happen or Not
Kathy Hevey, Management Consultant, United States, Member
I agree. Middle Managers can make or break a change initiative. They need to understand the reasons for it and consequences of not changing as well as...Sign up
  

 
Role of Middle Managers in Organizational Change
sekgalabye, Student (MBA), South Africa, Member
A locomotive is never directed by the middle coaches. The middle coaches are controlled by the engine and they control the last coaches. The same goes...Sign up
  

 
Interpreters in General
Barney Wade Howard, Manager, United States, Member
Good article. I see middle managers sometimes as "interpreters" of the laws. In my organization, new policies are brought before middle management whe...Sign up
  

 
The 'Squeezed Middle'
Gary Stead, Director, United Kingdom, Member
OK - this title may best be recognized in UK! Acting as a global change agent (sounds great) I propose to add to this great debate:-
Yes, middle ...Sign up
  

 
Stuck in the Middle
Rebecca Roe, United States, Member
It all depends on what you are changing. Only those working in a culture can relate to taking a concept and adapt/model it for culture change. Unless ...Sign up
  

 
Selecting the Right Change Management Approach
Sithembiso Mkhwanazi, Project Manager, South Africa, Member
I support Gary & Rebecca.
Surely a change in any organisation starts with a concept, and is carefully studied before implementation. Starting wit...Sign up
  

 
Middle Management: One Key Role to Achieve Organizational Change
Sudarshan Ramaiah, Manager, India, Member
As per my opinion, organizational change is very much needed to survive in today's competitive world. Middle management has a key role to play in effe...Sign up
  

 
Levels 2, 3, and 4 are Often More the Cause of Problems than Being the Solutions
j.a. karman, ICT Consultant, Netherlands, Member
The assumption is the middle management is in a position to contribute to desired change in a bottom-up or top-down approach.
This assumption can...Sign up
  

 
Middle Managers as Catalyst
Fillemon Nangolo Hambuda, HR Consultant, Namibia, Member
Even though I wholeheartedly agree with your theory, I suggest that middle management can only do so with the help and acceptance of the executive tea...Sign up
  

 
Tips for Success
Rebecca Roe, United States, Member
@J. A. Karman: I agree with you JA in that most middle managers are 1) not given full support by upper management 2...Sign up
  

 
Middle Managers - Change Agents
Paul Steele, Consultant, Australia, Member
There are many good points here made by many of the contributors. Middle managers are the linch pins who are charged with translating senior managemen...Sign up
  

 
Each Organization Has a Wave Pattern!!! It is Unique!!
Dr zahra gheidar, Consultant, Iran, Member
Organizations, to achieve success, should consider all factors. They need all elements. In each organization these elements are unique.
Organizat...Sign up
  

 
Middle Management as Drivers of Change
VMK3, Analyst, Zimbabwe, Member
There is need for the executives to buy-in. This is the only way that their energy can be transferred to middle management. Using Zahra's wave theory,...Sign up
  

 
Drivers of Transformation and its Implementation
Andrew Blaine, Business Consultant, South Africa, Member
So much has been written about where transformation is best introduced into an organisation that I tihnk it may assist if we broaden the topic a littl...Sign up
  

 
Organisation Transformation
VMK3, Analyst, Zimbabwe, Member
Andrew, what you are saying is very correct. The process has to be initiated from somewhere, and it's the responsibility of the Board which they manda...Sign up
  

 
Bottom-up Approach to Organisational Change
Paul Steele, Consultant, Australia, Member
Agreed, middle managers are the linch pin in the organisation. Politics weigh a heavy influence at this level. Upper management is responsible for the...Sign up
  

 
 

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