‘I don’t know what my job is now.’ This is a pretty uncomfortable feeling, on top of everything. I heard from an HR Director today that her middle managers are realising that so much has changed, and probably won’t change back.
It was natural for senior leaders to take control and give clear direction when we went into lockdown – I’m guessing this was common. Middle managers were probably happy to hand over more control to their bosses.
New ways of using technology and running their teams have surely been a factor in muddying their roles. Also, I keep hearing the desire to find new ways of measuring productivity – to measure people’s performance in a way that’s outcomes driven. This makes so much sense today, especially as so many people want home-working to be a permanent part of their week, and middle managers will be at the core of this.
I’ve heard less about HOW to do it, though. I’d welcome your thoughts and any examples on how organisations are putting in outcomes-based metrics.
Middle managers can be the meat in the sandwich – pressure from above and below – and it seems as if they will also take the brunt of changing ways of working.
Working this through will be a great opportunity for HR to partner with business leaders.
