I Am a Middle Manager
February 29th, 2008by Jeremy Thomas
I’ve taken a new job with a consumer-focused company in San Diego. I am responsible for a group of people that develop a web site in the endurance sports market (and we use Clearspace externally). Most of my team works in the office with me. Others work out of LA and China. Together we fix bugs and implement new features on the site. Gone are the days of Management Consulting and talking to clients about Enterprise 2.0. Instead I’ve become a middle manager – you know the kind that does nothing but control the flow of information in and out of his group. The kind that adds no value to the business.
Or at least this was my “pre new job” thinking. I couldn’t imagine the chaos that would evolve should I allow the business unbridled access to my team. Focus and prioritization would be non-existent if I sat back and waited for my guys to self organize like a colony of ants. Teams need direction. They need to understand business initiatives. They need to be structured. They need to have context behind the flurry of requirements that would otherwise be hurled at them. On top of this the business needs to manage risk. It needs to know that my team can produce on a relatively consistent basis.
Certainly the Enterprise 2.0 community would never condone absolute dissolution of middle management. But I’m admiting now that at least I am guilty of being over-presumptuous about the lack of value that comes out of the middle management layer. I’m sure organizations are full of bureaucrats, but there also full of good managers who are there for important reasons.
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March 1st, 2008 at 9:31 am
Hi, I’d like to recommend John Maxwell’s really fine book, The 360 Degree Leader. We’re using it in our company to help people get sharp at leading up, leading horizontally on the same level, and leading down with people who work with them at some other level. With so much hierarchical thinking still in large companies, this is really invaluable thinking. We’ve seen great ideas, coalitions, and internal entrepreneurial efforts start with folks at all levels. It’s encouraging. I’ve been at every level in a company over my career and I just wish I’d read this book sooner!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Jeremy…sorry? Either way, how do you find the Clearspace X implementation? As a middle manager, does it make you (or others) more valuable?
March 4th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Hey Nate, why “sorry”?
Clearspace X is cool – pretty stable and exensible. We’ve added a few APIs, and the 2.0 release will add some cool new social networking features.
Jive does focus mostly on the enterprise at the moment, but they’re product is also catering for consumer-related needs too.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
So in terms of new features and defects are you employing Agile methodologies to help provide appropriate prioritisation of functions and defects?
March 11th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Jay,
Yes sir, SCRUM – the Enterprise 2.0 of Software development. Hard to implement with remote teams, but we’re working on a hybrid.
The transparency is killer (positive), and the quality of what’s produced is really high.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
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March 11th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Your comment boxes hate ‘less than’ signs. Can I do code? I <3 Scrum.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Ah, my bad. I really need to revisit the layout of my site (it’s been over a year).
March 21st, 2008 at 4:51 am
Jeremy, I agree with you. And you’ve highlighted one of the key reasons why I’ve always been sceptical about the most evangelical and starry-eyed views of Enterprise 2.0.