Leading from the Middle

3The Skillset for Leading Effectively from the Middle

There are so many roles to play and so many things for an effective, others‐oriented leader from the middle to think about. But what's the net spirit and essence of all the activity the successful middle manager engages in? Into what role do all other roles feed at the highest level? What's the highest‐level skill required, and the skillset required to succeed within?

I wanted to pinpoint this, so I interviewed or surveyed 1,000 others‐oriented leaders leading from the middle. I asked them to step back and describe their job when it was being done at its best. Very clear themes emerged. In fact, I kept hearing one word in particular, over and over.

Amplify.

Those who lead from the middle with an others‐oriented mindset and do it well describe their job on the whole as being an amplifier. You're not a mere conduit between everything and everyone up, down, and across. You make things that need to be heard, heard. You make things clearer and more powerful—like an amplifier. You bring the micro to the macro. You bring a quality to what people hear by sharing your perspective and framing it properly. You amplify the strengths of your employees and peers by investing heavily in them, amplify senior leadership's vision, mission, and strategies (making sure they connect to the team's daily work), amplify the team's effectiveness and output, and amplify the entire organization's capabilities and results. You share and amplify the ...