The definitive playbook for driving impact as a middle manager Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization delivers an insightful and practical guide for the backbone of an organization: those who have a boss and are a boss and must lead from the messy middle. Accomplished author and former P&G executive Scott Mautz walks readers through the unique challenges facing these managers, and the mindset and skillset necessary for managing up and down and influencing what happens across the organization. You’ll learn the winning mindset of the best middle managers, how to develop the most important skills necessary for managing from the middle, how to create your personal Middle Action Plan (MAP), and effectively influence: Up the chain of command, to your boss and those above them Down, to your direct reports and teams who report to you Laterally, to peers and teams you have no formal authority over Anyone in an organization who reports to someone and has someone reporting to them must lead from the middle. They are the most important group in an organization and have a unique opportunity to drive impact. Leading from the Middle explains how.

The definitive playbook for driving impact as a middle manager Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization delivers an insightful and practical guide for the backbone of an organization: those who have a boss and are a boss and must lead from the messy middle. Accomplished author and former P&G executive Scott Mautz walks readers through the unique challenges facing these managers, and the mindset and skillset necessary for managing up and down and influencing what happens across the organization. You’ll learn the winning mindset of the best middle managers, how to develop the most important skills necessary for managing from the middle, how to create your personal Middle Action Plan (MAP), and effectively influence: Up the chain of command, to your boss and those above them Down, to your direct reports and teams who report to you Laterally, to peers and teams you have no formal authority over Anyone in an organization who reports to someone and has someone reporting to them must lead from the middle. They are the most important group in an organization and have a unique opportunity to drive impact. Leading from the Middle explains how.

First, you can't lead the way I lead. You wouldn't want to, and the people you lead wouldn't want you to either. The best leaders lead from their strengths. You want to lead in the way that works best for you. Only I can lead my way, and sometimes it's pretty bizarre. According to a fund-raising consultant, I'm not very presidential. I consider this high praise. We have to work within our basic dispositions to be effective. Unfortunately, a lot of parents, coaches, and inspirational speakers try to get us to believe otherwise. Commencements are breeding grounds for these aggrandizing lies, and it's the speakers who are doing the lying. Leading People from the Middle addresses 20th century leadership assumptions, the new dynamics of 21st-century leadership, and how leaders can change to meet the demands of today's organizations. Over the course of this book, the author, William P. Robinson discusses his understanding of leading from the middle as it refers to influencing from among, rather than from above, below, or in front of one's group. Leading from the middle refers to positioning ourselves alongside of those whom we've empowered, working shoulder to shoulder. It refers to living in the center of a mission, rather than simply lifting it up. He believes that leaders will set the standard and then work very hard to help their people achieve the group's goal.

Pity the humble academic. Moving from a faculty position to an administrative office frequently entails gaining considerable responsibility-but ambiguous power. The hope of these two authors is that this volume will serve as a reference and a source of support for current associate and assistant deans and as a window into these jobs for faculty who may be considering such a role. Staff positions often come with detailed job descriptions and reporting lines, but the role of associate/assistant deans is often ill-defined and dependent upon the personality of the dean they serve. The authors thus begin their discussion with an examination of the relationship between these two positions, setting the tone for the rest of the book. Stone and Coussons-Read have structured as a series of modules that encompass different situations in which associate/assistant deans may find themselves, and the authors candidly give advice about how to handle the resulting challenges. Case studies illustrate the typical daily work required by this position, with each case followed by suggestions for effective responses. The authors also provide references to sources in which readers can dig more deeply into areas such as conflict management and communication styles.

Bookshelves abound with theoretical analyses, how-to guides, and personal success stories by famous corporate leaders, public officials, even athletic coaches, expounding on how to lead from the top. But what about those in the middle who are increasingly tasked with trying to reshape, reorient, or recreate the capabilities of an organization? Leading Change from the Middle takes you on the journeys traveled by Kurt Mayer, an information technology executive in the Department of Defense trying to build a new IT system in record time with limited resources, and Stephen Wang, a mid-level leader in city government trying to build a capability for supporting commercial agriculture. Kurt and Stephen have to navigate complex organizational and stakeholder landscapes in which they often have few decision rights and few resources—a common scenario for mid-level leaders. One succeeds; one does not. While following Kurt and Stephen, the book introduces a new approach for increasing the likelihood of successfully leading change. This new approach breaks down into three core strategies: First, identify all relevant stakeholders and partition them into four categories: superordinates, subordinates, customers, and complementors/blockers (those who control needed resources but over whom the leaders have no authority). Second, for each stakeholder category, identify Communications, Strategies, and Tactics (referred to as CoSTS). Third, don’t stimulate negative emotions that make people DEAF—Disrespect, Envy, Anger, and Fear—to efforts to produce change. As the book follows the journeys of Kurt and Stephen, it walks through the details of each strategy. In presenting this material in a concise, accessible, and applicable format that translates theory to practice, Nickerson provides an important service for leaders trying to build extraordinary capabilities for their organizations—from the middle.

This book uses practice theory to examine the role of ‘middle-leadership’. In particular, it investigates the practices of ‘leading in the middle’ in the cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political domains – i.e., the sayings, doings and relatings of middle leading. This perspective acknowledges the ecological arrangement of leading practices in schools, and the necessity of considering the unavoidable reality of the site. The analysis is used to promote the need to view leading in the middle as a form of praxis – a morally and ethically informed practice that requires thoughtful decision-making and action in situations where the outcomes are not always clear. This book focuses on the practice of leading for those in ‘middle management’ positions in primary and secondary schools, such as those responsible for curriculum leadership, including senior teachers, assistant principals, and curriculum leaders. In their positions that bridge ‘management’ and ‘the classroom’ they are significant leaders in promoting and sustaining effective pedagogy for good learning outcomes, and they have to continue to provide high-quality teaching in their own classrooms, while simultaneously being a mentor, coach, supporter and evaluator for their colleagues.

Middle leading refers to those teachers that both teach and have leadership roles, and thus can bridge the gap between the practices of learning and the managemant of schooling. Focusing on the practices of middle leaders, this book addresses the current lack of support and professional development for middle leaders in educational settings. Middle Leadership in Schools positions middle leaders as professional leaders, and an integral part of educational and professional development in schools and other educational institutions. Drawing on empirical research spanning four countries, this book provides readers with a conceptual framework to understand middle leading and shows how middle leading practices unfold in real educational contexts. This is a valuable resource that goes beyond a theoretical conversation about middle leaders to provide readers with practical applications based on extensive research undertaken by the authors. The book is divided into seven chapters, each of which include reflective discussion questions and recommended readings to promote collaborative engagement with the text. Chapters cover topics such as how middle leading is shaped in practice, its role in professional development and its impact on schools. Illustrating to middle leaders how they can develop their leadership skills, the book will also be of interest to school principals and other senior leaders as a guide to supporting their middle leaders.