The Strategic Middle Manager

An exceptional job of refocusing the middle manager's role?a mustread for practitioners and educators alike.
--Jack Viega, editor, The Academy of Management Executives

In their quest to become leaner, flatter, and reengineered,organizations have systematically cut out the very positions thatonce made them successful?mid-level managers. In The StrategicMiddle Manager,management experts Steven Floyd and Bill Wooldridgedraw on a decade of research involving over 250 middle managers todemonstrate that the success of future organizations restsdecisively on strong middle management.

The authors present the tools managers need to:

* Redefine their roles
* Increase their strategic value
* Secure their futures
* Identify the top performers in the ranks...and much more!

Far from lacking perspective, middle managers have a unique,pivotal perspective that places them at the forefront oforganizational change. They can play the role of champion,synthesizer, facilitator, and implementer--and this book gives theadvice needed to energize management. A must-read for trainingprofessionals, managers, and top executives, Floyd and Wooldridge'swork will radically redesign--and drastically improve--yourorganization's effectiveness. Part One: The New Middle Management Imperative.

1. Leadership from the Middle: The Changing Demands of MiddleManagement Work.

2. Competing on Capabilities: The Middle Manager's Role inLeveraging Knowledge and Skills.

3. Realigning Resources and Talent: The Challenge of OrganizationalRestructuring.

Part Two: The New Strategic Roles for Middle Managers.

4. Strategy from the Middle Out.

5. Championing: The Discovery and Proposal of InnovativeInitiatives.

6. Synthesizing: Advancing Shared Strategic Understanding.

7. Facilitating: Nurturing Adaptability and Setting the Stage forRenewal.

8. Implementing: Inducing the Vision and Making It Real.

Part Three: Unleashing the Power in the Middle.

9. The Challenge of Executive Leadership.

10. Becoming a Strategic Middle Manager.

Resources: The Strategic Consensus Questionnaire;
A Self-Test of Middle Management Strategic Involvement. "The best thing that could happen to a middle manager is to havehis or her boss read this book." --Francis Guiliano, retired CEO,Ampad Corporation

"An exceptional job of refocusing the middle manager's role?a mustread for practitioners and educators alike." --Jack Viega, editor,The Academy of Management Executives STEVEN W. FLOYD is associate professor of strategic management at the University of Connecticut. BILL WOOLDRIDGE is associate professor of strategic management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In their quest to become leaner, flatter, and reengineered, organizations have systematically cut out the very positions that once made them successful?mid-level managers. In The Strategic Middle Manager, management experts Steven Floyd and Bill Wooldridge draw on a decade of research involving over 250 middle managers to demonstrate that the success of future organizations rests decisively on strong middle management. They provide hands-on tools for middle managers who want to redefine their roles, increase their strategic value, and secure their futures, as well as guidance for senior managers who want to unleash potential dynamos from the mid-level ranks.The Stratetic Middle Manager offers a fresh approach and insight into how middle managers at leading firms such as Motorola, Intel, First Fidelity Bank, and Texas Instruments are creating and sustaining their organization's competitive advantage. The authors detail the four strategic roles unique to middle managers using examples of the successes and failures of today's key players as they contributed to their organization's effectiveness. A compelling argument for the efficacy of the middle manager. This book argues that companies -- in their quest to become leaner and meaner -- have eliminated the very positions that once made them successful. And it provides hands-on tools for middle managers looking to increase their value and secure their future.