Corporate hierarchy delayered

Management is made up of layers — senior, middle and junior. And apart from the obvious presence of a heirarchy, this layered structure often leads to confusion, chaos and a perception of discrimination among employees.

While conducting a workshop recently, the point person from the human resources department told me about a vice-president who wanted to attend the workshop but decided not to as the participants were from middle management. An HR guy from another organisation said they had slotted my company to work with their senior management and interventions for middle and junior management would be handled by another firm. Recently, I was taken to a canteen in an organisation that was only for the top management. Others have lunch in a different canteen.

So, yes, there are layers, very visible layers.

Another interesting fact emerges when we look at organisations as systems where the top, middle and bottom layers struggle with their own issues. Often, I hear junior management rant and rave: “They just do not care”. I have also heard top management saying “these guys do not bother". On many occasions, I hear middle management complaining how they feel sandwiched and how suffocating that feeling is.

The only way out of this tricky dynamic is to expand your understanding to how others in different layers must feel. But to see things from another’s perspective you need to believe it is not about people but about the place and the dynamics of the role that they are playing. This would change the blame game and create a better understanding of your organisation as a system.

Let’s see what each one in these layers is feeling:

@Tops (top management) live in a world of complexity and responsibility — lots of issues to deal with (internal as well as external), and they are accountable for the whole system. If you are in the middle and if you have not got a response from your boss about that presentation you created, please do not think that he is not bothered. Imagine yourself neck deep in complex issues and see how you might have reacted.

@Bottoms (junior management and the workforce) live in a world of vulnerability — they feel top and middle management are always doing things to them. Shutting down operations, process improvement initiatives and re-engineering, they are always doing “stuff” to us. This is what we heard when we met with the smelter workers of a manufacturing company. So, when we are interacting with Bottoms we need to ask ourselves: how is this new initiative that seems so right to us going to be experienced by people living in this world of vulnerability? A great idea? Or “Them” doing it to us again?

@Middles (middle management) live in a tearing world, torn between those above and below, between customers, vendors, and peers. Often, in the middle world, Middles don’t have what others want from them. Tops want production and results, but Middles don’t do production; Bottoms want the big picture, but Middles don’t have it. In response to our “simple” requests, they say “I’ll see what I can do” instead of giving straight answers. But if you are able to understand their position, you will again know that it is not about people but the roles and systems that we are in that create a specific behaviour.

 
Written by Santhosh Babu
Published in The Financial Express: Saturday, January 06, 2007.