Developing, Developing Leaders, High-trust leadership
Target and Allianz share how they develop senior leaders to ensure every employee has a great manager that supports them.
Most people assume their manager is having a better experience at work, but the data suggests otherwise. The group feeling the tightest squeeze? Middle managers.
These functional leaders can represent a range of job titles, from senior director to associate manager, and are defined by the dual pressure they face: from higher-ups, with executives holding them accountable for their performance and their team’s accomplishments, and from direct reports, with junior staff increasingly looking for coaching and personalized guidance.
Gartner found that 75% of HR leaders say managers are overwhelmed by their expanding scope of responsibilities. Seven in 10 HR leaders say their leaders are not adequately prepared to develop mid-level leaders.
The result? Middle managers are increasingly burnt out, and fewer people are seeking middle management roles.
Why middle managers are valuable for your business
You might be tempted to dismiss the plight of the middle manager as an outdated business model. Lots of companies have jumped on the “unbossing” trend, led by companies like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, arguing that middle managers reduce efficiency.
However, these employees are essential drivers of the employee experience. They are responsible for communicating important messages to their direct reports. They are critical connection points that either stifle or enable innovation and progress in your organization. They can help develop the next generation of leaders for your organization or be the reason top talent walks out the door.
“The role of a middle manager can’t be underestimated,” says Melissa Kremer, chief human resources officer at Target. “These leaders are an important part of the experience a team member has at work, and they play an outsized role in unlocking engagement, contribution, and productivity within their teams.”
Great Place To Work® research found that middle managers play a key role in whether employees feel their work has meaning. And, when middle managers themselves felt a sense of purpose and were confident in the direction the company was going, their company experienced even higher levels of financial performance.
Put another way: Disconnected middle managers are costing your organization money. Removing your middle managers won’t solve the issue. Instead, companies must invest in middle managers and provide them with the tools to build a connected, high-performance workplace.
Mistakes to avoid when developing middle managers
Here are some common errors that can undermine efforts to develop middle managers:
1. Managing inputs and time-spent, rather than measuring outcomes
Measuring only hours worked or tasks completed can undermine leaders’ creativity and freedom to set priorities for their teams.
“Encourage leaders to set clear expectations, measure performance by outcomes, and trust their teams to determine the best way to achieve results,” recommends Barbara Martell, chief human resources officer at Allianz Trade Americas.
2. Having an unclear or broken career ladder in the organization
If you want frontline leaders to take the next step and embrace more responsibility, they need to clearly see the benefits of taking the leadership plunge.
At Target, for example, leaders are constantly developed with continuous learning opportunities like the company’s Store Director Development Program, which offers peer learning to its 2,000 store directors.
These programs develop a culture of learning, Kremer says. “Store directors who move through the program are opting into more development,” she explains.
3. Not offering time or flexibility for learning
Adopting a hybrid work model has unlocked manager development for Allianz Trade Americas, Martell says. By offering flexibility, leaders have more time to pursue development opportunities.
What skills do middle managers need to learn?
For Target, designing training programs for leaders starts with understanding the strategic goals of the business.
“Successful development has to start with strategy — period,” Kremer says. Two areas that Target’s business strategy highlights as a priority for its middle leaders are technology and leadership skills.
“We are seeing the power and potential of GenAI to deliver more ease to the team member and guest experiences and help us accelerate the rate of innovation across our operations,” Kremer says. The rise of this technology means ensuring that employees have the tech savvy to interact with and use these tools.
With the change created by technology like AI and a complex market environment, Target is also focused on leadership skills and helping people manage change. “We are prioritizing development that helps managers lead and lean into change, complexity, and ambiguity with curiosity and confidence,” Kremer says.
Allianz is focusing on leadership behaviors, such as inclusive communication and employee recognition strategies. One important area is performance management and helping managers have productive conversations with their direct reports.
“We’re working to enhance competence in setting clear goals, tracking progress, delivering feedback, and managing both overperformers and underperformers,” Martell says. “This is crucial for employee retention and continuous development.”
How manager development efforts need to change
One important way the best companies are improving leadership development efforts is by expanding access to a wider range of employees. Instead of limited training to a select group of high performers, companies are increasingly exploring how more resources can be offered across their entire workforce.
“One intentional effort we’ve made over the past few years is to both expand our learning and development programs to more team members and leaders and carve out dedicated time for that development,” Kremer says about how Target has changed its training.
That means prioritizing training opportunities and incentivizing leaders to participate.
There are opportunities to improve measurement with these initiatives as well.
“Within our robust People Analytics function, we are focused on linking L&D data to team member, guest, and business outcomes,” Kremer says. “Understanding the full scope and impact of our work will help us to sharpen and optimize our programs — keeping the programs and our leaders agile and adaptable amid a pace of constant change.”
At Allianz, middle managers are asked to become coaches and mentors rather than organizers and micromanagers. The company is prioritizing soft skills like active listening and conflict resolution.
“Today’s employees appreciate leaders who are empathetic, approachable, and committed to their growth,” Martell says. “Development is now seen as an ongoing journey, incorporating continuous learning, stretch assignments, and regular feedback.”
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