The underrated role of middle managers in leading millennials
They can increase their leadership ability if they recognise that their primary value is emotional, not functional
We constantly hear that millennials – already the most-represented generation in the US labour force and probably in Asia – abhor conventional bosses.
Many millennials reputedly believe that they are already task-competent and can work autonomously, guided by their strong internal sense of purpose. Given the option of working at either a standard corporation or a lean start-up, they’d overwhelmingly prefer the latter.
If this is an accurate portrayal of millennials’ preferences, established firms looking to attract and retain top young talent would have no choice but to restructure accordingly, in particular, changing their hierarchical, top-down management style, which still dominates many Asian organisations.
Furthermore, today’s large organisations may soon have the means to begin eliminating middle managers altogether – middle managers being defined as managers who do not report directly to the highest chief executive in the organisation and are at least one level above the first line supervisor. The arrival of intelligent machines capable of performing many key tasks of white-collar workers could make it easier than ever for executives to emulate Zappos and the other “bossless” companies that have attracted much media attention.
This may seem like bad news for middle managers, as sooner or later (probably sooner than later), they will have to prove to employers that their value extends beyond their traditional functional responsibilities. But here’s the good news: the stereotypes about both millennials and middle managers aren’t completely true. In the future of the corporation, evolved middle managers will have an essential role to play.
By leveraging their closeness to employees, middle managers can communicate the big C-suite vision in a way that is personally inspiring for their subordinates
The irony about millennials’ supposedly anti-hierarchical attitude is that it originates from the most influential hierarchy of all: the family. The prevalence of so-called “helicopter parenting” and “always on” internet gave millennials an unprecedented level of self-worth, but also a yearning for emotional engagement and expressions of personal caring from authority figures as well as friends, colleagues, and even admiration from strangers close and far away.
