“Mining the Middle Ground: Developing
Mid-Level Managers for Strategic
Change”
By
David N. Williams
*****
David N. Williams opens by reminding us that
broad-scale change is “incredibly
difficult,” these efforts fail somewhere between
50 and 80 percent of the time and how practical it is
to attribute these failures to “middle
managers”—the stereotypical barriers to
change. That’s about where he stops agreeing with
conventional wisdom and begins a very strong challenge
to the assumption that mid-level managers are
inherently deadwood. To the contrary, he argues that
they are a unique, wasted resource, waiting to be
tapped. And he shows us how, by providing a thorough,
well-developed strategic change methodology that draws
on an organization’s mid-level managers as key
players. Developing, enabling and involving mid-level
managers can increase an organization’s chances
of strategic success, as well as provide it with far
more effective, engaged managers.
This book explores both the theory and
day-to-day logic behind the value of involving middle
managers, and then deals with the “how-to”
side of making it work. It takes you through the
approach step-by-step, beginning with senior
management’s role through the work of middle
management “Campaign Teams” to front-line
employee projects and ending with testing and
implementing changes.
“Mining the Middle Ground” is
rich in case studies. Drawn from over 15 years as a
consultant, Williams interviews with senior and middle
managers, and front line employees provide a wealth of
“lessons learned” and document the
experiences and challenges of using this approach. They
also demonstrate the flexibility of the model by
showing how the approach can be customized for a range
of organizations, from a four-seasons resort to a
manufacturing company. My favorite case study is the
Four Seasons Resort that used the model to tackle
“skier risk, golf course slow-play and guest
registration.”
Favorite Chapter: I have two. The topic of
Chapter 7 is “Communication.” It’s my
favorite simply because it’s there. This critical
area is often overlooked or minimized. In addition,
Chapter 11, “Implementing Change”. is
well-grounded in practical experiences and best
practices and could be used as a primer for any change
initiative.
Favorite Lines: “Do not
‘over-hype’ the [campaign] launch because
big high-charged announcements do not communicate
priority, they feed cynicism,” and “a
whisper introduction is preferable to brass-band
hoopla.”
Throughout the book Williams drives home
the points that “change consumes resources and
large-scale change consumes resources large
scale,” and “organizational change has to
involve all levels.” The book is best read once
for concepts and a second time for details. When
you’re finished, you’ll have an in-depth
understanding of the enormity of the challenge to bring
about strategic change in an organization, but also how
much middle managers should be a part of it.
Reviewed by Carol L. Sheridan, Carol Sheridan &
Associates, Montgomery Village, Md.
“Mining the Middle Ground: Developing Mid-Level
Managers for Strategic Change,” David N.
Williams, 2000, CRC Press, ISBN 1-57444-295-3.
Book
Ratings:
*****
=
Pick it up today
**** = Overnight
it
*** = Snail mail
it
** = At a library?
* = Never mind
June 2001 News for
a Change Homepage
Issue Highlight —
A Sad and Grateful Remembrance
