By: Len Brzozowski

Being a middle level manager can be a challenging thing today. You are caught in between the senior executive ranks and are nearer to the firing line where things are happening every day, and decisions must be made.

Here are some comments from typical mid level managers here in Cincinnati. Does any of this sound like it is coming from your company?

“We have no clearly articulated mission or vision. People above me constantly are changing their minds.”

“They tell me they want me to step up, but when I do, I am often criticized when my approach is not like theirs.”

“They want action from us to move in a specific direction, but no one can say whether we are hoping to end up in Dallas or San Francisco.”

“The people who need to be here having this conversation about strategy and core purpose, are back at the office.”

“We have a different set of priorities about work-life balance that they just don’t seem to understand.”

Yes, it seems difficult to be caught in the middle. After a while it can become common wisdom not to volunteer, to take a risk to challenge the status quo, or to try to lead at all.

This leads to increased frustration by senior executives who don’t see the younger managers as being committed, or having the drive to get to the top.

In the end the whole enterprise loses.

Keeping people motivated today at all levels is a challenge. Your middle manager team is crucial to getting the best out of your “front line” employees who get most of the work done in the organization. If your middle managers are not fired up, what is the likelihood that they will get the best from your front line troops?

It is often a hard point to get across, but middle managers have to be taught that while it is easy to lay the blame for all the ailments of the enterprise at the feet of senior executives, that is not useful.

Managers need to accept the notion that it si a FACT OF LIFE that most of the universe is beyond their control, and will always be so. We can’t generally control the actions of our customers, competitors, and bosses any more than we can completely control the actions of our spouses or our children as they grow up. Bemoaning that fact does no help. Accepting the idea that the only thing you can control in this world . . . is yourself seems the start to becoming a great leader. We want our young managers to see that it is far more useful to forget about what their bosses should or will do, and concentrate on what they themselves can do.

Wherever you are in an organization, while you may not be able to fix everything, there is a lot that you can do. You can run your next team meeting differently. You can choose to be more collaborative with fellow managers, less engaged in office politics. You can be empowering to your subordinates even if you boss does not treat you that way. You can take extra time to communicate why you want subordinates to act in a certain way, to how their labors support a greater good.

One organization that breeds this better than almost any other is the US Marine Corps. They do so by engaging in five distinct practices that we believe apply to any organization whether or not its charter is to generate a profit or not.¹

Practice 1: Overinvest on the front end in cultural indoctrination.

Culture drives all behavior in organizations. Yours has one whether or not you are deliberate about it. The Marines, through a methodical 12-week program, whether at recruit boot camp at Parris Island, SC, or at Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA teaches the Marine way of standing, moving, thinking, speaking, appearing, and leading. Contrast this process to many organizations who bring new hires into HR to fill out insurance forms, are given an employee handbook and are then shown to their cube.

The Marines start with its core purpose and values – winning America’s battles through devotion to honor, courage and commitment. This indoctrination is meticulously overseen by some of the BEST the Marines have – their legendary Drill Instructors who lead by their own example, setting the bar higher than they expect any of their new officer candidates will ever achieve.

Practice 2: Train everyone to lead, especially first line supervisors.

In business, we typically differentiate managers from followers. If you are a follower, you are expected to follow the instructions of your supervisor.

While it may surprise many of you, the Marines train everyone to be a leader. For them, this is vital since in combat, the officer may fall, and those underneath may need to step up at moment’s notice. This may seem paradoxical, but the Marine culture resolves this by valuing team and mission above all else. So they explain that at times even great leaders need to know when to follow whomever is in charge of a particular mission. You always support the team for the good of the mission. By building both pride and trust, the Marines generate high morale as all soldiers recognize they are valued and can depend on each other to lead unselfishly and to support each other completely.

Practice 3: Teach a systematic process for approaching problems and situations.

This leadership system is supported by teaching everyone from top to bottom, one systematic way to assess brief, plan, execute, manage and debrief any problem or situation. The Marines call it OSMEAC (orientation, situation, mission, execution, administration, and command & control).

During what is known as the Small Unit Leadership Exercise, all officer candidates are given chances to alternately lead and follow in small teams using this system. In the beginning, there is chaos, with people lacking clarity about objectives, and everyone shouting out so many good ideas that the unit leader is overwhelmed. OSMEAC helps provide structure. As everyone on the team comes to understand how this system operates, their unit performance steadily improves. They are not only taught the concept, they all experience it by facing numerous unexpected challenges. As they see that their success rate improves, this builds confidence.

Practice 4: Care for the bottom.

In business, we often concentrate our greatest attention on the people whom we see as having the highest potential. We ignore the less stellar among our team. This lack of caring often reflects in their indifference and performance.

The Marines see things differently. When a recruit signs up, they do so for a four year commitment. There are no lay-offs or firing in the Marine Corps. This lends itself to a management strategy to work harder on the people who are the lesser performers, constantly challenging them, coaching, and guiding them to be better.

No one gets left behind. The Drill Instructors are the ones who make this a reality. They tell every recruit, “you may give up on yourself more than once during the next 12 weeks, but we will never give up on you.” This commitment by the DI’s to their recruits builds loyalty and respect. To Marine Officers servant leadership is a part of the culture. Taking care of your Marines, is paramount.

Practice 5: Reinforce the teachings with discipline that helps build pride.

For most managers in business, discipline is a necessary evil. We do it to impose control and order. The problem is that strict discipline often kills any hope of empowerment and initiative.
Over the past 233 years, the Marines have considered carefully how to strike that balance. Yes they have lots of rules, and they don’t easily tolerate breaking them. But they have also learned that with every failure comes an opportunity to learn. The same DI’s who at times are 4 inches away from your face screaming orders, are also quit coaches. They give feedback be sharing stories of their own experiences as a way of teaching, recognizing that providing feedback can be a way of building people up.

They stress behaviors that flow from their values – honor, courage and commitment. They stress the need for group as well as self discipline. They train leaders to stand up at take responsibility for group failure. When groups succeed, they always give the credit to the team.

When discipline is applied by the Marines it is always connected to the idea of being applied to make the recruit the best in the world. Adherence to the values of the Corps, makes them the best of the best – the tip of the spear. Something all Marines will tell you they are proud to be.

From the Field to the Office

All of these five principles are common-sensical to most organizational executives, intellectually at least. We all get it, we just don’t do it. When not adhering to these concepts is culturally acceptable within your organization, you will never unleash the full potential of your employees or your managers.

But what is perhaps most persuasive about the Marines’ approach to energizing the front lines is that the five underlying managerial practices can be found in nonmilitary organizations today. Rarely, however, are those practices pursued with the dedication, rigor, and relentless determination necessary to convert ordinary workers into an extraordinary work force..

There are many corporate examples, including Disney, Toyota, Dominos Pizza, Quicken Loans (#2 on Fortune’ list of 100 best places to work), and even tiny Zingerman’s (ranked as the “coolest small business in America by INC magazine).

If the Marines can do it, and these corporations can, perhaps you can do it too.

1 Adapted from Firing Up the Front Line by Jon R. Katzenbach and Jason A. Santamaria, Harvard Business Review, Product Number: 99307