The Strategic Middle Manager How to Create and Sustain Competitive Advantage

by Floyd, Steven W.; Wooldridge, Bill

• ISBN13: 9780787902087
• ISBN10: 078790208X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-04-19
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

An exceptional job of refocusing the middle manager's role?a must read for practitioners and educators alike. --Jack Viega, editor, The Academy of Management ExecutivesIn their quest to become leaner, flatter, and reengineered, organizations have systematically cut out the very positions that once made them successful?mid-level managers. In The Strategic Middle Manager,management experts Steven Floyd and Bill Wooldridge draw on a decade of research involving over 250 middle managers to demonstrate that the success of future organizations rests decisively on strong middle management.The authors present the tools managers need to: Redefine their roles Increase their strategic value Secure their futures Identify the top performers in the ranks...and much more! Far from lacking perspective, middle managers have a unique, pivotal perspective that places them at the forefront of organizational change. They can play the role of champion, synthesizer, facilitator, and implementer--and this book gives the advice needed to energize management. A must-read for training professionals, managers, and top executives, Floyd and Wooldridge's work will radically redesign--and drastically improve--your organization's effectiveness.

Author Biography

STEVEN W. FLOYD is associate professor of strategic management at the University of Connecticut. BILL WOOLDRIDGE is associate professor of strategic management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Table of Contents

Part One: The New Middle Management Imperative.

1. Leadership from the Middle: The Changing Demands of Middle Management Work.

2. Competing on Capabilities: The Middle Manager's Role in Leveraging Knowledge and Skills.

3. Realigning Resources and Talent: The Challenge of Organizational Restructuring.

Part Two: The New Strategic Roles for Middle Managers.

4. Strategy from the Middle Out.

5. Championing: The Discovery and Proposal of Innovative Initiatives.

6. Synthesizing: Advancing Shared Strategic Understanding.

7. Facilitating: Nurturing Adaptability and Setting the Stage for Renewal.

8. Implementing: Inducing the Vision and Making It Real.

Part Three: Unleashing the Power in the Middle.

9. The Challenge of Executive Leadership.

10. Becoming a Strategic Middle Manager.

Resources: The Strategic Consensus Questionnaire; A Self-Test of Middle Management Strategic Involvement.