Being a middle manager is tiring, but the Harvard Business Review (HBR) reported that there is a way out of the white-collar wilderness.
Middle managers tend to have a “complicated relationship” with power because establishing power is based on the hierarchical tendencies of a relationship, according to the article.
“When interacting with our superiors, we naturally adopt a more deferential low-power behavioral style. When interacting with subordinates, on the other hand, we adopt a more assertive high-power behavioral style,” HBR reported. “Failure to conform to these role-based expectations can lead to social conflicts and confusion, so people are very good at learning how to play the part that is expected of them.”
However, middle managers are asked to go by different rules that go between high and low power interacting styles, according to HBR.
For April D. Halliburton, founder/president of All-4-HR & Business Solutions LLC, she seamlessly transitions her communication style based on which hat she is wearing for the workday. The single mother of two worked her way up her entrepreneurial career, which began once she founded All-4-HR & Business Solutions LLC in 2009, after working as a legal/secretary and assistant for 25 years.
Her company, which provides expert, virtual HR management/consulting services to small businesses in the U.S. allows her to live out her passion of growing small businesses across the country, one small business at a time. All-4-HR & Business Solutions is a Michigan-based, full-service human resources company that offers HR management, recruitment, HR risk management, training and development, and employee relations services to businesses nationwide.
She told the Michigan Chronicle that while in her field she has found that the middle management workforce needs to be very flexible to meet the needs of its employees.
“We talk about things like a flexible schedule because of children that are at home,” she said, adding that there are a lot of factors that require a flexible working schedule including taking care of a sick parent or handling unexpected turns during the pandemic. “Then looking for various ways to keep their employees engaged — doing things that would show your appreciation for the hard work that employees are doing.”
Halliburton added that people in her position, along with middle managers, understand that while there is a push to bring in more talent and grow the workforce, it’s time to appreciate the current employees where they are at.
“(We) want to keep the focus on the employees we have and make sure they’re being appreciated and make sure you’re being cognizant of what your employees may be facing,” she said, adding that a tardy employee does not necessarily mean an incompetent one.
“Maybe they’re having issues at home,” she said adding that middle managers should always be on the lookout for free employee resource programs that offer counseling and the like “Be sure to have health and wellness programs — (there are a lot of) free programs out there. It is very important to keep that at the top of your list.”
In addition to being a business owner, Halliburton is a mentor, workshop facilitator, and consultant.
“I found my love for HR in 2009 while being the caregiver for my mother, after being in the law industry for nearly 20 years. I partnered with a company in Virginia, transcribing unemployment hearings while caring for my wonderful mom,” Halliburton said, adding that while transcribing hearings for the unemployment commission for various states, she noticed the huge gap between HR management and great HR management for small businesses. “That is where All-4-HR & Business Solutions LLC was born.”
Halliburton added that pandemic or not, employees, C-suite leaders, and middle managers can take control of their careers by prioritizing what is important during an employee’s shift – capitalizing on productivity especially, while leading their staff.
“The pandemic has proven that productivity does not always take place between the hours of 9 am to 5 p.m.,” she said, adding that middle management leaders are strong and leading during an unbelievable uneasy time right now. “The pandemic also brought out the resilience in each and every one of us.”
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