不上不下的中层经理人.docx

BetwixtandbetweenishowKirkGirarddescribesthe plablemsofbeingamiddlemanager. “Itcanfeellikepurgatory.”AsplanningmanageratSantaClaraCounty,alocalauthorityinCalifornia,hefelthewassearchingforpurpose,“tryingtofindmyroleintheorganisation”.Itledtoconsiderable“gnashingofteeth”.不上不下、左右为难就是柯克吉拉德(KirkGirard)对中层经理面临的问题的形容。“感觉就像在炼狱一样。”作为加州圣克拉拉县(CountyofSantaClara)地方政府的一名规划经理，他觉得自己正在寻找目标，“试着找到我在组织内的角色定位”。这使他常常沮丧得“咬牙切齿”。BehnamTabrizi,whoteachesleadershiptomid-levelmanagersincludingMrGirardatStanfordUniversitysDepartmentofManagementScienceandEngineering,says“middlemanagement”isadepressingtitle. “Itsperceivedasanegativelabelasanobstacleandoverhead.”Frustrationsfeltbymiddlemanagersmayalsoincludealackofautonomy.在斯坦福大学(StanfordUniversity)管理科学与工程系向吉拉德等中层经理教授领导力课程的贝南大不里士(BehnamTabrizi)表示，“中层管理者”是一个令人压抑的头衔。“它被认为是一种负面标签是障碍和天花板。”中层经理感受到的挫败感或许还包括缺少自主权。ThefictionalBobSlocuminJosephHellersSomethingHappenedembodiesmiddlemanagementmisery.KurtVonnegutsummedupSlocumsrestlessnessinhisreviewofthebook: “Hemournsthemissedopportunitiesofhisyouth.Heisitchyforraisesandpromotions,eventhoughhedespiseshiscompanyandthejobshedoes.Heisexhausted.Hedreadsoldage.”约瑟夫眠勒(JosephHeller)的出了毛病(SomethingHappened)一书中虚构的人物鲍勃斯洛克姆(BobSlocum)便体现了中层管理者的悲惨命运。库尔特冯内古特(KurtVonnegut)在其对这本书的书评中总结了斯洛克姆的如坐针毡：“他为年轻时错过的机遇感到痛惜。他渴望得到提拔和晋升，但又鄙视自己的公司和他所做的工作他感到疲惫不堪。他害怕变老。”Suchcharacterisationsareasenduringasthejobitselfdespitethefrequentannouncementofitsimpendingdeath.Astechnologyflattensorganisations,somiddlemanagersaredeemeddispensable.Thisyear,Zappos,theonlineshoeretailer,saiditwouldeliminatemanagers.Itsfounder,TonyHsieh,said: “Weretryingtoswitchfromanormalhierarchicalstructuretoasystem.whichenablesemployeestoactmorelikeentrepreneursandself-directtheirworkinsteadofreportingtoamanager.”尽管有关这类职位濒临消失的宣称频频出现，但这类典型描述就像该职位本身一样经久不衰。由于技术使组织结构扁平化，中层经理被认为是可有可无的。今年，在线鞋类零售商Zappos表示将取消经理职位。其创始人谢家华(TonyHsieh)称：“我们正试图从常规的等级结构转向一种体系使员工更像是企业家一样行动，自己指挥工作，而非向经理汇报。”Fromthisstandpoint,middlemanagersarecastassuperfluousbureaucrats.Itistheserolesthatcanbehitbycuts.Areportpublishedin2011bytheKingsFund,aUKthink-tank,highlightedthe“sneering”politicalrhetoricabouttheNationalHealthServicesarmiesof“facelessbureaucrats”.ItfoundthatifanythingtheNHSwasunder-managedratherthanover-managed,disputingtheideaofasaggingmiddle.从这个角度，中层经理被塑造为多余的官僚。正是这样的角色可能被砍掉。英国智库机构英皇基金(KingsFund)于2011年公布的报告，突出反驳了政治辞令对英国国民卫生服务体系(NHS)“呆板官僚”大军的“嘲笑”。报告发现，实际上NHS是管理不足而不是管理过度，这对认为中层管理者松懈不力的观点提出了质疑。Withsuchawaragainstthemitisnowonderthatmiddlemanagersmaybedepressed,researchbyColumbiaUniversitysMailmanSchoolofPublicHealthdiscoveredrecently.Thereportchallengedtheideathatitisthosewhoareatthebottomofthesocio-economicladderthatfeelthemostmiserableandanxious.Rather,thoseinthemiddlehavetoabsorbthediscontentofthosebelowandabove,whilefeelingfrustratedthattheydonothavepowertoimplementchange.哥伦比亚大学(ColumbiaUniversity)梅尔曼公共健康学院(MailmanSchoolofPublicHealth)最近所做的研究发现，面对这样一场针对自己的战争，就难怪中层经理们会觉得压抑了。该报告挑战了一种想法，即处于社会经济阶梯底端的人感觉最痛苦和焦虑。实际上，是那些处于梯子中间位置的人不得不承受来自上层和下层的不满，同时因无力实现改变而备感沮丧。ThisfollowsresearchpublishedinHarvardBusinessReviewlastyearthatsaidthemostunhappystaffwerenotthose“withpoorperformanceratingsortheonesinovertheirheadspeoplewithinadequatetraining,education,orexperienceforthejob”.Onthecontrary,themostmiserableofthe320,000employeesinterviewedwerethose“stuckinthemiddleofeverything”.Thesetendedtobepeoplewithadegree,withfiveto10yearstenureatthecompany,workasmid-levelmanagersandwhoreceiveagood(ratherthanbrilliantorterrible)performancerating.此前，哈佛商业评论(HarvardBusinessReview)于去年公布的研究表明，最不开心的员工并非那些“绩效评分糟糕或是能力不足的人培训、教育背景或工作经验不足的人”。相反，在受访的32万名员工中，最悲惨的是那些“困在所有事情中间”的人。这些人往往都有学位，在公司中任职5至10年，身为中层经理，绩效评分为良（不是优也不是差）。Yetthemiddlemanagertitleisacatch-all,asBillWooldridge,professorandmanagingdirectoroftheBerthiaumeCenterforEntrepreneurship,UniversityofMassachusetts,notes. “Thisisaveryheterogeneousgroup.Somehaveexcitingroles.”Mostpeopleareactuallymiddlemanagersifyoutakethatroleliterally,hesays.ThoughQuyHuy,professorofstrategicmanagementatInsead,definesthemas“peoplewhoaretwolevelsbelowtheCEOandonelevelabovefirst-linesupervisor”.不过，正如马萨诸塞大学(UniversityofMassachusetts)贝尔蒂奥姆企业中心(BerthiaumeCenterforEntrepreneurship)的常务董事比尔伍尔德里奇(BillWooldridge)教授所指出的那样，中层经理头衔是一个总称。“这是一个非常多样化的群体。一些人承担着令人兴奋的角色。”他称，如果你从字面上来理解这个角色，大多数人实际上都是中层经理。欧洲工商管理学院(Insead)战略管理教授夸伊许伊(QuyHuy)将他们定义为“比CEO低两级又比一线主管高一级的人”。JoanKingsley,organisationalpsychotherapistandauthorofTheFear-FreeOrganisation:VitalInsightsfromNeurosciencetoTransformyourBusinessCulture,saysthatagemaycontributetothegloomofpeopleinmid-management.组织心理治疗师琼金斯利(JoanKingsley)称，年龄可能致使中层经理变得阴郁。金斯利著有没有恐惧的组织：来自神经科学的企业文化变革重要启示(TheFear-FreeOrganisation:VitalInsightsfromNeurosciencetoTransformyourBusinessCulture)一书。“Forthosewhohavenotachievedtheirgoals,thereislikelytobeacrisisofconfidence;fearsthatitstoolate;thattheyhavemissedtheboat.Thisisnotsurprisinggiventhatorganisationsvalueyouth,energyandenthusiasm.”“那些还未达成自己目标的人，很可能会遭遇信心危机；担心为时已晚；担心自己已经错过机会。考虑到如今的企业看重年轻、活力和热情，这并不足为奇。”Shenotestheproblemswithmovinguptheorganisationalladder. “Peopletypicallymove.戠愀猀攀搀onoutputanddeliverytothebottomline.Butthehigherpeopleclimb,themoredistancedtheybecomefromtheworktheyveexcelledat.”她指出了沿组织阶梯向上攀爬的问题。“人们通常基于产出和对利润的贡献而向上晋升。但是人们爬得越高，离自己擅长的工作就越远。”Theproblemisthatmanagerswhoareidentifiedandpromotedfordoingagreatjobarethenexpectedtodelegatetootherpeople.Theresultisoftenthatmanagersrarelypossesstheskillsandexpertisetorunateam. “Theyfearlettingtheirbossesknowthattheyreinovertheirheads.”Thebeststrategymaybetoretainordevelopaspecialismalongsidemanagerialskills.问题是，因工作出色而获得认同并得到晋升的经理，之后人们会预期他会将工作委派给其他人。结果往往是经理很少拥有可以负责一个团队所需的技巧和专业知识。“他们担心被老板知道他们力不从心。”最佳策略或许是保留或发展一门专长，同时学习管理技巧。Sheobservesthatamanagerlefttochanceandguessworkmightusethe“quickanddirtyroute”tomanageandmotivatepeople,throughtheblunttooloffear. “Thetroubleis,however,thatnothingdemotivatessomeonefasterthanfear.Asfeartakesholdofateamordepartment,peoplemovefromthrivingtosurviving.Themanagerisleftbeingtheobjectofloathing.Andthisleavesthemanagerinalonelyplacewhereheorsheisavoided,dislikedandnottrusted.Thatsadepressingplacetobe.”她注意到，只能凭运气和瞎蒙的经理或许会利用“快捷却肮脏的手段”、以恐惧这把钝器来管理和激励员工。“然而，麻烦的是没有什么比恐惧更能使人快速失去动力的了。当恐惧主宰一个团队或部门时，人们将从朝气蓬勃转为混日子。经理只能沦为被厌恶的对象。同时，这使经理身处一个被他人回避、讨厌、不信任的孤独之地，令人压抑。”Jobsatisfaction,notesProfWool搀爀椀搀最攀,isdependentontherelationshipswiththoseyoumanage. “Iftheyareinnovativeitsexciting.”伍尔德里奇教授指出，工作满意度取决于你与下属的关系。“如果关系是创造性的，就会令人兴奋。”GianpieroPetriglieri,associateprofessoroforganisationalbehaviouratInsead,wroteariposteintheHBRtoZapposeffortstokillthemanagementrole.Theconsequence,heargues,is“peopleworkharder,andcontrolgetsmor