360 Portrait of Middle Managers - Think Talent Services

A 360 Portrait of Middle Managers

Are your future leaders empowered to lead and drive impact?

Did you know?

A recent survey showed that middle managers are spending less than a third of their time on people management.

Source: McKinsey Global Survey on 700+ Middle Managers, 2022

In this new world of work—where change and volatility will likely prevail in the foreseeable future—middle managers face a growing pressure to deliver in flatter, faster, and leaner organizational structures.

They are indeed
mission-critical in helping people and workplaces thrive.

Middle managers play an important role in executing talent & business strategy.

To better understand their operational and developmental context, we analyzed the 360 feedback reports of 3000+ Middle Managers across 80+ organizations from various industries.

Here’s what we found out:

How are Middle Managers perceived by their Stakeholders on different Competencies?

Distribution of Middle Managers across Key Competencies basis 360 Feedback Scores

Across competencies, there is a huge opportunity for improvement for middle managers.

If it can be addressed through focused development planning and actions, its effect can cascade throughout the organization.

Here are a few additional insights:

Collaborating with Peers

Most Middle Managers excel at establishing strong relationships with their stakeholders. However, our data indicates that collaborating with peers can pose a greater challenge for some.

As per our findings, 40% of participants received lower ratings for the competency of 'Relationship Building' from their peers compared to the ratings they received from their managers.

Meeting their Managers' Expectations

Traditionally, people find it difficult to meet the expectations of their bosses. But this is not the case for Middle Managers. They have learned to manage up or keep the boss happy.

For 84% of participants, their managers scored them average or above average on all competencies.

Potential Blind Spots

Middle managers often want to feel good about their work and their capabilities. Our data suggests that most Middle Managers have Potential Blind Spots across competencies.

In 96% of cases, the self-score of the participant was higher than the average score of others by more than 0.5.

Now how can Organizations empower their Future Leaders?

Middle managers have mastered the art of acting as the filter and translator between the executive suite and the front line.
But there’s more to their role both on the strategy side and the people side. Organizations can support them by:

Ensuring that your organization has a clear statement of purpose that aligns with the managers’ purpose.

Enabling them to see beyond the obvious by exposing them to new experiences and challenges.

Giving the time and authority to focus on their people.

Supporting managers who are stuck spending time on planning and lower-value tasks to shift their focus toward higher-priority talent needs.

Note:

Data was collected via Think Talent’s proprietary 360° Feedback Survey tool, used during multiple managerial talent development programs over a span of three years across the Indian subcontinent.

The tool is used to gather and provide managers with structured feedback regarding their proficiency in the competencies covered in the survey.

Explore the Full Series

360 Feedback Surveys: Off-the-Shelf vs Customized Questionnaires

5 Things to work on prior to your 360 Feedback Survey Launch

Before starting the 360-Feedback Process: Get the Context & Purpose Right

Introduction to 360 Feedback Surveys – Blog Series

What to do after the 360 Feedback Survey?

Looking for a next-generation 360-degree feedback solution?

Learn more

More Resources

Deploying 360° Surveys at scale in context of Performance Management

Find out how we helped an Insurance Giant to scale up its 360° feedback program using our proprietary 360-feedback platform.

A 360 Portrait of Middle Managers

Find out the latest insights based on our in-depth analysis of the 360 feedback reports of 3000+ Managers across industries. You will get a glimpse on how middle managers are perceived by their stakeholders on different competencies.

Implementing 360° Feedback Survey in context of Leadership Development

Learn how we enabled a Leading Digital Payments Company to customize 360° surveys for the development of their top 100 Leaders.

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A 360 Portrait of Middle Managers

Are your future leaders empowered to lead and drive impact?

Did you know?

A recent survey showed that middle managers are spending less than a third of their time on people management.

Source: McKinsey Global Survey on 700+ Middle Managers, 2022

In this new world of work—where change and volatility will likely prevail in the foreseeable future—middle managers face a growing pressure to deliver in flatter, faster, and leaner organizational structures.

They are indeed mission-critical in helping people and workplaces thrive.

Middle managers play an important role in executing talent & business strategy.

To better understand their operational and developmental context, we analyzed the 360 feedback reports of 3000+ Middle Managers across 80+ organizations from various industries. Here’s what we found out:

How are Middle Managers perceived by their Stakeholders on different Competencies?

Distribution of Middle Managers across Key Competencies basis 360 Feedback Scores

If it can be addressed through focused development planning and actions, its effect can cascade throughout the organization.

Here are a few additional insights:

Collaborating with Peers

As per our findings, 40% of participants received lower ratings for the competency of 'Relationship Building' from their peers compared to the ratings they received from their managers.

Meeting their Managers' Expectations

For 84% of participants, their managers scored them average or above average on all competencies.

Potential Blind Spots

In 96% of cases, the self-score of the participant was higher than the average score of others by more than 0.5.

Now how can Organizations empower their Future Leaders?

Ensuring that your organization has a clear statement of purpose that aligns with the managers’ purpose.

Enabling them to see beyond the obvious by exposing them to new experiences and challenges.

Giving the time and authority to focus on their people.

Supporting managers who are stuck spending time on planning and lower-value tasks to shift their focus toward higher-priority talent needs.

Note:

Explore the Full Series

360 Feedback Surveys: Off-the-Shelf vs Customized Questionnaires

5 Things to work on prior to your 360 Feedback Survey Launch

Before starting the 360-Feedback Process: Get the Context & Purpose Right

Introduction to 360 Feedback Surveys – Blog Series

What to do after the 360 Feedback Survey?​

Looking for a next-generation 360-degree feedback solution?

More Resources

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They are indeed
mission-critical in helping people and workplaces thrive.

To better understand their operational and developmental context, we analyzed the 360 feedback reports of 3000+ Middle Managers across 80+ organizations from various industries.

Here’s what we found out:

What to do after the 360 Feedback Survey?