When is the last time you’ve taken a closer look at the middle of your organization? – Scott Mautz, NYT best-selling author

According to Wharton Research, those who lead from the middle of an organization account for 22.3 percent of the overall variation in revenue. When is the last time you’ve taken a closer look at the middle of your organization? That time might be now.

On today’s show, we’ve got a special guest who is an expert in this area. Scott Mautz is a former Procter & Gamble senior executive who successfully ran four separate multi-billion-dollar businesses, all while transforming employee engagement scores along the way. He’s also been named a “top 50 leadership innovator” by inc., and he’s the author of the best-selling books: Make it Matter, Find the Fire. His latest book, released just last week, is titled Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization.

As the title of Mautz’s book suggests, middle managers are any employees in an organization that have to lead up, down. While middle managers often get a bad rap in mainstream media with shows like The Office, Mautz’s research reveals that middle managers are critical to every organization, large or small.

In Leading from the Middle, Mautz examines the unique psychological challenges that middle managers face, one of which is called micro-switching. Micro-switching is when a middle manager has to make adjustments to their leadership style depending on if they are talking to a boss, employee, or peer.

Mautz then goes on to share tips for when middle managers have to lead up. He says the key here is establishing specific expectations between the boss and middle manager. Even though these pairs might believe that they both clearly understand the expectations, Mautz’s research shows that 83% of these teams displayed discrepancies. When leading down, Mautz encourages thoughtful and specific, and sincere feedback.

To find out more, be sure to check out Mautz’s latest book, Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization.