How to Motivate Middle-Managers

"These days, a good manager is supposed to keep rank-and-file employees motivated and happy," says management skills coach Mia Melanson. "But who worries about the managers themselves? They're people, too, and if they burn out or quit, it's usually much harder to replace them."

In fact, Melanson says, middle-manager morale problems are very common in high-stress technology firms. "Usually, the CEO doesn't even see the problem. 'I only hire motivated people, and I pay them well,'--that's what I hear all the time," Melanson says. "But even highly motivated people need positive reinforcement. And I don't mean just buying them a pizza."

Melanson admits that there's usually no easy answer to managerial malaise. But a few tactics may help:

• Create closure: "One of the major reasons that managers burn out is that their work is never done, no matter how many hours they put in," Melanson says. "Employees get to finish a project or an assignment, but the manager comes back to the same desk every morning." Putting more emphasis on short-term milestones--for instance, hitting monthly or quarterly targets, or getting a new product out the door--can help create a greater sense of accomplishment and closure, she says.

• Define the job: "We define low-level jobs very carefully, with all kinds of performance metrics. But the higher up you get in the organization, the less job definition there is. I see new managers all the time who are really struggling, trying to do everything, because they don't know what they're expected to do. If you haven't defined expectations, how can you do a meaningful performance appraisal?"

• Establish career paths: Managers who rise through the ranks from technical departments--engineering, marketing, finance, customer support--eventually hit a ceiling, says Melanson. "If you want them to stick around, they need a chance to learn broader business and people management skills. And if they're not interested in moving out of their specialty, you have to find a way to enrich their current jobs so there's still some growth potential."

• Challenge dysfunctional processes: "Middle managers know what's broken in the company--they work with these problems every day. A great way to improve job satisfaction is to get your managers involved in dumping bad processes and coming up with better ideas of their own."

• Provide professional recognition: Give managers a chance to speak at conferences and user group events, Melanson suggests. "There's no reason the CEO should always hog the podium. Other managers deserve some of the limelight, too."

• Occasionally talk about life: "There's so much fire-fighting in companies that managers are always meeting to talk about issues and crises," says Melanson. "But that doesn't mean they're actually communicating with each other, or with the boss. You need to set aside time for one-on-one meetings, to talk about each manager's career development and personal agenda."

• Respect their personal lives: "Older managers have more going on in their lives than young employees--families, schools, outside interests, friends. If managers are putting in too many hours on the job, everything else is probably suffering. It can be very motivating to show concern about a manager's life outside work."

Mia Melanson, principal, Performance Consulting, 84 Walnut St., Natick, Mass. 01760; 508/650-0770. E-mail: mia@performance-consulting.com.