Skip to main content

How to Be a High Value Middle Manager

In any organization, there are 2 kinds of middle managers:

The first type are those who get the work done but never think beyond what need to be completed in the medium term. Though they may work hard and have good intentions, they fail to see the big picture, and thus add little value to the functions they manage.


In short, they are 'good managers'. E.g the Finance Manager at JPMorgan Chase Bank who got the monthly accounts out on time but never warn the management about the risk in investing in so called 'secure' mortgage securities.


The second type are those High Value Middle Managers who see the big picture. 

They know how to manage operational practices and execute tactical goals to support strategic initiatives. They add value to their organization and thus elevate their position from that of a middle man to a key player. 


You know it when you come across one (or when you yourself are one). High Value Middle Managers operate at peak efficiency:

- Their questions are timely and on target (they ask "Why" and "Why Not?" a lot)
- Their ideas are provocative that help move the organization forward (eg they propose cost saving measures)
- They transit from one task to another seamlessly (they never say "I'm up to the neck!")
- Their demeanour is calm but with a sense of urgency (hurried but not rushed, you can see their hand still very neat and the make-up on their face still intact even at 11 pm)
- They are busy, yet focused and driven, and imbue the workplace with energy (everyone loves to work with them for they are always say "add oil");
- Although their days are full, they use tiny pockets of time to accomplish big things (eg they make use of lunch time to meet important people).

In short, these are the high value managers: they are not CEOs, but could be more important than their CEO. They do the planning, people management and leadership of the masses. These high value managers can relate better to the lower level in executing strategies, and understand the ground better. As s result, they can create real changes ....


Question is: Are You Such a Manager? If not, come for this course...How to Be a Better Manager.  To book your limited seats, or to get this course done in-house at your premise, call Priya at 6225-1784 or Andy at 8201-4347 now...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret Under the Mattress: Why would a 79-year Man Bet So Big on 4D?

It was 2007 when we discovered his secret. While moving my father’s mattress, we found them: heaps and heaps of Singapore Pools 4D tickets. They were stacked in layers, a paper trail of lost hopes. What shocked us most wasn’t just the volume, but the stakes. He wasn’t betting a few dollars for fun. He was punting hundreds of dollars per draw—nearly ten times a month. At the time, my siblings and I were furious. Our father was a 79-year-old retiree. We wondered, with a mix of anger and confusion, why a man at his stage of life would need to win such "big money." What was he going to do with the money? We saw it as a reckless habit, a sign of poor judgment in his final years.  Some of us would say, "If I were to give him money to buy 4D, why don't I use the money and buy 4D myself?  At least I have better discipline".  It has taken me two decades, and the experience of raising my own three grown-up children, to finally see the truth that was hidden under that matt...

You think 'Dear You' is Special? Wait till you watch 'Niu Lai'

The film is 《牛来》 (Niu Lai / The Cow Is Coming ) , an 86-minute Chinese animated film released on 5 August 2026. It was reportedly made by a mother-and-son team over 5 years, mostly hand-made, without sophisticated production technology or AI. The production cost is only RMB  1,680 . Initially, it was a disaster. In its first ten days, it reportedly earned only about RMB7,700 . The animation looked extremely crude, publicity was almost nonexistent, and it appeared destined to disappear. Then something extraordinary happened. The worse people said it was, the more people wanted to see it Pictures and clips began circulating online because the animation looked so amateurish. People mocked it. The mockery went viral. Instead of killing the movie, the criticism became its marketing campaign . People began thinking: “Can it really be THAT bad? I have to see this for myself.” Even cinemas reportedly posted unusually candid warnings about its rough production quality, effectively...

Head Bleeding when the Chair Falls

The Weight of Silence: What Were We Really Arguing About? My earliest memories are punctuated by the sound of shouting. In 1970, when I was barely 6 years old, I stood as a small witness to the fierce quarrels between my father and my late eldest brother Kah Yang (he passed away in 1971 at the age of 17). As I grew up, these contradictions became the soundtrack of our lives, usually centered around our family's shoe shop and clothing stalls in Chinatown. In the court of family opinion, the verdict was almost always the same: my father was "wrong." He was judged as a man who didn't fulfill his role, who wasn't "burdening" enough for the family’s success. But as I look back from the vantage point of 2026, I have to ask: Was that actually true? Let me finally put to rest what my father did right: the truths that were buried under decades of criticism: Unseen Labor: He worked grueling, long hours. I remember him hauling boxes of goods and equipment to set u...