Baby Boomers-now all grown up-constitute a corporate bubble of professionals largely responsible for executing on the bottom-line performance and success of their companies. A volatile economy and stock market, along with continuing corporate cost controls, make it more critical than ever for this middle bulge to perform lean and mean. Developing the leadership capability of middle and upper-middle management is critical for corporations to survive and thrive in a dynamic environment.

The "Managing the Middle by Leading Up & Down" program helps realize middle management potential. This transformation-focused program champions those professionals who are: a) committed to enhancing their sphere of influence, performance or career; b) transitioning between positions or career; or c) high potential/low performers faced with an immediate leadership opportunity.

Mid-management professionals operate at a time of life when they are reaping much of what they sowed in young adulthood: education debt, career choices, marriage partnerships, children and family commitments, college payments, health concerns, and the caring for or death of parents. In addition to these personal responsibilities, professionals function "around the clock" and often respond in a crisis mode to relentlessly "urgent" rather than mission-critical tasks. These professionals need to work smarter with their reports and those to whom they report, to effectively manage exponentially-multiplying accountabilities.

"Managing the Middle by Leading Up & Down" enables middle management to lead with its competencies and opportunities, while managing its challenges. It helps managers to create a customized development plan-based on individual competencies and challenges, and corporate objectives-and achieve progress through integrative executive coaching. The one-on-one program:

• Assesses individual strengths & development opportunities
• Identifies a strategy for personal/professional development
• Creates an action plan to develop competencies:
  - Leadership
  - Prioritizing & planning
  - Time management
  - Communication: verbal (speeches, presentations, meetings, voice mail) written (proposals, correspondence, e-mail), relationships
  - Work/life balance
• Produces results through ongoing, integrative executive coaching

This tailored program synergizes personal and professional strengths to help individuals "proactively lead" rather than "reactively manage" their careers in the context of corporate goals. The recommended 6-12 month timeframe of "Managing the Middle by Leading Up & Down" enables professionals to gain and maintain momentum in their development. Ongoing coaching also fuels the initial impetus provided by other corporate training and development tools, thus enabling managers to navigate their path through the evolving corporate entity.

Copyright © 2004 Linda Saran All Rights Reserved