Workshops
Managing from the middle
Workshop Details
In today’s dynamic and fast-paced business environment, organisational life has become increasingly complex. Managers find themselves at the intersection of various roles, responsibilities, and expectations, creating complexity, and the pressure of constant challenges. Navigating the demands of overwhelmed executives, overburdened workers, dissatisfied customers, and fellow harried people managers can be overwhelming. This workshop is designed to help you deal with feeling stuck in the middle, learning how to influence up, down and across your organisation.
Experiential learning in a ‘Uppers, middles and lowers’ exercise, based on the work of Barry Oshry (2007), gives you valuable insights into the practical and emotional experiences of roles in a hierarchy. By understanding the dynamics at play and how to influence, you are equipped to interact effectively and navigate the complexities with more confidence.
The workshop incorporates a seminar on the dynamics of managing in the middle of organisations, and extends the learning with structured reflection on real-life dilemmas and how you can take more informed actions taking account of interconnectedness of roles, and opportunities for collaboration.
The combination of experiential learning, theoretical frameworks and reflection delivers practical insights, tools, and strategies to navigate the complexities of hierarchies, interact effectively, and take a networked approach to managing in and from the middle.
This workshop is designed for managers seeking to increase their influence and become effective agents of change in their organisations. This includes managers of people and operations. If you value practical frameworks and experiential learning with others to gain a deeper understanding of workplace, this workshop is for you. Expect to come away with actionable strategies for managing up, leading your teams, and building strong networks of peers in the middle.
Join us in ‘Managing from the middle: The art of influencing up, down, and sideways’ to unlock your potential, overcome the frustrations of middle management, and navigate the complexities of organisational life with skill and confidence. Embrace this opportunity to excel as a manager in the middle and make a lasting impact within your organisation.At a glance
Date
Available at a time to suit you
Session Time
Full or half day
Investment
Contact us for a tailored quote based on group size and delivery format
Location
All workshops are available for on-site delivery, and the potential for a hybrid format can be discussed.
Key Learning Outcomes
Understand power dynamics and leadership challenges, enhancing collaboration skills for managing the middle
Identify opportunities for influence from the perspective of managing the middle and navigating tensions between organisational layers
Visualise and analyse power networks within and beyond the organisation, identifying potential collaborators and impact areas for managing more effectively
Apply insights to address current management dilemmas, developing practical strategies for more influence in managing the middle.
Your facilitators
Helen McKelvie
Helen is a seasoned facilitator of organisational learning who brings warmth, curiosity and deep listening to every group she works with. With over 25 years of experience inside public and private sector organisations before joining NIODA, she understands the realities and tensions of organisational life and uses that lived insight to help participants examine their roles, surface underlying dynamics and act with greater clarity and intention. Helen’s facilitation style is grounded, engaging and experiential, helping participants reflect on real dilemmas, ask powerful questions and apply practical learning beyond the room.
Kristina Karlsson
Kristina is an experienced workshop designer and facilitator in hybrid, online and face-to-face contexts, for large and small groups of over 100 people. Kristina draws on a broad repertoire of facilitation methods and is trained in the Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter (Participatory Leadership).