Serve Up, Coach Down summary

Ever seen a tennis pro play in a championship match? Players like Serena Williams and Roger Federer have killer serves. But to win the point, they can’t play the same serve every time. If they want to keep opponents on their toes, they need to mix things up. 

The same applies to managing from the middle. It’s not enough to serve up by supporting your immediate manager. You need to serve out and across, too. This means you need to serve your peers in middle management. 

Charles is a middle manager who’s made himself invaluable to his boss. He accepts her strategic decisions and implements them with conviction. 

His team, on the other hand, are far from exceptional. They complete their tasks, sure. But, unlike Charles, they don’t fully support the company’s mission. Charles can’t be blamed for their mediocre performance. Or can he?

We all know change is unavoidable, but it can still be challenging to deal with. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a big shift, like moving to a new city or starting a new career, or just a small adjustment – even making the switch from coffee to tea can be hard. 

It’s no different in the corporate world, which is influenced by the constant flux outside of the office. Things like technology, demographics, and market forces never stop reshaping our businesses. 

Knowledge is power – but only if you put that knowledge into practice! 

The knowledge gap, which is the distance between what workers know and what they do, is a huge problem for the modern workplace. 

Have you ever heard of “middle child syndrome?” Middle children are often people pleasers because they’ve always had to mediate between elder and younger siblings.

When you work in the middle, you might feel the same way. You’re pulled in different directions, and you want to please everyone. Bosses, clients, heads of other departments, your own team – there’s so much to do, and so little time! 

Which of your team members deserves the most of your loyalty? The most senior? The most skilled? The most loyal? The one who drives the most sales, nets the most deals, wins the most pitches?

The answer is: none of them. Your loyalty should lie with whoever is making the greatest contribution to the team right now. Last quarter’s results, last year’s numbers – they don’t come into the equation. 

Middle management has a bad reputation. In the corporate world, it’s often seen as a refuge for pencil pushers, bureaucrats, and people who don’t hold any power or influence. 

Of course, many do fit this stereotype. But – news flash! – some of the most powerful people in business are middle managers. After all, what’s the definition of a middle manager? It’s a professional who both reports higher up the chain and manages further down the chain. That definition fits some of business’s most influential VPs, CFOs, and COOs.