Engaging the Middle Manager is Key to DEI Success

the magic middle of an organization are critical to successful DEI Work

An engaged ‘magic middle manager’ is key to successful DEI work

Senior leadership is often the first to engage in diversity, equity and inclusion work. Then, usually there is organization-wide communication and education. What’s often a missing link is a connective tissue between senior leadership and front-line employees – the middle manager.

The magic middle manager is key to diversity, equity and inclusion’s success. Without their buy in and engagement, the results will be futile and short-lived. There are proven and tangible ways to engage the busy manager by meeting them where they are at vs. blindly tasking them to lead DEI with their teams, and holding them accountable for results.

Without middle management support, DEI efforts are futile

According to HBR, middle managers are roughly 17% of the workforce and the least engaged at work. They’re often tasked with communicating the vision of senior leadership without the necessary context or training, and they’re often trying to communicate problems from front-line employees to senior leadership that often don’t want to hear about them. They are very much stuck in the middle. We call them the magic middle.

The manager has a lot of priorities buying for their time already. Adding DEI to their ever-growing to-do list has not been successful in recent years. According to McKinsey & Company, most organizations do not truly value and reward DE I work, they treat it more as a sideline initiative. The message is clear – managers focus on getting their real work done and only if they have time to do DEI work, that is an added bonus.

Leaders would not treat other business processes this way – why is DEI treated as a separate initiative if it is critical to the business? It is the equivalent of launching a new product or service without resourcing it properly, consistently communicating progress, and setting goals and expectations.

Most middle managers have 4-7 direct reports. That means that the middle manager represents the vast majority of the employee experience. With 66% suffering from burnout, it is difficult to add more meetings, tasks, and priorities to this already overburdened group.

How to engage the busy middle manager in DEI?

We recently conducted listening sessions with an industry leading client that was struggling to engage their middle management in DEI. The findings were stark. These well-intentioned middle managers were very passionate about diversity in the workplace and wanted to be more inclusive leaders, they just did not have the time to do it. They felt DEI was important, yet it was not a real priority. They weren’t rewarded on performance reviews for DEI work and it was not a cause for promotion like other business activities.

These middle managers were hungry for more pre-made activities that they could do with their teams to get to know them better and to enrich the diversity of their employee experience. They also wanted the opportunity to connect with folks with deeper DEI experience so that they could ask questions in a safe environment. They wanted to know how to lead discussions effectively especially when emotions flared or language became complex. Oftentimes the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing prevents managers from engaging in DEI work. Having processes and resources for middle managers to automatically embed DEI into their day-to-day activities is pivotal. 

After listening to 100 middle managers and gathering their perspectives, our recommendations were to:

  • allocate specific time for DEI learning and engagement, provide tools and 1:1 coaching
  • measure DEI performance for accountability
  • formalize peer to peer leader sharing
  • have a one-stop shop for DEI tools
  • and to share the DEI road map for leaders to plan ahead. 

This organization is doing a lot of things right for DEI, and yet consistently the number one barrier was making time available for DEI. 

In addition to our recommendations, MIT Sloan suggests: 

  • connecting diversity and inclusion practices to business goals
  • establishing clear accountability measures for middle managers when evaluating employees
  • providing middle managers with online resources for handling diversity-related issues
  • inviting middle managers to attend diversity recruitment fairs
  • naming middle managers to sponsorship roles of employee resource groups

Managers need to be held accountable for DEI

Just like any other part of the business, if it’s important that there are goals and expectations. Without accountability long-term, DEI work will feel short-lived, insignificant, and not effective. To do this effectively, we recommend DEI time commitments are specified, with specific goals and expected outcomes. 

Systems like performance reviews, hiring decisions, and promotion decisions need to be measured and reported regularly and they need to incorporate inclusive best practices. The middle manager touches every part of the employee experience. They should be accountable for making it inclusive.

Want to do better, and not sure where to start?  Contact us today to learn more about our listening sessions solution. We’ve also developed the Lead Like an Ally virtual self-paced training program, perfect for organizations struggling with accountability for diversity. You can also check out all of our other virtual and live program offerings.