Leading from the middle

The missing perspective

Hi Reader

‘Leading from the middle’ is different.

If you've ever been stuck between conflicting needs, vague organisational directions clashing with specific implementation details, and decisions that don’t quite fit their context, you'll know. The challenges are different.

My own leadership journey began in 2008, and I’ve been coaching and training mid-level leaders for over a decade. My education started as I moved from project manager to scrum master, shifting from operational leadership to servant and collaborative leadership. In 2013 I took on voluntary leadership as chairperson of SUGSA (South Africa’s agile community), and in 2014 I moved into strategic leadership as a startup founder at Project codeX.

I read extensively and attended courses ranging from leadership skills to organisation dynamics to change management. Along the way I developed a core philosophy grounded in the inclusive, process-oriented approach of relational leadership, underpinned by agile-, systems- and complexity thinking.

But it was only at codeX that I faced the situations most leadershiptools are designed for: vision setting, strategy and operational execution.

Of course, each organisation is different - their products, operating environments, structure and culture - with enough variation to make every challenge quite unique. So it perhaps seems normal that there’s no ‘mid-level leadership’ training out there — it doesn’t look like there’s a pattern.

Most leaders do have a set of methods and models for different scenarios - everything from systems thinking to innovation and change management. But the challenges are too complex to have a methodology or skill set that covers everything.

The missing perspective

Through my time leading and working with leaders, I’ve come to see that - even though the kinds of challenges mid-level leaders face vary widely - the most successful responses actually do follow a pattern.

Ironically, what is consistently common is the uniqueness of the position and connections each leader has - wherever they are in the value chain from strategy to implementation.

Not another framework

I didn’t intend to create a framework, but I did set out to explore ‘Leading from the middle’ as a position in itself, which has key elements we can consistently apply to help us be effective. Along the way, something repeatable emerged.

I’d call it more of a playbook than a framework, and in the next few posts, I’ll be unpacking what it is and how and why each part supports Leading from the Middle.

If you’re a mid-level leader, or responsible for leadership development, why not follow the series?

Wishing you

Cara Turner Innovation & Agile Coach M: +27 84 500 4425 ​E: coach@caraturner.com | www.caraturner.com​

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