Trying Too Hard
/“My work seems irrelevant”
“I feel like a glorified admin”
“No one is listening to me”
“I think I might lose my job”
These are some of the things that middle managers have said to me when Hierarchy Hopping is happening.
Many of them overcompensate. They work really hard to prove their competence, or exert their authority. Worst case - They overreach and ignore the expertise of their team and the guidance of their leader. Their efforts to be relevant further fuel the Hierarchy Hopping where people above and below them “hop“ over their role for solutions and tasking. They feel even less relevant so try even harder. The people above and below them start to feel that they are a bad fit, even if their skills/experience are a great fit.
I have only ever seen 3 outcomes:
The team recognises what is happening and gets clear about roles, responsibilities, delegated authorities and expectations. They have robust conversations as their collective understanding of how to work well together evolves.
The “new” person in the middle leaves, or if they are particularly insistent on hanging in, their team starts to fragment and leave.
The person in the middle gets performance-managed out.
In all but the first option, the team is left with baggage that makes it even harder for the next person appointed to the middle role.
Have you experienced Hierarchy Hopping, or its impacts?