Four Faces of the Fully Functioning Middle Manager

Middle management is beset by conflicting expectations and frustrating demands. Managers in middle ranks must simultaneously present the proper face upward to their superiors, downward to their employees, laterally to their peers, and outward to outside groups. Each profile of conflicting demand, along with its accompanying face, is examined in this article, and strategies which have proven helpful to middle managers attempting to maintain four faces are presented.