Provide Cover

Oga please cover your peeps as much as you can!

Chances are in your job as a manager, you will still be reporting to somebody else in the organization. So this means you have someone above you who has expectations of you as you also have expectations of others working with you. As a result, it is quite common to feel like you are “caught in the middle”.

This feeling of being caught in the middle is a reality of the world that you now operate in as a manager. So you must acknowledge it — deal with it.

Don’t fight it, because it will only frustrate you. Instead, be a buffer. Actively work on developing your listening and communication skills. See yourself as a conduit or a pipeline: someone who facilitates the movement of information in both directions without too much friction or hassles. Don’t see yourself as getting squeezed, view yourself as someone who simplifies and expedites critical action in both directions. This change in viewpoint will ease your stress levels (hopefully. lol) but will also serve you well in becoming an even stronger leader than you already are.