First-line Supervisors are the key to Organizational Transformation

Organizational transformation is often assumed to be a top-down process, but when first-line supervisors have the right mindset, they can impact significant change.

According to a study conducted by INSEAD, 80% of transformation projects initiated by senior management fail, yet 80% of projects initiated by middle managers succeed, the moral being that without your B-Suite, transformation fails. They are also the pivot for performance.

AND they are 10X more likely to have high engagement from their teams, are 6X more likely to be able to retain top talent and are 5x more likely to prevent employee burnout.

This raises a couple very important questions I think we need to address:

How is your organization investing in first-line supervisors?

Do your efforts to promote organizational well-being include training and development specifically for your first-line team?

This Fast Company article by Rebecca Houghton discusses the importance of middle managers and the cost of not taking care of them. Here are 3 takeaways to help you think more about how to take care of these MVPs of your organization.

1️⃣ Give them more autonomy and responsibility by involving them in decision making and then stepping back.

2️⃣ Make sure they have regular clarification on their priorities from leadership's perspective.

3️⃣ Create a community. Leadership at this level can be lonely.

Next steps- What will you do with these insights? How can GROW support your efforts?