The New Reality of Mid-level Leadership  To gain a better understanding of how mid-level leaders feel about their jobs, the skills required for success, their level of engagement and loyalty, and their plans for the future, DDI conducted a global survey of 2,001 mid-level managers in January-February 2010.
Some of the results in the report include:
Mid-level leaders don’t feel they have the leadership skills they need to succeed.
- Only 10% of respondents feel “well-prepared” to meet the top challenge they think they’ll face in the next two years.
There’s a disconnect between what mid-level managers are—and what they need to be.
- Mid-level leadership roles require a sophisticated skill set, yet our survey found that mid-level leaders operate tactically.
Companies are doing more with less—and mid-level leaders are feeling the stress.
- Nearly 70% of mid-level leaders report that their work stress has increased in the past 18 months. The top factors leading to stress are increased personal workload (24%) and increased pressure to succeed (22%).
Empowerment and teamwork keep mid-level leaders engaged.
- 52% of mid-level leaders said their engagement level was higher now compared to 24 months ago, 30% said it was the same, and 12% said it was lower. The biggest drivers of engagement were the ability to make decisions (74%), trust (68%), and teamwork (65%).
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