Industry Comment
Industry Comment
ON THE TRAY Get your hard hats on!
‘Change management’ is a business buzzword. Rob Britton urges airlines and suppliers to play a role in bringing change across the ‘concrete middle’
In my last column on the inflight experience I lauded two ceos as shining examples of airline leadership. Rob Fyfe at Air New Zealand and
Tony Fernandes at the fast-growing Air Asia inspire their teams by spending time on the frontline of service delivery. It’s now time to move down the management hierarchy and candidly discuss a challenge that affects many carriers and their suppliers, indeed virtually every medium and large firm: resistance to change and innovation in middle management, a phenomenon often called the ‘concrete middle’. Suppliers, especially those in sales, hit the concrete middle all the time, in the form of a mid-level manager (they could be in any department) who is determined to block a sale, no matter how sensible the product or solution. In my long career in airline leadership, I have met lots of members of the concrete middle. In some happy cases, I was able to persuade them to find job satisfaction elsewhere, but persistence is a common trait among this group. The concrete middle also frustrates the ambitions and ideas of young and new employees, precisely the people who could bring fresh thinking and alternate perspectives. How did all this human cement harden? At
many companies employees often stay far too long in a single large department, moving up the hierarchy. Hiring managers choose people who think and behave just like them, so things begin to stagnate. Some companies discourage people from moving into new areas. Moreover, the basic human tendency to resist change obviously plays a role. What can be done? Is there a magic jackhammer to pulverise the concrete middle? Sadly, no, but this is no time for fatalism, either, so here are a few ideas.
Actively acknowledging ‘the concrete’ is
a great place to start. Airline management, especially in older companies, has become too thin to continue to tolerate the concrete middle. And at many of these carriers the ‘business as usual’ mentality will not ensure
“The concrete middle frustrates the ambitions and ideas of young people and new empoloyees, - precisely the people who could bring in fresh thinking”
survival, much less growth. Executives need to hold mid-level managers accountable. If the latter oppose an initiative leaders should require them to explain reasons why, not just accept their folded-arms body language. Suppliers can play a role, too. If they really want to make the sale, they need to find
Could a magic jackhammer pulverise the concrete middle?
tactful ways to expose the human barriers. For example, I recently had a candid conversation with an airline executive about why a solution he liked and agreed was needed was not being implemented. I told him that when I was in his shoes, I often encountered the concrete middle. And, yes, I named names. The result? We’re getting closer to getting the deal done. At a time when ‘change management’ has become a business buzzword, all of us need to play a role in bringing change across the concrete middle. Put on your hard hats!
Email your comments to:
rob.britton@
airlearn.net
Dr. Rob Britton leads AirLearn (
www.AirLearn.Net), a consultancy that helps people to understand the ever-changing airline industry, and to translate that knowledge into effective business results.
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