If you had to choose somebody for an executive level position from your current middle management team, would you know whom to choose? Even more important, have you been working to develop middle management for the next step in their careers? If not, it is probably time you focussed on developing the pool of people who will be your next company leaders.

The talent pool for upper and executive level management is small and growing smaller by the day. Unless you have a vast and influential network or a whole lot of cash to spend on recruiters, it is going to be difficult to fill upper management positions.

New Is Not Always Better

There are hazards with hiring outside talent for positions in your company. It can be unhealthy for both the business and the new hire. When a new executive is brought in from another company, there is the inevitable resentment of “choosing an outsider.” This resentment can have irreversible consequences on company culture and employee morale.

Also, as noted in an article from Forbes, hiring outside talent can be a detriment to both the existing leadership and your business. Studies show new managers brought in because of their past success at other companies do not necessarily experience the same success at the new company. The new executives actually have a higher likelihood to do worse.

The safest and most cost-effective source for a qualified executive-level leader is to develop your middle managers. By hiring from within, you will not only improve your company culture and employee morale, but you will also develop a reputation as a company that develops its employees. People will actively seek your company out for employment.

Developing your middle managers does more than bolstering your choices for upper management. A good middle manager, who is competitive and engaged with the company, will work on developing successors to his position, keeping the stream of talent going up the ladder of success. He will also be leading the teams that are creating the success for the company. In other words, he is training himself for the next job up the ladder by being an effective leader. No matter his position, he is an asset.

You will be hard-pressed to find an executive of that standard available on the job market. However, with proper development of your middle management, you will have a steady, qualified stream of candidates for upper management.

Start Mentoring Your Middle Managers Today

So, what can you do today to start developing your middle managers? Start with some delegation, have managers perform tasks, with measurable results, which aren’t easy and forces them to seek other’s help. Delegation is one of the best tools to get an understanding of your middle managers, and how they work and think.

At Equal Parts Consulting, we help companies work on developing middle managers and mentoring them into greater positions. Schedule a consultation with us and learn how we can help you develop a stream of qualified candidates from within your company.