Caught in the Middle provides a wealth of practical guidance and 12 key strategies to help middle managers take charge of their careers, maximize their contributions to their organizations, and gain satisfaction from their work. In recent years, the role of middle managers in our organizations has been dramatically and permanently altered. You'll learn why the middle management success formulas of the past won't work in today's "leaner and meaner" organizational structures. You'll also learn how to develop the concrete skills needed to meet the changing demands, expectations and pressures that middle managers now face. Here's just a sample of what this comprehensive guide contains: Key strategies you can use to market yourself as "Me, Inc!" to enhance your visibility and credibility among those who can influence your success; proven tactics to help you create a long-term vision for the company area you control, increase productivity and morale, and achieve impressive results; 8 important ways to make office politics work for you - not against you; 11 simple techniques that will help you expand your own power base and make yourself indispensable to the company; time-proven ideas for forging strategic alliances with upper management and becoming a master teacher and role model for your staff and much more! Also included are actual case histories of middle managers who have experienced both the struggles and opportunities of playing in the middle...a look at why senior executives become frustrated with middle managers (and vice versa)... PLUS guidelines and quizzes that help you decide whether you have what it takes to "go it alone."
President of EquiPro International, Ltd., an international management consulting firm which specializes in leadership, team and business development for Fortune 500 and medium-size companies and professional services firms. Her experience involves over 30 years of line management, and internal and external consulting.
McDermott began her career as a line manager, and then an internal consultant with Ohio Bell Telephone Company and AT&T. She began her external consulting career with Ernst & Whinney and later served as a Director for the national Human Resources and Organizational Consulting Practice, KMG Main Hurdman's.
Over the last 23 years her firm has provided consulting services in strategic planning and business development, leadership and team development and executive coaching, 360° assessment, change management and organization effectiveness in a wide variety of industries. Her client list includes such companies as Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Hearst Magazines, Biogen Idec, PricewaterhouseCoopers, aanofi-aventis, DuPont Women Lawyers' Network, Ernst & Young, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
McDermott is currently the Chair of the Tampa Women President's Organization and the Chair of Healthcare Businesswomen's Association-Florida. She has served on the National Board of Directors of the American Society for Training and Development and has been their Torch Award Winner. Her firm has received two ASTD "Excellence in Practice" Citations for their ground-breaking work with global teams in over twenty-five countries and for their innovative "Build Our Business" program. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Girls Incorporated (Formerly Girls Clubs of America).
Ms. McDermott is co-author of the best-selling book World Class Teams (Wiley) and author of the best-selling book titled Caught In The Middle: How To Survive and Thrive In Today's Management Squeeze (©Prentice-Hall). She is a Certified Speaking Professional with the National Speakers Association and has appeared on CNBC, Wall Street Journal Radio, National Public Radio and in numerous business publications. McDermott has served on the adjunct faculty of INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France and is on the faculty of the American Management Association. She is also a member of the International Coaching Federation and Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals. Ms. McDermott is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Miami University and has a Masters of Science in Organization Development from Bowling Green State University.
