Stop being a Middler and Become a Finisher

I am just in the middle of something else at the moment

I would love to help out but I am in the middle of a few other things.

I have been in the middle of some ongoing project work which means I have not finished my report.

Before you can address middling behaviour you need to have some insight into the motivation of the middler. Understanding what drives and motivates the middler is the key to challenging and changing the middling behaviour. Furthermore you need to be aware of how the organisation inadvertently reinforces middling behaviour because of poor performance management, inadequate managerial skills and lack of training and development.

Here are some of the ways to deal with middlers…

Ask them exactly what they are working on – middlers are very skilled at being non specific and non committal
Develop very structured and focus performance measures – make it really obvious what you expect
Follow up – you need to continually follow up and check in with middlers
Implement consequences – if middlers don’t perform be prepared to pass on the consequences of non performance

If you have someone in your team who is a middler, we can help you. Check out our course:

CONFRONTING MIDDLERS

For further information:

Ph: 1300 323 752 email: [email protected]

Niall Kennedy

Author Niall Kennedy is an experienced workplace trainer and facilitator specialising in leadership development, communication skills, and organisational capability building. With a strong background in delivering practical, evidence-based training, Niall works closely with organisations to design and deliver workshops that address real-world workplace challenges. His facilitation style focuses on clarity, engagement, and actionable learning outcomes that support sustainable behavioural change in teams and leaders.

In This Article

Here are some of the ways to deal with middlers…

The course was very informative and it presented exceptionally well!

Kelvin Muchiri

Really found inspiration and hope in what Michelle provided

Rhonda Rees

Amazing course! Engaging, fun and learnt so much. Thank you always.

Kate Bartlett

Tom was a fabulous trainer very knowledgeable and able to provide practical real life examples and tools that will prove extremely useful.

Vicki Hutchinson

Best every course

Yonas Masrsha Tesfaye

Dr Marny Lishman crated an amazing space that not only was open, safe and caring, but gave insight into many different aspects of resilience. She apprieciated different perspectives and opened discussions that were supported and wise. The presentation was targeted and had the perfect balance of knowledge and reflection. I would encourage this workshop for any team, especially those preparing of have gone through organisational change!

Ethan Calleja

Did this course in a session at Professional Services Review Training .Very helpful especially in my work in Public Health .Lots of useful ‘tips and tricks ‘

Nedra Vanden Driesen