About Me

The middle manager’s job is not an easy one. It can be a real challenge to navigate the minefield of human resource problems, management politics, and the revolving door of upper management. I’ve been living in this world for over 25 years, and created this blog as an outlet for the lessons I’ve learned as well as to listen to what others might think. I hope it’s as cathartic for you as I hope it will be for me.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

— Stephen R. Covey

Hello, and welcome to The Middle Manager blog.  My name is Michael Hanson, and I have almost 40 years of experience working for large companies, with the last 25 in a variety of management positions. My main focus has always been within the Information Technology space, primarily in service-oriented businesses. Over the years I have managed a broad spectrum of IT functions, from the service desk and desktop support to network and server operations to reporting and application development. I have been a middle manager with staff on one side and management on the other as well as a manager of managers, reporting to upper management. Today, I am a Director of Technology Support at Optum, Inc., which is a division of UnitedHealth Group, Inc. I direct a number of managers both domestically and internationally who oversee process improvement, problem management, hardware fulfillment, metrics and reporting, tool development, and asset management.

The information contained in this blog reflects my personal experience from a variety of industries, companies, and managers. I represent only myself, and nothing here should be construed as representing the policies or positions of any company where I have been employed, past or present.