Recently, due to a project collaboration, I have had extensive contact with middle managers from a listed company. The project is set to fully launch after the Spring Festival, and there is an urgent need to recruit a batch of middle managers who meet the project's requirements. Rapid recruitment will inevitably lead to uneven person-job fit, so the important and urgent task for the decision-making level is how to screen these individuals. Thus, my other task is to evaluate them through brief contact and provide reference opinions to the decision-makers. Today, let's discuss how to judge whether managers are competent for middle management positions. Based on my brief interactions, here are my comments on this batch of newly recruited middle managers: Middle Manager A: Older in age, hardworking, strong execution, traditional old-school business, humble and eager to learn, but weak in problem-solving; needs more guidance. Middle Manager B: In his prime, enterprising, daring to discuss and try, many questions, point-based thinking; needs overall guidance. Middle Manager C: Initially tracked performance with old model, later accepted new model, but depth of involvement insufficient; can complete assigned tasks, thinks thoroughly, but indecisive and lacks follow-through decision-making. Middle Manager D: Newly onboarded, familiar with the market, but hasn't found direction; investigation shows attitude and ability are fine, but initial understanding of the company and model is insufficient. Middle Manager E: During market visits, possibly due to December performance pressure, couldn't focus on one thing; humble and eager to learn, good comprehension. Middle Manager F: Overall good evaluation, serious work, correct attitude, better understanding of the model than others, but needs more field depth. Middle Manager G: Participated in my meetings, has ideas, jumps in thinking, can quickly identify core issues among subordinates. Middle Manager H: Promoted from grassroots, analyzed previous sales failures, rigorous market research, needs deeper learning of new model, somewhat unruly; difficult to manage if he doesn't respect you. Middle Manager I: Easygoing, familiar with market, has ideas and resources, but learning and comprehension ability is weak. Middle Manager J: Newly onboarded, still exploring, old-school business, conventional, deeper learning of model, serious and meticulous, correct attitude. Since it involves internal team management issues, I cannot intervene too much, but I can give simple evaluations. However, you can identify key factors: age, resources, learning ability, attitude, skills, creativity, focus, etc. These are important indicators for evaluating whether a middle manager is competent. As Professor Chen Chunhua said, in an enterprise, managers at different levels contribute differently: Top managers contribute to the growth and long-term development of the enterprise, middle managers contribute to the stability and efficiency of the enterprise, and grassroots managers contribute to cost, quality, and short-term benefits. Only when each level of management does its part can the entire organization operate efficiently, and the company's development will be more stable and rapid. So for middle managers, how to judge whether they have the ability to contribute to the stability and efficiency of the enterprise? Based on personal experience, I suggest judging from the following four points. -01- Age & Learning Ability Learning ability refers to the motivation, perseverance, and receptivity to learning. For us now, learning has become an indispensable need. Time flows, we age day by day, but the world updates day by day, and the gap between us and the world widens unconsciously. As middle-level leaders, you should learn from theory, practice, and mutual exchange. Not only should you pay attention to learning methods, but also have a correct learning attitude. To learn, you must learn what you need now and in the foreseeable future; to learn, you must learn how to handle problems that have occurred, are occurring, or will occur; to learn, you must learn things that fit the actual situation of the enterprise and can be effective in use. When I was a child, if there was a new appliance at home or a new method in study and life, I would stay up late to figure out how to operate it. As I grew up, these instinctive attitudes gradually disappeared. Losing interest in new things is the biggest obstacle to learning ability. As age increases, the instinctive learning ability gradually declines. If you don't self-discipline or deliberately fill your knowledge system, you're just coasting in the workplace. So in terms of age & learning ability, my suggestion for judging whether a middle manager is competent is: Middle managers are generally between 30-40 years old, show self-discipline in daily work and life (punctuality is a good life evaluation method), show high interest in new products, new models, etc., and delve into them with deep research and communication. -02- Experience = Resources In terms of experience, middle managers should have team management experience, market operation experience, upward and downward coordination experience, etc. These are accumulated over time through continuous learning and summarization, and are essential process indicators for middle managers. In terms of resources, the most important for middle managers is network resources, further subdivided into: distributor network (trust) and team network (willingness to follow). These are the realization of experience and are essential result indicators for middle managers. Experience and resources seem separate, but they actually refer to the same thing. Ideally, we hope our middle managers bring team resources and distributor resources when joining the company. In reality, even if there are differences, they won't be too large (for example, if a distributor doesn't want to take on a product, they can recommend other customers; if subordinates aren't willing to jump ship, they can recommend other peers). But if an applicant has been operating in the province for many years and still has no clue about resources or even has nothing, then we should doubt the authenticity of their experience and resume. So in terms of experience & resources, my suggestion for judging whether a middle manager is competent is: Experience can be faked and cannot be verified in a short time, but resources cannot. Resources are the result of experience. Be cautious with middle managers who have no resources. -03- Attitude = Focus In any enterprise, regardless of level, a correct attitude is the first element for doing one's job well. At work, such scenarios often occur: Why haven't you started this task yet? This has already been told to you, why ask the same similar question again? And other speechless questions. A person should proactively do things without being urged or reminded by others, but do them consciously; plan and set goals to proceed. If some things are easy to forget, use a memo to record and remind yourself. This is a good habit of proactive recording and a manifestation of a person's work attitude. Having attitude is not enough; you also need focus. If attitude determines a manager's basic level, then focus determines the manager's improvement level. Let me give a simple example: I once had a subordinate with a very correct work attitude, but lacked focus. When achieving a certain indicator, he didn't think with focus and constantly changed tactics. As a result, his overall performance ranked low, and after missing multiple promotion opportunities, he left hastily. So in terms of attitude & focus, my suggestion for judging whether a middle manager is competent is: When people reach middle age, their career planning becomes clearer. If they want to join middle management, attitude generally won't be a big problem. Instead, focus is an important indicator. Focus on your own work, don't be fickle; focus on one thing, don't frequently adjust tactics. Only middle management cadres who pass these assessments during the probation period can be competent for the enterprise's job positions. -04- Skills = Creativity Creativity is the ability to create new things, new ideas, and new methods. It is the embodiment of the combined effect of multiple complex factors such as knowledge, intelligence, ability, and some personality traits. People with strong creativity are not only good at learning from experiences in different departments but also good at breaking thinking limitations, thereby creating entirely new things, ideas, and methods. Therefore, they are better at solving market problems and also have more freedom and fun. Previously, I described the work problems of grassroots workers, which are only two aspects: work attitude and work skills. Whichever is lacking, train that one. For middle managers, both of these essentials need to be elevated. Attitude is focus, and skills are creativity. Simply put, top management requires you to capture a certain market within a specified time at the strategic level, and your creativity is how to allocate resources to complete the task. So in terms of skills & creativity, my suggestion for judging whether a middle manager is competent is: Give goals and resources, and within a short time, let them evaluate the feasibility of the goals and design tactical approaches to achieve them. Final Thoughts: The above views only represent personal experience. As the old saying goes: Use people's strengths, and there is no one who cannot be used; use people's weaknesses, and there is no one who can be used. For externally hired middle managers, different evaluation standards should be set according to the enterprise's immediate needs, and don't be dogmatic or one-size-fits-all. For internally promoted middle managers, I also give six suggestions (from my WeChat Moments):

1. Management starts from being a novice; don't be afraid;

2. See how other managers do it, imitate first;

3. Summarize at night and plan in the morning, be more attentive;

4. Think about the team during the day and yourself late at night, shift your mindset;

5. Set goals, grasp plans, manage processes, control people's hearts;

6. Solve problems when they arise, become a terminator. If you wish to communicate with the author Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once the tip is adopted.