In the Middle: Knowledge & Skills for Effective Middle Management

Is This Program for Me?

In the Middle is designed for current Senior and Middle Managers in human service organizations – whether nonprofit, for-profit, or government. It is also appropriate for individuals contemplating their move into management, in positions such as Program Director, Clinical Supervisor, Chief Operating Officer, Development Director, or other similar roles.

Program Objectives:

• Gain expanded knowledge and understanding of the middle manager role.
• Create a greater understanding of employee needs, motivations, expectations and experience; and the impact of organizational structure, culture and leadership style on climate, morale, satisfaction, engagement and organizational identification.
• Expand knowledge of evidence-based practices in job design, hiring, on-boarding, team leadership, coaching and performance management.
• Enhanced commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and greater understanding of the needs of traditionally marginalized employees. Understanding how organizational policy, structure, culture and operational processes have sustained inequity, limited diversity and created barriers to performance and career success.
• Gain enhanced understanding of oneself and greater ability to manage inter-personal relations and personal stress.
• Gain enhanced self-identification as a leader and the middle managers role beyond their own functional area (e.g. impact on strategy, program, finance, development etc.).
• Improved performance on several individually-identified dimensions.

Session Schedule:

• Thursday, January 28 | Who is the Middle Manager?
• Thursday, February 11 | The Individual in the Organization
• Thursday, March 4 | Who am I?/How am I?
• Thursday, March 25 | Managing Diversity & Building an Equitable Organization
• Thursday, April 8 | Evidence-based Practices in the Management Cycle
• Thursday, April 22 | Session with Supervisors & Meet with Participants (Supervisors attendance required, with participants joining for 1 hour)
• Thursday, May 6 | Putting it Together

Educational Design:

• Seven in person, cohort model sessions at Delmar DivINe in St. Louis, MO.
• Pre-session reading, videos, case preparation, self-assessments and reflective journaling.
• In-class lectures, videos, case studies, speakers, exercises, discussions and breakouts, including some asynchronous work in the WashU Extended Learning (WUEx) platform.
• Organization, instructor, and peer-supplied feedback.
• Full-day session on personality and interpersonal skills built around the DiSC personality assessment.
• Personal professional development planning.
• Session for participants’ supervisors to help them provide greater support to their direct reports. Session will include a supervisor / participant dialogue segment.

How to Apply:

All applicant nominations are approved on a rolling, first-come basis and must be submitted by your supervisor, who also can attend the April 22nd session. Nomination deadline: December 11, 2026 by 5 p.m. CT.

Admission Prerequisites:

• An approved nomination is required for all applicants. Submitting supervisor must be willing to attend the April 22nd session.
• Applicant must be willing to complete required pre-work due before the first and all subsequent sessions.
• All applicants must be willing to comply with Washington University policies.

Barry Rosenberg, MSW
Professor of Practice, Brown School
Director, Center for Human Service Leadership

Barry Rosenberg is a Professor of Practice at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. He serves as Chair of the MSW Social Impact Leadership Concentration and Management Specialization. He teaches courses in leadership, management, organizational behavior, strategy and board governance.

Additionally, he directs the Center for Human Service Leadership. The Center is charged with enhancing the leadership and management capacity of the nonprofit organizations headquartered at Delmar DivINe. In that role, he develops and teaches extended executive education programs in executive leadership, middle management, board governance, nonprofit organization, and fundraising.

Barry also consults on board governance, strategy, leadership, and strategic planning. In 2012, he completed a 37-year career in nonprofit executive leadership, including 19 years as the president & CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the region’s central fundraising and planning agency. A native of Boston, he holds a master’s degree in Social Work from SUNY-Albany and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Northeastern University.