Remembering the Importance of the Middle

At the Organizational Design forum today in Denver I had a good reminder of the power of the much maligned middle management layer of many organizations. Middle managers are often the punch line of a joke, the punching bag of consultants, the first to blame when things go bad and the last remembered when things go well and all sing the praises of ‘leadership’.

But it is the middle managers who are the horizontal glue holding many organizations together. They are close enough to operational roles to know how things ‘really’ get done, and they are often the future. There is much to be learned from how middle managers manage to get things done, and how they make decisions every day that affect customers, employees, and partners.

Many thanks to Andrew Zolli from PopTech for a great reminder of the power of the middle in his reference to Hancock Bank’s ability to respond quickly to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf – back up and getting cash to people just days after the storm.

 

1 thought on “Remembering the Importance of the Middle

  1. Pingback: The Power of the Middle | What Happens Then?

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