The middle management itch

Linking pin. Fort holders. Shock absorbers. Vision translators. Values ambassadors. These were the role definitions used for middle management once upon a time. That has changed. In the era of lean and mean organizations, the urge to remove fat from the organizations makes companies focus on the bulge in the middle.

Additionally, the need to be more nimble in the fast-changing environment has propelled the organization flattening movement. With the recent introduction of AI, many feel that the most expendable positions lie in the middle.

Despite these transitions, many organizations continue to have middle management layers. The debate is ongoing, so is the existence of this layer in most organizations.

When I talk to middle managers, I see them restive. They say “I feel sandwiched between the top and the bottom”. Another manager told me ruefully, “What am I? Just a punching bag. I take the blows from the top and the lashouts from the bottom”. A similar sentiment was expressed by another area manager. He said “Sometimes I feel like a garbage can, people from the top dump everything on me, and people below simply want every messed-up task to be corrected by me”. These are feelings that embody negativity. These feelings make this layer feel exploited, unimportant and unappreciated.

All three of these sentiments will cut through productivity and motivation. For the person in the middle, these challenges will intensify. With the geo-political circumstance forcing organizations to go on corporate diets, the pressure to slim waist down will continue. For the managers, the temptation to leave jobs in search of better opportunities is there.

The problem is that the situation in most companies is similar. So, what to do with the itch that companies and employees have to chop and hop out from these roles? There are certain realities that both companies and employees need to come to terms with.

Itch#1— Stay calm in the perfect storm-Yes, the winds have turned into storms. Yes, the tide is turning against you. No, do not cut off the mid layer. No, do not hop around on jobs too much. These are some suggestions for both managers and their companies. A Team Simon report published recently reveals some telling facts. Three out of four managers are burning out. Managers meet their heads, who tell them that their heads are looking to axe the mid if more is not delivered. They meet their team that tells them that their expectations of the pay raises are unmet. In this perfect storm, many managers cave in. Yes, this is a huge challenge. So is the opportunity. Riding through the storm is daunting. But it is also the biggest capacity-builder ever. The stretch your capacity gets, to think out of the box, and to renovate and innovate breakthroughs are not available in normal times. Organizations need to stay calm and offer this to the managers “Peform in this time, and your time will come”. Managers need to think “This is a chance to develop and grow that I may not have again”. With this approach on both sides the storm may become a blessing in disguise.

Itch#2— Re-evalutate roles and returns-Yes, flattening is in vogue. Yes, the top can blame the ones below. No, the middle is not redundant. No, the first line will not substitute the middle. The middle management plays a very important part in cascading the strategy into execution. The problem is not that they are the most redundant layer; the problem is that the top management is unable to employ them for the tasks they are best suited for. In the Team Simon report, the middle management complained that 59% of the work they were doing was administrative. While administrative work is important, it should not be more than 25%. The rest of the time their job is to connect the people below to the purpose of the company. Their job is to make the front-liners feel part of the bigger picture and thus produce higher results. Their job is very crucial in time of flux and change. They are also the deputy leaders who should be prepared for succession management. Take the example of Pakistani companies. Typically, the top comprises owners and family members, and some functional heads. They do not believe in keeping a vibrant middle management. That is why succession is a big problem. That is why the combination of a top heavy and middle light company results in organizational decline in the third-generation owners. The role of the middle management should really be of leaders in waiting. That is when they will be incentivized to act as leaders. That is where they will give the balance to the organization.

Itch#3— Nurture and enable growth-The inherent problem in organizations of promoting employee as managers on the basis of their individual performance is a reason for many managerial failures. How are managers made? In majority of the companies an individual performer doing consistently well is promoted as a manager. Herein lies the fault. You can be very good at managing your own performance but very bad at managing a team performance. These are two opposite skills. These are skills that need to be learned. Most companies do not enable individual contributors to be trained and developed for this role. As a result, disaster takes place. I have previously also shared many examples of my coaching practice where a bright young employee was ruined by promoting him to a managerial position without upskilling him. This not only results in team failure, it also results in the career failure of a potentially bright employee. Hardly 20% of managers get some training before they are promoted. That means 80% of managers are left to luck to teach them how to manage others. This is a huge risk. That is why it is important that the managerial development grids are formed in companies. Even if they are super performers individually, they must go through a number of training and development interventions before they are ready to be promoted.

At entry level functional and technical skills determine 70% of the success. As you become managers, people skills determine 70% of your success. While learning AI tools may be easy, learning how to overcome resistance of your team to AI tools may be very difficult.

Trying to ask a good individual performer to become a good manager is like asking a pilot flying Cessna to fly 737 plane without training.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026