Ten reasons middle managers are more important than CEOs

Submitted by PhilDourado on November 23, 2008 - 4:25pm.

I heard Sir Nick Scheele, now retired from his post as President of Ford Motor Company, say that at Ford middle managers were known by the top bosses as 'the layer of clay'. That was in the 1990s, when de-layering, or removing vast swathes of middle management, was a corporate sport, sometimes known as BPE or BPR - Business Process Engineering or Re-engineering.

Led by the thinking of Hammer and Champy, bosses at the top spent the early to mid 90s re-engineering to improve their business results - slashing, mostly, for short-term financial gain and pretending that what they were doing was being 'lean'and agile. Luckily, they had the enemy identified for them as middle managers and the hollowing out of businesses, under the pseudonym 'de-layering' , was a major blood sport for a time.

Now, I don't want to defend middle managers en masse. As with any other 'layer' a proportion are good, a proportion are bad. But, I do like it when pendulums start to swing the other way. So, I like this post on BNet's 'Dog & Pony' blog:

Now, ten solid reasons why You — Managing in the Middle — Are More Valuable than Your Company’s CEO:

You know how stuff really gets done. Let’s face it, process maps mean very little when you know that to get your PC up and running again, the fastest route is to buy a muffin for Oscar in IT.
You know what motivates individuals. You’re with them every day. Sometimes it’s cash, time off for a kid’s event, or just some simple recognition. Whatever the case, you’re in a position to help motivate both in- and extrinsically more than anyone else.
You know the customer well enough to get to the truth. You are them, they are you, and there’s a symbiotic bond. More than anyone, the customer will tell you exactly what they need and how to sell to them.
You know the vendors as well as the competitive landscape. All that shooting the bull with Marvin, who supplies the whole industry, really pays off when he tells you that your biggest competitor is never going to get that new launch off the line. With some tweaks, your firm can make a killing!
You don’t have to defend the original strategy. This is BIG! Since you didn’t devise the strategy, you aren’t obligated to defend it. Instead you can speak openly and tell it like it is. Do tell brothers and sisters…do tell!

The remaining five are on the Dog & Pony blog and you can reach it by clicking here (I know that's a bit annoying, having to jump out of here to go there: But it's not fair on them if I reproduce all ten points here so you don't have to visit their blog. It's dodgy ethically, kinda stealing their material instead of making you aware of it. So, I hope you don't mind me sending you over to the authors for the remaining five points if you want them).

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Everyone's important

By David Straker on November 23, 2008 - 8:19pm

Pardon the rant but whilst I appreciate the thoughts I sometimes get in a tizz about who are the most valuable employees in the company. I've seen everyone from the CEO to the janitor touted and I think they're all right and they're all wrong. Do individuals make varying contribution? Indeed. People vary and some are more valuable than others and some have off days and some have more opportunity to contribute than others (another bugbear is not the lack of talent but the waste of talent we have). Yes, middle managers are sometimes forgotten, but perhaps that highlights a lack of leadership, not a lack of value. What is also sometimes confused is the combination of value and replaceability. I can add just a little value, but if that is essential and nobody else could do it, then you'd better do your best to keep me, flattering me and giving me a daily hug, maybe. On the other hand, if you can do what I do without me being there, then please feel free to reallocate me. Yes. Everyone'e important, and in the most efficient companies, everyone adds great value, yet nobody is irreplaceable. After all, what many 'most important' studies forget is that it's the group, the team, the whole interlocking company that makes it successful, not one person, layer or department. There. Feeling better now. Thanks for listening. Dave

What the customer wants

By Colin Scowen on November 24, 2008 - 11:34pm

I remember reading somewhere, I think it was in a coaching book, but I'm not sure, of a leader in a tech firm gathering everyone in a particular office together, and handing out green and red badges. The green badges went to those who actually made, or shipped parts for, or finished goods to the customer. He then gave himself a red badge, and proceeded to hand red badges out to everyone else present. He explained something along the lines that if there was something stopping a green badge from doing his job well, then that overode anything that the red badges may be doing. The focus that I think he was trying to show was similar to the opinions expressed here, that it is the team as a whole who add value, but, only if they are all focused on the core thing that the company should be doing. Keeping the customer satisfied. In times like these, having satisfied customers who will give you a good reference is going to be worth a lot. I know that I have made a mash of that story, and I will try to dig out the book where I found it. I had used it in our leadergroup, and it opened a couple of peoples eyes. In our site, the green badges would go to the Goods In, Storesman, Line loaders, Assembly operators and Goods Out teams. Everyone else, myself included would get a red badge. We operate a slightly different system to the one shown in the example, there is a large dashboard showing the status of all of our lines. If a line is stopped, a red mark goes up instead of the green one. This is the signal to us that a change in our priorities may be coming at very short notice. Usually, the core teams have already built themselves around the problem, but if they require help, we give it to them. We would be wearing red badges, that's what we are there to do. I hear sometimes that a managers job is to make it as easy as possible for those under them to do their job, and that a manager needs the team much more than the team needs the manager, but that is still silo thinking, in my opinion. It is my job to help the operators to build product that the customer wants. All the extra stuff may or may not add value, may or may not help my career and personal development. But, I know that I will never get a bad performance review if I keep supporting the green badges. I also have a feeling that if the sword of cost cutting starts to swing, that the way we work when there is an issue is far more critical to my survival than what we do in the other time. Regards, Colin. As the great philosopher K said. 1500 years ago, everybody knew that the earth was the centre of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody knew the world was flat. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

Contributing Value

By Kate Moor on November 24, 2008 - 10:41am

Hi David, I must admit I share your 'tizz' about who has the most value. On any day anyone can make a substantial contribution. I also think that at times we under value middle managers. When the 'chips' are down and companies are downsizing it nearly always appears to be the middle management layer that goes. Very shortsighted in my view. The 'leaders' protect themselves, the lower levels (the cheaper resources) are retained and the engine room goes. AND, we wonder why we are in a mess.... My rant... Kate

Agreed!

By David Straker on November 24, 2008 - 9:09pm

I do agree, Kate, that cost cutting is often horribly short-term, and that firing experienced people is often seen as easy meat. A curious thought: Does the name 'middle managers' actually make them seem something and nothing? It also happens in schools, where cheaper, younger teachers replace those who know how to teach, and where enthusiasm is seen as being equal to or better than experience. Personal experience too: I've more than once had my position cut (though have also often managed to find another internal job). I have tended to work in support and business improvement roles and have seen the subsequent problems (which often ends up with hiring of consultants to fix...). Rant away! Dave

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