Without a solid middle layer, a company’s mission and vision simply evaporate
Operational teams lose context, senior leaders are forced to micromanage every detail, and while the organisation does move forward, it does so in fits and starts — without a proper “bonding agent” between strategy and execution, everything ends up loose and riddled with gaps between what’s decided and what’s actually done.
This happens far too often because middle management — that essential link connecting strategy with action — is still widely undervalued. And yet, it’s the only layer with an irreplaceable dual value:
- It enables people to grow progressively into new roles.
- And it ensures the mission flows, is understood and translated into reality — top-down and bottom-up.
A ramp for growth — not just another step up
Promoting someone into a middle management role means giving them the chance — and the responsibility — to move from simply executing tasks to managing talent. It’s the first real transition for many entry-level or technical profiles, where they realise that delivering results themselves is no longer enough — now they must get results through others too.
A competent middle manager multiplies capabilities. They help ensure experience (and the investment made in people) stays inside the company, that people grow, and that teams have close, relatable role models who actually understand their daily struggles. Well-trained and supported, this role turns potential into future leadership, helping people leap from purely operational roles to positions where they don’t just do, but help others do better.
This development needs training, support and trust from the top to really delegate. Promoting someone doesn’t make them a manager — they become one when they understand why they’re there and what’s expected of them beyond a new LinkedIn headline.
The filter that connects mission and reality
The other big value — less visible, but just as vital — is structural: middle management is the pipeline that makes sure the mission, vision and strategy don’t die in a PowerPoint deck. It builds the bridges that let strategy flow down and real-world insights flow up, avoiding leaks and absurd disconnects between what’s decided in the boardroom and what actually happens on the ground.
“From the top down, it filters priorities, adds context and turns decisions into clear, actionable instructions. From the bottom up, it detects friction, clarifies doubts, gathers improvements and feeds them back to the people who need to hear them.”
A good middle manager absorbs top-down pressure and translates it into clear actions for the team. They also filter problems, spot bottlenecks and adjust without needing permission every five minutes. This frees up the C-suite to focus on what really justifies their salaries: thinking, prioritising and deciding.
A two-way channel
This is a two-way role that guarantees strategy is understood — even if not everyone agrees with every piece of it. And that’s the key: without knowledge and real understanding, there’s no true alignment — only mechanical execution.
… And “going through the motions” often brings along a hidden passenger: disengagement, which, like the unwelcome stowaway in Alien, can quietly damage the whole crew. The corporate parallel is easy to spot.
“In a tech analogy: middle management is like an API (Application Programming Interface). Its job is to connect the ‘back end’ — strategy, vision, decisions — with the ‘front end’ — daily execution — and ensure information flows clearly and without leaks, just like a good API prevents data loss and communication breakdowns.”
When this layer fails — or simply doesn’t exist — everything depends on the C-Level landing every detail themselves or on operational teams making up the gaps as they go. What should be a cohesive organisation quickly becomes a mess of misunderstandings that slows progress and drains energy.
Building it isn’t optional
Middle management is — or should be — a basic investment for any company that wants to grow without drowning in endless revisions, corrections and second-guessing.
Ignoring it comes at a cost: stagnant talent, managers who “manage” without leading, and strategies that never reach the ground. The alternative is clear: train, support and truly empower the people who hold the structure together day after day. It’s not about bloating org charts — it’s about protecting the coherence of the whole system.
What happens when it doesn’t exist or doesn’t work?
Without a solid middle layer, companies turn into two poorly connected floors. The top floor plans and controls. The bottom floor executes and improvises as best it can. In between, no one to interpret, connect or lead.
Worse still: when this layer is improvised, it usually fills up with managers who can’t lead or execute (and sometimes don’t even know how they ended up there). They’re unprepared to handle people and don’t get the tools to learn how.
“Not everyone can manage the most complex resource of all — people. It can be developed, but until it is, the usual outcome is extremes: neglect (laissez-faire posing as fake leadership) or full-on micromanagement.”
The problem? A significant lack of confidence, but also in many companies, it’s still easier to spend money on yet another consultant than to invest in training and trusting the people who should be turning strategy into reality. Spotting and developing middle managers is far more complex than hiring a C-Level — they (should) arrive ready to operate; middle managers represent a potential to build, which means effort and patience. How to do it deserves its own discussion.
