Leading from the Middle

1The Unique Challenges of Those Who Lead from the Middle

At one point, any mid‐level manager who worked for the Lego company had the set of directives in Figure 1.1 hanging on their office or cubicle wall.¹

The middle is messy, full of contradictions and opposing agendas, and couldn't be more critical for a company's success.

And it's you. Those who lead from the messy middle work in spots higher or lower in the organization, from Vice Presidents, General Managers, and Directors to Sales, Marketing, and Design Managers, and many more. They have a boss and are a boss, at any level. It's anyone who has to lead up, down, and across an organization.

Don't be fooled by the old Dilbert cartoons or Office reruns. Those who lead from the middle, let's use the often‐derogatory term “middle management” for a moment, aren't the go‐nowhere, has‐been, mediocre bureaucrats that block progress as popularized in pop culture. They're the ones that love what they do (mostly) and whose passion and talents make the company hum. They account for 22.3 percent of the variation in revenue in an organization, more than three times that attributed to those specifically in innovation roles, according to Wharton research.² A five‐year study from Stanford and Utah universities found that replacing a poor middle manager with a good one boosted productivity 12 percent, more than adding an incremental worker to a team.³

Figure 1.1 Lego Directives

Source: Adapted from P. Evans, “Management 21C,” Chapter ...