Managers As Transmissions

Three posts came in to my reader recently that ultimately connected in my mind.  The most recent was this post from Fast Company asking the whether middle managers are important in an organization.  It referenced this article on the Human Resource Executive website that referenced an Accenture study showing middle managers are more dissatisfied than ever and are out looking for new jobs.   

The second was this from Compensation Force highlighting a McKinsey report on how "tacit" workers are a growing part of the workforce.  Tacit work requires much more judgment and creativity and depends on relationships and communication for successful work completion. 

The third article from the Convergence website discusses findings from a Commission on the American workforce.  Specifically, that work in America is relying more on the "creative" jobs in our economy.

All three of these coalesced when I read the Fast Company article.  What hit me is that middle managers act as the transmission in an organization.  They are tasked with bridging the gap between strategy (engine) and tactics (wheels.) 

I think that as our economy relies more on creativity, relationships, managing tacit knowledge and managing less measurable things, then the need for quality transmissions should be growing not shrinking and the value of  good middle managers should be increasing.  Even with a powerful engine a car can’t go anywhere without the transmission.  Transmissions also sense the load on an engine and adapt accordingly.  Managers do the same – keeping people from burning out under increasing loads.

Smart companies will be looking at their middle managers and spending more to keep them engaged and happy.   When was the last time you checked your transmission?