Don’t Miss the Middle When Formulating Strategy

What purpose does middle management serve in strategy development?
Misunderstandings between the C-suite and middle management lead to bad decisions, loss of time and loss of money.
Many organizations have flattened management structures. Those that haven’t are working on it. When operational leaders don’t understand what the C-suite wants, the challenge of aligning the many business variables (pricing vehicles, marketing focus, e-commerce, outsourced fulfillment, customer support) becomes impossible.
Part of the problem is this — strategy creation that doesn’t include the ‘how’ of execution in addition to the high level ‘what’ is missing a crucial element. Strategy creation that focuses only on the ‘what’ while excluding the people that hold important information about ‘how’ results in misaligned functional groups.
Mid-management can smooth the way, call out structural defects to prevent problems, and reinforce messaging. Include these valuable players to make sure strategy formation is well-communicated at all levels within your organization.