Skip-level middle management

One of the challenges of growing from a small company with a few employees to a mid-sized company is introducing middle management.

This is usually poorly done.

When the team is small, getting everyone on the same page is easier. People see the passion and direction of the leadership.

It’s intimate; your opinions matter.

However, when the company grows, this usually gets diluted. More processes are introduced, and more meetings are scheduled.

But most of it is pointless.

It’s just middle-management finding an excuse for them to be needed.

Flat organizational structures do not work past a certain point, so there is a case for a pyramid hierarchy.

But the way you communicate vision and goals and set expectations on the highest level has a massive impact on your performance.

Additionally, once you remove your former direct reports from another layer of management, you need a way to hold skip-level meetings or get feedback from above the chain of command.

If something is wrong, have a way for the grunts to speak up directly. Like an open email to the C-suite.

If you don’t, then people stay quiet when disaster is about to strike, and they watch the iceberg approach.

Yours,

Taj