Middle managers can make or break a company — but they're first in line for layoffs

The role of the middle manager is often downplayed or overlooked completely, with their contributions often less visible to the company at large — but this CEO is asking employers to look closer.

Companies like Meta and FedEx have laid off thousands of employees, with many cutting a substantial portion of their middle managers in the name of efficiency. In fact, FedEx reduced global officer and director jobs by 10% this year. And while it's true a bad manager can weigh a company down, good managers are vital to company success, says Ian White, founder and CEO of talent management software ChartHop. 

"There's often a tendency to downplay the importance of managers," he says. "These companies are looking to be more streamlined and efficient and believe managers are an obstacle to that. They are often mistaken."

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Middle managers not only connect the top leaders within a company to the workers directly responsible for creating the products that the company sells, but connect teams across the organization, facilitating a network of communication and collaboration, underlines White. If middle managers aren't there, teams are likely to be more isolated from each other and the C-suite, and in turn, isolated from company-wide messaging and goals. 

"If managers are aligned with the executive strategy, they can further those strategic initiatives at every level," says White. "A good management layer is critical glue to a successful, optimized and healthy organization."

However, White notes that some employers, especially within tech, tend to think their company will be more productive by cutting the middleman and investing more in the individuals who actually create the needed components for their products. And yet, management consulting company Gallup found that managers are responsible for 70% of the variance in team engagement. In other words, managers make or break team performance. 

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"A tech company where maybe the founders or the senior leadership team came up as engineers, there can be an attachment to the idea that the way you accomplish things is strictly the work itself," says White. "But at scale, there's just a lot more to it. You need managers promoting strategy, culture and holding people accountable."

For White, companies who underestimate the importance of their managers may be overlooking their contributions or simply not training their leaders effectively. A manager should be someone who knows how to align larger company goals with their team's strengths and individual goals; they should help individuals on their teams professionally grow and thrive within the company. But if employers underestimate the role of middle managers, they likely underestimate the skills and characteristics they need to succeed, explains White.

At ChartHop, White describes middle managers as communication hubs, where they can direct feedback to the right people company-wide while still maintaining personal connections with their team. In White's company, it's actually a sought-after position. 

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"We try to really make sure that there's a lot of opportunities to promote promising people into middle management," says White. "We've had many success stories of somebody coming into a management role with the knowledge and credibility and experience that comes from having been an individual contributor. With the right training and support, they can be really successful."

White asks employers to not only rethink their position on middle management but reflect on whether they are setting up their managers for success — if not, they should assume they aren't supporting their contributors either, says White.

"Maybe managers sometimes get a bad rap because people haven't had a good one," he says. "But a great manager plays a critical role in ensuring outcomes are aligned with the goals set by executive leadership."