Middle Management

Middle management generally describes the class of employees who do not possess the competence or acumen to ascend to upper management. In rarer instances, it is the brief stopping point of a real go-getter or the interminable hell assigned to those few competent employees who foolishly cling to their dignity. In the case of the former, beware. No more dangerous employee exists. In the case of the latter, feel free to exploit this manager’s uncharacteristic compassion to extend deadlines, send emails without thoroughly proof reading, and casually inquire about their personal life. In all cases, it is no coincidence this term is a mere typo away from “meddle management”.

To best understand the plight of the middle manager, think of occupying “the friend zone” of a gorgeous, but equally vacuous female (upper management). The middle manager has earned considerable trust, but either because of an unfortunate appearance (incompetent and over promoted) or because they have absolutely no charm (cling to their dignity), the chance of “hitting it” (joining the ranks of upper management) poses a monumental challenge unless our “friend-zoned” middle manager is just really funny (a real go-getter). Further, the “friend-zoned” middle manager must deal with upper management’s emotional bullshit (the work upper management finds below them, which not coincidentally amounts to the only legitimate services a company provides). Accordingly, the middle manager has little opportunity to interact with their underlings in any meaningful capacity and their supervisory role is thus reduced to frantic and inauspiciously timed emails, minor edits, and ensuring a spreadsheet’s proper formatting.

Because most middle managers are deeply entrenched in “the friend zone”, hitching your fate to their’s is not advisable. It is documented fact that close relationships with middle managers most frequently manifest themselves in time consuming administrative projects beginning just before you had hoped to leave for the day. Instead, focus your efforts on upper management (see future entry: mentor).