While strong senior leadership is very important, your company’s middle managers are your soldiers on the front lines, dealing with the day-to-day aspects of your business. They have more interaction with employees, so it would be logical to assume they have the best and most helpful insights. In earlier years, companies assumed that job title directly correlated with the employee’s ability to produce the next big idea. But it’s been proven time and time again that diversity of thought is the real idea generator. Innovation most often comes from the people involved in the front line aspects of the business.

Research has consistently shown that employees are more comfortable voicing opinions and concerns with mid-level management, and when their input is heard, are more likely to be engaged and motivated. In fact, as the level of management that is most closely in touch with every employee in your business, your managers are the conduit for communication and recognition.

They are the representatives of your leadership team that employees see and hear from daily, so middle managers are the most capable of assessing employee needs. Their face-to-face feedback signals what works and what doesn’t, what makes employees happy and what helps them thrive. So bringing middle managers into the relationship management aspects of your business will result in better business outcomes.

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