This morning I read a piece in Harvard Business Review — the apex of thoughtful, measured, data-rich corporate discourse — titled “What’s the Future of Middle Management?”

Spoiler: It's not extinction.

The authors make a reasonable case: middle managers are still vital because of their unique position in the organizational food chain.

But — and it's a big but — to stay relevant, they need to shrink in numbers and evolve in function.

Less compliance cop, more talent developer.

Less command-and-control, more coach-and-collaborator.

They're supposed to foster creativity, protect frontline teams from top-down lunacy, and facilitate upskilling.

My take? Feels good. Sounds right. Doesn’t hold.

Let’s unpack the problems — there are few.

1. More middle, not less

The authors open with a stat that torpedoes their own narrative: the proportion of middle managers has increased over the last 40 years — from 9% in 1983 to 13% in 2022.

That’s not fewer middle managers. That is more. Way more.

Bottom line? Just because the middle is swelling doesn’t mean it’s necessary. It means it’s bloated.

2. You can’t coach with a whistle and a gun

The authors suggest turning managers into coaches. Sure. And let’s turn police officers into yoga instructors while we’re at it.

Newsflash: slapping a whistle on someone with formal power doesn’t make them a coach — it makes them a boss pretending to play nice.

Hierarchies don’t produce empathy, they enforce compliance.

Expecting non-hierarchical behavior in a hierarchical system is like expecting dogs to meow.

As the great philosopher Gino D’Acampo once said when told his dish was "British carbonara":

Bottom line? You can’t expect human beings to behave in ways the structure doesn’t promote - or allow.

3. Middle management as moral shield?

Please. Another gem: middle managers should protect frontline workers from executives.

Translation: the adults upstairs need other adults to babysit the kids downstairs.

That’s pure paternalism, repackaged as “support.”

This is the unspoken moral contract in traditional hierarchy: top-down control in exchange for top-down protection.

Daddy makes the rules, but Daddy will also keep you safe. Grow up.

Bottom line? Adults don’t need protection. They need power. Dismantle the hierarchy and treat people like peers — not children.

4. Same old case studies, same old fear.

GitHub. Valve. Zappos. The tired trio of “flatter orgs gone wrong” is wheeled out like ghost stories at corporate campfires.

Yes, there were failures. No, they weren’t the whole story.

What these cautionary tales ignore: the dozens — hundreds — of organizations thriving with self-management, radical transparency, and decentralized teams.

We’ve seen them. We’ve worked with them. In fact, we’ve designed an intensive 6-week masterclass around them.

They’re not theoretical — they’re real, they scale, and they work.

Bottom line? Cherry-picking failure stories doesn’t prove the model is broken. It proves your bias.

On to the next

That is enough middle manager bashing for today. Let’s talk solutions.

Last year, we nominated 50 progressive organizations for the Zero Distance Awards — an initiative by Thinkers50, Gary Hamel’s MLab, and Haier’s HMI.

The goal? Celebrate organizations that are killing the middle (management), cutting the friction, and moving power to the people who actually serve customers.

They call it Zero Distance — the idea that the best companies minimize the gap between employees and customers.

The principles:

• Empower autonomous teams.
• Decentralize decision-making.
• Create real user value — and share the profits.
• Embrace radical transparency and adaptability.

In short: fewer managers, more momentum.

We’re now scouting for this year’s nominees. If your company:

• Is living these principles, or
• Is just starting to explore them...

… we want to hear from you. Here’s what we’ll do:

• Have a quick chat
• Write up your story
• Possibly feature you in the 2025 ZeroDX Awards

Reply to this email to set up a conversation — or just send us a few lines about what you're doing.

P.S. This year’s awards will take place in Qingdao, China, this September. Invite-only. If you’re nominated and want in, we’ll get you a seat at the table. Let’s make sure the Corporate Rebels crew shows up strong.
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Updates from Corporate Rebels HQ

Here's a quick overview of everything happening at Corporate Rebels:

• New platform: We launched our brand-new community platform—sleeker, faster, and built to spark real conversations and meaningful connections. Want in on the action? Join a global tribe of rebels doing work that doesn’t suck. More info here.
• New Krisos acquisition: - With Krisos, our private equity adventure, we don’t just buy businesses—we liberate them. After transforming Indaero into a self-managed machine, the Krisos team is closing in on our second acquisition. One thing stands in the way: the vote. Here’s what’s going down.
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New article

A new article has been published on our blog earlier this week:

• 10 Question About Haier’s RenDanHeYi Model-Answered ​
  Haier blew up the org chart and replaced it with thousands of micro-enterprises – each running their own P&L and directly accountable to customers. In this rapid-fire Q&A, I unpack how chaos breeds innovation, why middle managers are an endangered species, and what it really means to bet on radical decentralization. Check it out here.
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What inspired us

Here's something noteworthy we discovered this past week that you’re going to love:

• Doug Kirkpatrick Drops the Mic
  ​Caught this gem from Doug Kirkpatrick on a podcast about self-managed organizations. He didn’t just challenge the status quo—he lit it on fire:

Translation: Traditional management is a drag on talent, a brake on innovation, and a relic of the industrial age. Time to upgrade the OS.

Cheers,

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