Brian Elliott

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The "manager tax" is real, and it's getting more expensive.

We’ve spent the last two years talking about "efficiency." In most boardrooms, that’s just code for cutting middle management layers. But here is the uncomfortable truth: you can’t automate coaching, and you certainly can’t automate trust.

I was looking at new data from Gallup this morning. Manager engagement has hit a three-year low. At the same time, the "span of control" for the remaining managers has jumped by 20%.

We are asking people to lead larger teams with fewer resources and more "AI tools" that actually just add to their oversight load.

It’s a recipe for what I call the "hollow middle."

I spoke with a CPO at a Fortune 500 retailer last week who put it bluntly: "We removed the layers, but we didn't remove the work. Now my best directors are doing the work of three people and leading ten. They’re exhausted."

🔸 Audit the "Oversight Load." Before you give a manager a new AI agent to supervise, ask what manual task you are taking off their plate. If the answer is "nothing," you aren't helping; you're taxing.

🔸 Protect the "Craft Time." Managers who lose the ability to actually do the work they love become bureaucrats. Ensure 20% of their week is protected for individual contribution or deep learning.

🔸 Normalize the "No." Give your middle layers the air cover to kill legacy programs that no longer drive ROI. As Tracy Layney told me: "HR never met a program it didn't like." It's time to start liking subtraction.

The companies that win the next decade won't be the ones with the fewest managers. They'll be the ones with the most supported ones.

👉 I went deep on the "hollow middle" in today's Charter column, linked in the comments.

What’s one thing your organization could stop doing today to give managers more breathing room?

#Management #Leadership #FutureOfWork

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