Kanter, R. M. (2004). Harvard Business Review.


Entrepreneurial middle managers are the key to innovative growth in organizations and are a source of hope for a slowed economy. In fact, strategic directives from senior executives mean nothing without efficient middle managers just below officer level who are able to design the systems and carry out the plans. Rosabeth Moss Kanter's article, first published in 1982, reports on a study of effective middle managers working in large corporations. It distinguishes between managers who fostered basic accomplishments (those that occurred within existing frameworks) and managers who achieved innovative accomplishments (those that increased long-term capacity). Basic accomplishments differ from innovative ones not only in scope and long-run impact but also in what it takes to achieve them. Innovative accomplishments tend to involve highly problematic situations that require creative solutions, power, and influence. Innovative middle managers are not necessarily extraordinary individuals. They do, however, share several characteristics, including comfort with change, clarity of direction, thoroughness, and a participative management style. Such managers also understand that achieving their goals takes time--and tact. Achieving goals also takes the support of a collaborative organization. Entrepreneurial managers require access to abundant information, support, and resources, and they need the power to go beyond the limits of their formal positions.