The Unique Psychology of Being a Middle Manager

Idea posted: July 2021

Institutions: University of Southern California Marshall School of Business    University of Toronto Rotman School of Management   

Research on power in organizations often treats power as unidirectional—how subordinates deal with superiors or how superiors deal with subordinates. Two researchers challenge this static, unidirectional perspective with a new…

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Hierarchical or Egalitarian Organizations? The Advantages of Hierarchy

Idea posted: September 2014

Institutions: York University    Duke University Fuqua School of Business    University of Waterloo    Columbia Business School   

Hierarchies have been taking a bad rap. The mantra for a number of years has been to ‘flatten’ the organizations. Hierarchies were not only seen as inefficient, but worse: as…

  READ MORE   PIN TO MY IDEAS Idea #436

When Allowing Decision Latitude Can Backfire

Idea posted: September 2013

Institutions: Columbia Business School    Harvard Business School   

Most leaders now recognize (at least theoretically if not always in practice) the ineffectiveness of the old school top-down, command-and-control leadership style. The knowledge worker of the information age is…

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Leadership Tools: Magnet to Pull, Hammer to Drive

Idea posted: May 2013

Institutions: IESE Business School   

The authors set out to examine the leadership tools required to help managers rise to new challenges faced during uncertain times. Using case studies of prominent leaders of the past…

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Flattened Organizations: When Cons Outweigh Pros

Idea posted: February 2013

Institutions: Harvard Business School   

Flattening (or delayering) of hierarchies within an organization has been called for by much recent literature. In theory, flattening is supposed to help push decisions downwards to enhance customer and…

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Bricklayer to Architect: How Managers Become Leaders

Idea posted: January 2013

Institutions: IMD   

This is the critical turning point in a manager’s career; the time when they move from leading a function to leading an enterprise for the first time. Conducting an extensive…

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