My leadership team is completely overwhelmed because they are constantly dragged down to solve daily issues for their departments. How do we build a strong mid-level management layer so our executives can focus on scaling?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your leadership team is constantly fighting fires at the departmental level, they are not leading, managing, or holding their teams accountable. This failure to delegate and elevate keeps your executive team stuck in tactical work, which limits your ability to scale or prepare for an exit.

To break this cycle, your leadership team must focus on developing their direct reports. Start by defining clear seats on the Accountability Chart for your mid-level managers. Every manager must understand exactly what they are responsible for and what metrics they need to hit.

Next, your leadership team must teach their managers how to use the EOS® tools. They should run departmental Level 10 Meetings™ and learn how to run their own IDS® processes to solve problems at their level rather than pushing them up.

Your executives must resist the urge to step in and save the day when things go wrong. Instead, they must coach their managers, helping them build the capacity to lead and make decisions. This takes time and discipline, but building a capable middle management layer is the only way to free up your leadership team to focus on strategic execution and high-level growth.