Middle managers are, well, stuck in the middle. They don't drive day-to-day product building, coding, or marketing. And they aren't yet executives with much power over resource allocation.
They mostly suffer from a bad reputation in Tech. @boz says they look for something to change so they can feel confident they did their jobs. @shreyas notes they're political and optimize for performance reviews. @naval says "absolutely no middle managers."
There are plenty of middle managers in FAANG. What separates the exceptional ones?
They Successfully Start New Product Lines
Middle managers are closer to end-users, the latest trends in technology, and day-to-day operations than most senior managers. At the same time, they have big-picture understanding, organizational know-how, and credibility with executives. Facebook's App Install Ads or Google Classroom are examples of industry-changing products started by middle managers.
They Help Drive Change
Change is inevitable. Middle managers engage with lots of 1:1s down, up, and across the org — they're the best source of organizational knowledge. They can help senior leadership conceive reorganization and, more importantly, bring people on board without significant attrition.
But Also Keep Executives Accountable For Continuity
Your teams reviewed a quarterly roadmap, got everyone on board, including executives. A few days into implementation, a new shiny priority came in 'from the top.' Strong middle managers gather more context before rushing to action. They understand that both too little and too much change lead to underperformance, and balance continuity with tackling new priorities.
They Truly Coach & Uplevel Their People
Most people conflate promotions with professional growth. I've seen managers fight hard to get their reports promoted without putting in the work to uplevel their skills. Longer-term, people benefit more from managers who understand gaps between their reports' career goals and where they are today and recommend actions to bridge them.
Being a middle manager is HARD, and being exceptional is even harder.