I do agree with this because I’ve experienced it first hand. My experiences come in two forms. Firstly as a manager, and secondly as someone thats dealing with a lot of organizations and succession planning i.e. management in my client’s organization. The latter form, in fact, help me to model and shape my thinking differently in my career planning.

I’ve seen “senior executives” feel that they should be the “senior managers” instead of the current want they have. Why? Because they think by being longer (loyal) to the organization, he should move up the ranks but when the time comes, the organization recruited someone external because the external candidate has “richer cross industries experience” and “more technologically savvy”. This is where many senior executives got it wrong and there is still hope.

The following column don’t tell much but certainly hitting the right spot. That, every senior executives and young managers should craft their own niche and specialty as they move up (or if they want to move up). My opinion, this can be achieved through different industry experience, take up outside workscope project, further education, take up night classes, read other discipline, find mentors and so on. After all, management is an evolving technology of today’s business.

Column: The End of the Middle Manager – Harvard Business Review
via Column: The End of the Middle Manager – Harvard Business Review.