I wouldn't necessarily explain this by properties of the individual middle manager. Middle management frequently had very little decision making power and it's

I wouldn't necessarily explain this by properties of the individual middle manager. Middle management frequently had very little decision making power and it's their job to represent "the company's" decisions to their reports. In many organizations they are also heavily discouraged from taking any risks and frequently function as scape goats for bad decisions higher ups made. So even if someone in middle management seems bad at making decisions it might not be because they don't have a strong opinion but because they aren't sure if it clashes with what their boss wants and are unsure how far they can push it. They also might be turn to maybe do what they think is the wrong thing because they know it will be accepted by the organization. They also might seem to be slow or hesitant making decisions when it's in fact someone above them they are waiting for. Middle management is easily blamed, but they are also the ones who get to feel most when an organization is dysfunctional because they sit between the people who make the real decisions and between the people who are doing the ground work.