5 ms·

Middle manager is not a precise term so opinions on what is and is not a middle manager differ but in larger companies there are definitely senior managers and

Middle manager is not a precise term so opinions on what is and is not a middle manager differ but in larger companies there are definitely senior managers and executive management.

jonahx 2y ago
All of the replies to GP sound like desperate attempts not to self-identify as a middle manager. GP's definition matches common usage: To people not invested in this game, if you are manager at a large company and not C-suite, you're a middle manager.
- Brian_K_White 2y ago
  Obviously silly. There are obviously a large bulk of managers who do not manage other managers, and they could reasonably only be called simply "managers". What would be the excuse for adding "middle" to them when they are not in the middle of anything?
  - jfengel 2y ago
    They are above the employees and below the C suite. You probably could just call them "managers" with little loss of meaning. But the term "middle management" can connote a kind of useless that makes them different from "front line managers". The difference seems to depend on how useless your front line managers appear to be.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
  I get what you’re saying, but it’s more than a little like someone who isn’t invested in football calling everyone on defense a “defensive back”. Middle management is a term of art referring to a specific role that works quite differently from the more common first line managers. Insisting on it as a catch-all term accomplishes nothing but making things more confusing.
  - dylan604 2y ago
    To me, it reads as the exhibit A of the point of the article coming from a GenZer that just can't be bothered to understand the org chart if even be bothered to look at it. To them, you have the workers, and then management. Anyone above them is old and out of touch and just receives eye rolls
- sanderjd 2y ago
  No, "middle" very clearly does not include front line managers, who do a very different job.
- WantonQuantum 2y ago
  Haha take a look at my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42591805 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42591805

Middle manager is not a precise term so opinions on what is and is not a middle manager differ but in larger companies there are definitely senior managers and executive management.

jonahx 2y ago

All of the replies to GP sound like desperate attempts not to self-identify as a middle manager. GP's definition matches common usage: To people not invested in this game, if you are manager at a large company and not C-suite, you're a middle manager.

Brian_K_White 2y ago
Obviously silly. There are obviously a large bulk of managers who do not manage other managers, and they could reasonably only be called simply "managers". What would be the excuse for adding "middle" to them when they are not in the middle of anything?
- jfengel 2y ago
  They are above the employees and below the C suite. You probably could just call them "managers" with little loss of meaning. But the term "middle management" can connote a kind of useless that makes them different from "front line managers". The difference seems to depend on how useless your front line managers appear to be.
SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
I get what you’re saying, but it’s more than a little like someone who isn’t invested in football calling everyone on defense a “defensive back”. Middle management is a term of art referring to a specific role that works quite differently from the more common first line managers. Insisting on it as a catch-all term accomplishes nothing but making things more confusing.
- dylan604 2y ago
  To me, it reads as the exhibit A of the point of the article coming from a GenZer that just can't be bothered to understand the org chart if even be bothered to look at it. To them, you have the workers, and then management. Anyone above them is old and out of touch and just receives eye rolls
sanderjd 2y ago
No, "middle" very clearly does not include front line managers, who do a very different job.
WantonQuantum 2y ago
Haha take a look at my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42591805 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42591805