Every few months, we hear the same prediction: middle management is over.
But the data tells another story. In fact, the share of middle managers in the U.S. workforce has grown and is still growing – from 9% in the 1980s to 13% today.
Why? Because managers do what org charts and dashboards can’t:
- Translate strategy into action.
- Keep humans motivated, aligned, and growing.
- Connect vision between executives, teams, and contributors.
The problem isn’t that we have too many managers. The problem is that managers are drowning in work about work: meetings, updates, scavenger hunts for context. That overhead squeezes them out of the role they’re needed for – leading people.
The future of management isn’t layoffs. It’s reinvention. AI, async workflows, and tools like Steady will free managers from the coordination tax, giving them back the time and clarity to be what they already are: the hidden engine of high-performing teams.
Middle management isn’t dying. It’s being upgraded.
