The Invisible Gap: Why Mid-Level Managers Hold the Key to Inclusive Innovation

Inclusive innovation isn’t a department. It’s not a job title or a laminated poster on a wall. It’s a system. And like all systems, it either amplifies insights from across the business—or quietly silences them.

Right now, too many organisations are falling into a trap. They’re investing heavily in top-down innovation while overlooking the leaders best positioned to make it real: their mid-level managers.

These are the people who translate strategy into execution, insight into action, and vision into traction. Yet they often feel stuck, under-leveraged, and unheard.

And that’s not just a waste. It’s a risk.

Mid-Level Managers: The Most Underestimated Tier in Business

Mid-level managers are the glue in every organisation. They understand the friction points on the ground floor and the shifting priorities of the C-suite. They see what data misses and what people aren’t saying. They are, quite literally, the insight engine of the business.

Yet they’re often excluded from major innovation discussions. Decisions are made in executive retreats and innovation hubs, then handed down to middle managers to “execute.” No surprise, then, that so many strategies stall at rollout.

Research from CEB (now part of Gartner) revealed that 50-70% of change initiatives fail due to lack of engagement from mid-level management. Not because they resist change, but because they weren’t included in shaping it.

They can’t champion what they weren’t invited to help build.


If you’re ready to own your leadership, stand out in your organisation, and elevate your impact, I’d love to invite you to my upcoming LADDERS webinar. Learn more here: bit.ly/Ladders2Career


What Does “Inclusive” Really Mean in Innovation?

Inclusion isn’t just about who’s at the table inside your organisation. It’s about who you’re innovating for—and with.

True inclusive innovation puts the consumer at the heart of every decision. Mid-level managers are often the closest to both frontline teams and the consumers they serve. When their voices are included, the result isn’t just internal engagement—it’s relevance, resonance, and real-world traction.

Consumer-led innovation requires internal alignment across departments and hierarchy. And the middle layer plays a crucial role in translating external insight into internal action.

Inclusive Innovation Needs Insight from the Middle

When innovation is designed only by the top 10% of an organisation, you get brilliant strategies that don’t work in practice. When it’s co-created with people from across the business—especially the middle tier—you unlock feasibility, relevance, and momentum.

The companies that outperform their peers on innovation ROI are those who actively gather and use insights from across all levels, including mid-level leaders. According to McKinsey, companies with top-quartile ethnic and cultural diversity are 36% more likely to outperform on profitability. But here’s the nuance: diversity without inclusion does nothing. It’s the inclusion of diverse perspectives, particularly at middle layers, that drives innovation outcomes.

So why are so many companies still treating middle management like a channel, not a source?

Three Innovation Bottlenecks Caused by Mid-Level Exclusion

  1. Stalled Initiatives: When initiatives are “pushed” down without mid-level involvement, teams question the why, feel
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The Power of Atomic Change to Unlock Quantum Growth in Any Business

Organizations must be agile and adaptable to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. This is why atomic change is more effective than quantum disruption.

The traditional approach to turbulent times has always been a monumental, top-down transformation. But this is no longer the only path to success and is certainly not the most effective.

Today, many companies are turning to a more nuanced strategy: atomic change. Atomic change is the father of agility and clarifies what is needed to meet our ever-changing world.

If you’d prefer to listen rather than read:

 

The Nature of Atomic Change

Atomic changes, also known as incremental or small-scale changes, involve making discrete adjustments to various aspects of a business. These changes are often gradual but collectively lead to significant transformation over time.

Let’s explore the key advantages of this approach:

1. Reduced Resistance: Atomic changes are met with less resistance from employees since they are usually less dramatic. A Gartner survey found that employees’ willingness to support enterprise change fell from 74% in 2016 to just 43% in 2022. So clearly atomic changes are the way to go.

Another survey, this time from Wharton, found that 70% of employees are more likely to embrace smaller, incremental changes compared to large-scale transformations. And McKinsey found that companies which failed their transformation programs identified employee resistance or management behaviour as the major barrier (72%) to success.

When Microsoft implemented its move from Windows 8 to Windows 10, they initially faced resistance from users who were accustomed to the older operating system. To address this, Microsoft introduced a series of atomic changes through regular updates and improvements to Windows 10. Over time, users began to appreciate the gradual enhancements, resulting in a higher acceptance rate and reduced resistance.

2. Faster Implementation: Another research study from McKinsey indicates that atomic changes can be implemented 30% faster, on average, than large-scale transformations. This seems obvious, but it is good to keep in mind in today’s dynamic business environment.

Amazon, known for its agile approach, continuously makes atomic changes to its e-commerce platform. They frequently implement small updates and new features, allowing them to respond swiftly to market demands. This rapid deployment strategy enables Amazon to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-paced online retail industry. It also allows them to identify winning concepts while highlighting and quickly removing those which don’t resonate with customers.


Join our Ultimate 60-mins CX Makeover to discover new ways to implement atomic change in your own organisation.


Statistics That Speak Volumes

The effectiveness of atomic change is not just anecdotal; it is backed by compelling statistics:


1. Employee Engagement
: A Gallup poll revealed that organizations that frequently implement small, incremental changes report 25% higher employee engagement levels than those relying solely on large-scale transformations.

Google’s “20% Time” policy is a famous example of fostering employee engagement through atomic changes. Google encourages its employees to spend 20% … Click to continue reading

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