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Are C-Suite Executives Confronting Employee Engagement?

Eric Jacobson

Only 13% of C-suite executives believe that line managers and middle managers are "chiefly responsible" for staff engagement. The report is based on a survey of 331 C-suite executives (CEO, CFO, CIO, etc.) or senior directors from 19 industries in Europe and the Middle East. "I

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What to Do If Your Career Is Stalled and You Don’t Know Why

Harvard Business Review

Take Jim, a front-runner CFO candidate for a leading medical device manufacturer on the verge of an IPO. Individuals like Denise often do extremely well in the middle management ranks but stall out on the path to the C-suite, because they seem unable or unwilling to think beyond their own division or function.

Career 15
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The Shape of the Meaning Organization

Harvard Business Review

In too many boardrooms, marketroids are minions, flunkies, and sidekicks, yes-men who refuse to stand up to the CEO, CFO, or board and say "No!! That's how the vast majority of organizations still, literally, work — and until it isn't, well, they simply won't be able to compete in 21st century terms.

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Build Your Team Like an Executive

Harvard Business Review

These differences in philosophy and approach frequently differentiate those who advance to and succeed at the executive level — and those who stay in the ranks of middle management. When you ask leaders how they build a strong management team, the answers are revealing.

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Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners: Lessons from Banner Health

Harvard Business Review

With these rules in place, 8 cross-functional teams—each composed of middle managers, a consultant guide, and a sponsor from the leadership team—were formed. During an intensive 8-week pilot, each team was trained and then it analyzed the cost structure of one function and recommended cost reduction tactics.

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How Royal DSM Is Improving Its Geographic and Gender Diversity

Harvard Business Review

Companies are starting to acknowledge the pervasiveness of bias, as the proliferation of unconscious bias training for middle managers demonstrates. Some of those searches, like the one, three years ago, for our CFO, took twice as long as normal. Our CFO is now a great asset to the company, in many aspects.”

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Where Have All the Process Owners Gone?

Harvard Business Review

The role had little influence : Some companies appointed process owners at middle management levels. The wishes of a functional head such as CFO, CMO, or company President won out over a Process Owner of Order-to-Cash. They could not have enough influence on the organization's mindset and culture, and they fell by the wayside.

Process 16