Im always a bit surprised when I see some managers who work at a middle management level, struggle with the concept of operating at a higher level. By that I mean, removing themselves from lots of unnecessary operational stuff i.e. inappropriate involvement in their staffs' work, to working at a strategic level i.e. taking a bigger view of their patch, planning and thinking about known and unknown eventualities, ensuring the operating infrastructure is sound and can support all the activities. Some middle managers, despite attending endless management courses, reading management articles, participating in strategic planning sessions and using the right management language that suggests they can operate at a higher level, never make the transition. Their good intentions and talk is never converted into higher order thinking and action. What's the core problem here - they're not in the right role? They aren't the best person for the job? They don't want to add to their workload? They're simply not interested? I wish there was an easy answer... as organisations need managers who can operate at a higher level competently and consistently and be really productive with their time.