Olivia: Here’s a wild thought: the most important person in any company isn't the CEO. It's not the genius innovator either. A massive Wharton study found that one role accounts for over 22% of the variation in a company's revenue. That's triple the impact of the innovation team. Jackson: Hold on, more than the innovators? I always thought of middle managers as… well, the corporate equivalent of beige. Necessary, but not exactly where the action is. They’re the people stuck approving expense reports and translating memos, right? Olivia: That’s the exact stereotype this book wants to shatter. Today we're diving into Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization by Scott Mautz. And this isn't some academic theory. Mautz spent over 30 years at Procter & Gamble, running multi-billion dollar businesses. He lived in this 'messy middle' he writes about, which is why the book feels so grounded in reality, even if some online reviews find it a bit dense with its many acronyms. Jackson: Okay, so this comes from someone who was actually in the trenches. I’m listening. Because that feeling of being squeezed between the demands from above and the needs of your team below is very, very real for a lot of people. Olivia: It is. And Mautz argues that this exact position—the one that feels like being stuck—is actually the most powerful place you can be. It’s a paradox.

Jackson: A powerful place? Honestly, Olivia, for most people it feels like a powerless place. You don't have the final say like the executives, and you're not on the front lines doing the 'real' work. You're just... in between. Olivia: Mautz gets why you'd think that. He opens with this incredible story about feeling completely frazzled at a work dinner. He's overwhelmed, pulled in a million directions, and he zones out, staring at an aquarium. He notices this one yellow fish with blue stripes, just calmly swimming with purpose while all the other fish are darting around chaotically. Jackson: I’ve definitely been that person zoning out at a work dinner. Olivia: Haven't we all? A coworker asks what he's staring at, and he brushes it off. But he keeps stealing glances at this fish, and he has this epiphany. He realizes he is that fish. He feels, in his own words, "surrounded, yet lonely." Pressured from all sides, isolated despite being in the middle of everything. And that moment is what motivated him to study and eventually write this book. Jackson: Wow. 'Surrounded, yet lonely.' That really hits home. I think a lot of people feel that, even if they aren't managers. It’s the feeling of being responsible for everything but in control of nothing. Olivia: Exactly. But here’s the reframe. Mautz uses this fantastic sports analogy. Think of the 1980s New York Jets defensive line, the "New York Sack Exchange." They were famous for sacking the quarterback. The stars were the guys on the outside, Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko. They were fast, they got the glory, they got the headlines. Jackson: I can see where this is going. Who was in the middle? Olivia: A guy named Marty Lyons. He wasn't as fast. His job wasn't to get the sack. His job was to take on two or three of the biggest offensive linemen from the other team and just lock them up. He absorbed the pressure. He created the chaos and the opening that allowed the superstars on the outside to break through and make the big play. He was leading from the middle. Jackson: So the middle manager's job is to be the unsung hero who takes the hits so someone else can score? That’s… a little bleak, isn't it? Olivia: But that’s the point! Lyons understood his role was to enable the entire system to succeed. His leadership made everyone else better. Mautz argues that’s the true power of the middle. You're not just a translator of memos; you are the engine of the organization. You see the strategy from above and the reality on the ground. You're the only one who sees both. Jackson: Okay, the analogy is great, but how do you reframe the day-to-day misery? The constant conflict, the feeling you have to know everything, the sheer exhaustion. Olivia: Mautz gives that misery a name. He uses the acronym SCOPE to diagnose the pain points: Self-Identity challenges from constantly switching roles, the Conflict from all sides, the pressure of Omnipotence where you feel you must know everything, and the Physical and Emotional strain. Jackson: That sounds like a recipe for burnout. Embrace conflict? My job is to avoid conflict! Olivia: And here’s the subtle shift. It’s not about absorbing conflict like a punching bag. It’s about channeling it. When you get conflicting demands from your boss and your team, your unique position allows you to be the one who can find the common ground, who can re-shape the conversation. You’re not a victim of the conflict; you’re the mediator. You’re Marty Lyons, creating an opportunity from the chaos. It’s a fundamental shift from seeing the middle as a trap to seeing it as a launchpad.

Jackson: So if you're not just absorbing pressure and avoiding conflict, what are you supposed to be doing? Just serving everyone? Because that sounds like another path to burnout. Olivia: That's the million-dollar question, and it brings us to the core mindset of the book. It's not about being a servant, it's about being 'others-oriented.' And there's a crucial difference. Jackson: Okay, but 'others-oriented' sounds a lot like 'servant leadership,' which can get you eaten alive in a competitive company. What's the real difference? Olivia: I’m so glad you asked that, because Mautz is very specific here. He builds on the classic test of servant leadership, which is: "Do those served grow as persons?" That’s the foundation. But he adds a second, equally important question: "Does the business grow?" Jackson: Ah, okay. So it’s not just about making everyone feel good. It’s about personal growth and organizational success. One without the other is incomplete. Olivia: Precisely. It’s not about being a people-pleaser. It’s about creating an ecosystem where your people thrive, and because they thrive, the business thrives. He has a great line for it: "You don't think less of yourself; you just think of yourself less." Your focus shifts from your own success to enabling the success of others, which, paradoxically, leads to your own success. Jackson: That’s a great quote. But it still feels a bit abstract. What does 'thinking of yourself less' actually look like on a Tuesday afternoon when your boss and your team want opposite things? Olivia: He makes it concrete with a tool he calls the 'Others-Oriented Compass.' It’s about what you give and what you give up. For example, what you give is credit and praise, informed encouragement, and your full attention. What you give up is the need to always be in the limelight, hoarding information, or having total control. Jackson: This 'give up the limelight' stuff sounds nice, but in most companies, if you're not visible, you don't get promoted. How do you do this without committing career suicide? Olivia: It’s about creating a micro-culture. Mautz tells a story about a time he created a team that was a 'safe haven.' The broader company culture was a bit toxic, so he took his team to an art studio and had everyone paint a picture of an island to symbolize their team as an oasis. In that space, they could be open, take risks, and support each other. Jackson: And did it work? Or did they just get labeled as the weirdo team that paints? Olivia: It worked. That team became incredibly high-performing because there was so much psychological safety. The results they produced got them noticed, far more than any self-promotion could have. The success of the team became his visibility. He didn't need the limelight because his team's results created a spotlight. He proved that by focusing on others, the business grew, and so did his own reputation as a leader. Jackson: I see. So you're not just giving up the limelight for nothing. You're trading individual credit for collective success, which is a much bigger prize. Olivia: Exactly. You’re investing in your people, and the return on that investment is a high-performing, loyal team that makes you look brilliant.

Olivia: And creating that micro-culture that gets noticed requires a very specific set of skills. It's not just about mindset; Mautz gives us a playbook. He calls it AMPLIFY. Jackson: Another acronym! I’m starting to see what those reviewers meant. Let me guess, it stands for something, right? Olivia: It does, but the word itself is the key idea. The core job of a leader in the middle is to be an amplifier. You amplify the clarity of the vision from above. You amplify the crucial feedback from your team below so that leadership hears it. And you amplify the collaboration with your peers across the organization. Jackson: I like that framing. It’s an active role. You’re not a passive conduit; you’re making the signal stronger. So what are the skills? Olivia: The acronym stands for Adaptability, Meshing, Political Savviness, Locking In, Influencing, Fostering Compromise, and You Setting the Tone. But let's skip the list and focus on a couple of the most surprising ones. First, 'Political Savviness.' Jackson: Hold on, 'Political Savviness' sounds… slimy. Is this just about learning to play office politics? Because I hate that. Olivia: Mautz redefines it completely. For him, it’s not about manipulation. It’s about understanding. It’s having the savvy to know the underlying context, the key personalities, the unspoken rules. It’s about understanding the map of the organization so you can navigate it effectively to get things done for your team, not just for yourself. It’s a tool for service, not self-promotion. Jackson: Okay, that reframe helps. It's less about backstabbing and more about situational awareness. What’s the other surprising one? Olivia: 'Fostering Compromise.' This is huge for middle managers, who are constantly caught between competing interests. And he shares this incredible data from a negotiation study with MBA students. They split them into two groups. Group one was told to get straight down to business. Group two was told to first spend five minutes exchanging personal information to find something they had in common. Jackson: Let me guess, group two did better. Olivia: It’s not even close. In the 'all business' group, only 55% reached an agreement. In the group that spent five minutes finding a common bond, 90% reached an agreement. And the deals they made were, on average, 18 percent more valuable to both parties. Jackson: Wow. So just a few minutes of finding common ground nearly doubled the chance of success and made the outcome better for everyone? That's a crazy ROI. That one insight alone is worth the price of the book. Olivia: It’s a perfect example of amplifying. By fostering that small moment of connection, you amplify the potential for a positive outcome. That’s the job. Jackson: This is all fantastic. If a listener could only focus on one thing from AMPLIFY to start with, what do you think is the most crucial? Olivia: I think it’s the 'I' for Influencing. Because at its heart, that’s what this whole book is about. Leadership isn't a title; it's influence. And a middle manager’s success depends entirely on their ability to influence people who don't report to them—their boss, their peers. Mastering that is the master key that unlocks everything else.

Olivia: It all comes together, doesn't it? You start by reframing the 'messy middle' not as a trap, but as a position of unique power—you’re the only one with a 360-degree view. Then you adopt an 'others-oriented' mindset to build trust and credibility in every direction. And finally, you use the 'AMPLIFY' skills to translate that trust into real influence. You're not a cog in the machine; you're the gearbox, connecting the engine of strategy to the wheels of execution. Jackson: I love that. The gearbox. That’s a powerful image. It feels so much more active and essential than the 'squeezed middle.' Okay, so for someone listening who is feeling inspired but also a little overwhelmed, what's one simple, concrete action they can take tomorrow? Olivia: Mautz has a great tool for this at the end of the book called a Personal MAP, or Middle Action Plan. But the principle is simple: don't try to do everything at once. Just pick one thing. Maybe it's asking your boss one clarifying question from the book, like "What does great performance on this project look like to you, versus just good performance?" Or maybe it's intentionally giving public credit to a peer in a team meeting. Small hinges swing big doors. Jackson: Small hinges swing big doors. I like that. It makes it feel achievable. What's one small hinge you've found that works? Let us know your thoughts on our socials. We'd love to hear how you lead from your own 'messy middle.' Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.