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Abstract: This article explores an alternative "middle-out" approach to organizational culture change, where middle managers play a pivotal role in shaping culture from the middle layers of the organization outwards. The paper first defines organizational culture and discusses the limitations of traditional top-down approaches to culture change. It then makes the case for involving middle managers, who can engage staff, translate strategy, and sustain momentum to embed new cultural norms from the middle out. A case study of ABC Corp. illustrates how this middle-out model was applied in practice, with middle managers leading grassroots efforts to drive innovation and continuous improvement. However, the article emphasizes that for this middle-out approach to be effective, it requires visible support and empowerment from senior leaders in the form of resources, a clear mandate, strategic alignment, and ongoing engagement. Overall, the paper argues that combining the grassroots influence of middle managers with high-level coordination from executive sponsors offers a more organic and sustainable way to build organizational culture.
Traditional models of organizational culture change focus on top-down approaches, where senior leaders aim to cascade new visions, values and behaviors down through the organization. However, research shows this approach often fails to take root and create lasting change.
Today we will explore an alternative "middle-out" approach, where middle managers play a pivotal role in shaping culture from the middle layers of the organization outwards. Through engaging staff and leading by example, middle managers can socialize new ways of working that better align with strategic goals. With the right support from senior leaders, this grassroots approach offers a more organic way to build cultural foundations from within.
Defining Organizational Culture
Before exploring how culture can be built from the middle out, it is important to define what is meant by organizational culture. Culture represents the unwritten rules, assumptions, behaviors and attitudes that shape "the way we do things around here" (Deal & Kennedy, 1982). It is a social phenomenon arising from shared experiences, stories, rituals and lessons passed down over time. Culture influences how employees interpret situations, make decisions, and interact with colleagues and customers (Schein, 2017). It plays a key role in employee motivation, engagement and retention. Culture also impacts the organization's ability to adapt, innovate and execute strategic goals (Kotter & Heskett, 1992). A shared culture is thus important for performance and long term organizational success.
The Limitations of Top-Down Cultural Change
Traditionally, organizational culture change efforts have focused on senior leaders articulating new visions, espousing new values and behaviors, and mandating changes cascaded down through a top-down approach. However, research questions the effectiveness of such tactics alone. Top-down change may lack grassroots buy-in and result in adherence more out of compliance rather than true commitment (Bate, 1994). Mandating cultural shifts risks creating cynicism and resistance rather than ownership. Without influencing daily behaviors and routines, top-down visions struggle to reshape shared assumptions that determine how work really gets done (Kotter, 2012).
Schein (2017) also warns against leaders assuming the power to rapidly transform culture at will. Truly changing underlying norms and behaviors requires addressing deeper learning dynamics in social groups over time. A culture's lifespan depends more on employees' lived experiences than leader decrees alone. Kotter (2012) found that around 70% of large-scale change initiatives ultimately fail due to insufficient attention to culture and behaviors. This highlights the limitations of top-down approaches in driving sustainable cultural alignment from the middle layers out.
The Case for a Middle-Out Approach
If top-down direction alone struggles to reshape culture and behaviors, research suggests greater focus should be placed on involving middle managers to drive change from the middle layers outward. Middle managers are well-placed to influence culture because they sit at the intersection between strategic goals cascaded down, and the frontline realities that determine daily operations (Wooten & James, 2008). They have credibility with senior leaders to understand visions but also staff buy-in as operational leaders on the ground (Ruderman et al., 2010).
Specifically, involving middle managers in shaping culture is beneficial for three key reasons:
Engaging Staff
Middle managers interact with staff on a day-to-day basis to coach, support and set expectations (Wooten & James, 2008). Their close relationships allow influencing behaviors by leading through example, modeling desired values, explaining rationale for changes and addressing any questions or concerns transparently (Ruderman et al., 2010). This grassroots engagement helps socialize new ways of working that better resonate at operational levels versus top-down directives alone.
Translating Strategy
Middle managers bridge the gap between strategic goals and operational priorities (Wooldridge et al., 2008). They play a vital translation role, making high-level visions concrete and action-oriented for staff. Their involvement helps ensure cultural shifts directly enable strategic execution versus being seen as separate, lofty initiatives. Sense-making by middle managers helps embed new norms as integral to day-to-day tasks versus compliance burdens.
Sustaining Momentum
Once new behaviors take hold amongst staff, middle managers continue reinforcing them through ongoing recognition, rewards and incorporating them into coaching sessions and performance management (Waldman & Bowen, 2016). Their role as frontline supervisors keeps new ways of working top-of-mind versus relying on distant senior leaders alone. This grassroots reinforcement sustains cultural momentum long-term versus short-lived compliance with top-down directives.
Research underscores middle managers' pivotal role in embedding culture change through operational credibility with staff and strategic alignment with leadership. Their involvement can drive cultural shifts from the middle out through grassroots engagement, translating strategy and sustaining momentum long-term.
Building Organizational Culture from the Middle Out: A Case Study of ABC Corp.
To illustrate the practical application of a middle-out approach, consider the case of ABC Corp., a manufacturer of industrial equipment. Facing increased competition, ABC's CEO initiated a strategic pivot towards innovation and continuous improvement. However, past top-down efforts to mandate cultural change around these goals failed to take hold fully across the organization. As part of a new approach, ABC empowered middle managers to help shape culture from their operational levels:
Engaging Staff
Middle managers led weekly "huddles" to introduce new behaviors around ideation and problem-solving. They modeled active listening, questioned norms respectfully and shared examples of small tests of change. This grassroots dissemination helped explain rationale for changes in a way staff found relatable. Managers addressed concerns transparently and adjusted pacing based on feedback.
Translating Strategy
ABC provided middle managers training to translate high-level strategic goals into operational priorities. Managers cascaded goals into specific, measurable actions for each department through collaborative planning. They incorporated cultural changes directly into daily workflows versus separate initiatives. This hands-on sense-making helped embed innovation and problem-solving as integral to all roles.
Sustaining Momentum
ABC evaluated managers not just on production metrics but reinforcing new behaviors through coaching, mentoring and recognizing staff "champions." Managers incorporated cultural traits like curiosity and continuous learning directly into performance reviews, promotions and new hiring. This sustained grassroots momentum over time versus short-term compliance.
The results were dramatic. Within six months, objective measures showed a 100% increase in submitted ideas and patent applications. Surveys found employees more engaged and optimistic about the direction of change. Importantly, frontline employees strongly credited their managers—not distant executives—as driving forces behind cultural momentum. ABC's experience underscores how actively involving middle managers can successfully build culture from the middle out in practice.
Ensuring Senior Leader Support
For middle managers to effectively shape culture from within, they require visible backing and empowerment from senior leadership. A middle-out approach risks limitations without the right support:
Resources: Cultural change requires dedicated time, training and funding that managers may lack authority to provide independently (Wooldridge et al., 2008).
Mandate: While engaging organically, managers still need a clear mandate from the top to prioritize cultural initiatives versus daily operational fires (Ruderman et al., 2010).
Alignment: Without shared understanding, cultural shifts driven by managers could drift from or even contradict strategic aims set by senior leaders (Morill, 2007).
As such, senior leaders must play an active role empowering the cultural work of middle managers in key ways:
Communicating the imperative for change through clear visions and priorities set from the top down (Kotter, 2012).
Removing barriers to grassroots experimentation within guardrails of overall strategy (Wooten & James, 2008).
Measuring and rewarding middle manager efforts to shape culture on par with business results (Waldman & Bowen, 2016).
Continually engaging managers to co-create opportunities to reinforce culture through resource alignment (Morill, 2007).
In this way, senior leaders ensure middle managers have the mandate, alignment and ongoing support to effectively drive cultural change from the operational middle levels outward. This partnership approach combines the grassroots influence of middle managers with high-level coordination from executive sponsors.
Conclusion
While top-down directions play a role, sustainable organizational culture change requires shaping norms and behaviors from the middle layers outward over time. Research shows middle managers hold a pivotal yet underutilized position bridging strategic visions and frontline realities. By actively engaging staff, translating strategies and sustaining momentum, middle managers can socialize new ways of working that better align culture with goals from within. With visible prioritization and partnership from senior leaders, this middle-out approach offers a grassroots yet coordinated way to build a culture primed for adaptation, innovation and long-term success. The case study of ABC Corp. exemplifies how culture can be strategically developed organically from operational levels given the right organizational supports.
References
Bate, P. (1994). Strategies for cultural change. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. A. (1982). Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life. Addison-Wesley.
Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press.
Kotter, J. P., & Heskett, J. L. (1992). Corporate culture and performance. Free Press.
Morill, C. (2007). Strategic leadership: Integrating strategy and leadership in colleges and universities. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Ruderman, M. N., Ohlott, P. J., Panzer, K., & King, S. N. (2010). Managing mid-level managers: Developing managers who shape organizational culture. John Wiley & Sons.
Schein, E. H. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Waldman, D. A., & Bowen, D. E. (2016). Learning to be a paradox-savvy leader. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 30(3), 316-327. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2015.0070
Wooldridge, B., Schmidt, T., & Floyd, S. W. (2008). The middle management perspective on strategy process: Contributions, synthesis, and future research. Journal of Management, 34(6), 1190-1221. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0149206308324086
Wooten, L. P., & James, E. H. (2008). Linking crisis management and leadership competencies: The role of human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(3), 352-379. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1523422308316450
Additional Reading
Westover, J. H. (2024). Optimizing Organizations: Reinvention through People, Adapted Mindsets, and the Dynamics of Change. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.3
Westover, J. H. (2024). Reinventing Leadership: People-Centered Strategies for Empowering Organizational Change. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.4
Westover, J. H. (2024). Cultivating Engagement: Mastering Inclusive Leadership, Culture Change, and Data-Informed Decision Making. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.5
Westover, J. H. (2024). Energizing Innovation: Inspiring Peak Performance through Talent, Culture, and Growth. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.6
Westover, J. H. (2024). Championing Performance: Aligning Organizational and Employee Trust, Purpose, and Well-Being. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.7
Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Workforce Evolution: Strategies for Adapting to Changing Human Capital Needs. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.8
Westover, J. H. (2024). Navigating Change: Keys to Organizational Agility, Innovation, and Impact. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.11
Westover, J. H. (2024). Inspiring Purpose: Leading People and Unlocking Human Capacity in the Workplace. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.12
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Building Organizational Culture from the Middle Out. Human Capital Leadership Review, 16(2). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.16.2.3
