Unlocking benefits
Thawing the frozen middle isn’t easy. But it’s more important than ever, given
the large sums of capital being injected into digital transformation programs
and the challenge of implementing technological advances quickly. According
to PwC’s 22nd Annual Global CEO
Survey, 85 percent of business leaders
believe that artificial intelligence (AI)
will change their business significantly
in the next five years, and 35 percent
intend to introduce AI initiatives by- Return on these investments is
top of mind, given the disappointments
of transformations past and the
increasing number of business failures. You can take costs out of a business
and be vigilant about keeping up with the pace of change, but if you don’t have
the talent to take advantage of the opportunities that transformation creates,
productivity will not improve.
Transformation failures are not caused by one person or one single issue. By
understanding the psyche of the middle management layer, CEOs can identify
the levers that will work and unlock the benefits of transformation. It’s a matter
of focusing on human capital and valuing the skills that their people have and
can develop. They can then redeploy their creative, resilient, upskilled people
to tackle more problems and create more value. Technology fundamentally
changes the role of middle managers, and it simultaneously makes them even
more important. +
By understanding the
psyche of the middle
management layer, CEOs
can identify the levers that
will unlock the benefits
of transformation.Carol Stubbings
[email protected]
is the global leader of PwC’s
people and organization practice.
Based in London, she is a
partner with PwC UK.Darren Homer
[email protected]
works with global clients on
transformations, concentrating
on people performance. Based
in London, he is a partner with
PwC UK.John Francis
[email protected]
specializes in the design and
delivery of large transformation
programs in financial services.
Based in London, he is a director
with PwC UK.46
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