From Strategy to Results: The Missing Middle
There’s a persistent gap in African business: the space between strategic ambition and operational reality. I call it the “Missing Middle.”
Organizations invest heavily in strategy development — engaging top-tier firms, conducting market studies, building financial models. They also invest in frontline operations — hiring staff, buying equipment, building infrastructure.
But the middle layer — the execution infrastructure that translates strategy into daily operations — is consistently underfunded and under-managed.
What does the Missing Middle look like?
No PMO or Program Governance — Strategic initiatives are launched without clear ownership, timelines, or accountability. Progress is measured in meetings held, not outcomes achieved.
Weak Middle Management — The layer responsible for translating executive direction into team execution is often the weakest link. Middle managers are promoted for technical expertise, not management capability, and rarely receive development support.
Broken Information Flows — Executives make decisions based on incomplete or outdated information because there’s no system for translating operational data into strategic insights.
Misaligned Incentives — What gets measured gets done. When individual KPIs don’t align with strategic priorities, the strategy loses every time.
Bridging the Missing Middle requires three things:
1. Execution Architecture — A clear framework that connects strategic objectives to operational activities, with governance, reporting, and accountability at every level.
2. Capability Building — Investing in middle management development, process management skills, and data literacy.
3. Performance Management — Installing systems that track leading indicators, not just lagging results, and create real accountability for outcomes.
The organizations that close this gap don’t just execute better — they learn faster, adapt quicker, and compound their competitive advantage over time.
