Most managers are middle managers. In my 200 person company we had several levels: the hierarachy pof development was President/CEO -> COO -> Director of dev -> project manager - > team member.

It worked quite well, because of the _way_ that these people led.

The way that someone leads needs to be about outcomes. The dilemma is that for people higher up the chain to know what the outcomes are, they need to do more than read reports. They need to go around and observe, ask questions, and stay on top of how things are being done.

They also need to create an environment in which people feel safe voicing their opinion.

Hierarchy is not the problem. Leadership culture is.