Middle Managers and Innovation

A reader tipped me off to this post at Innovation Playground called, What is the Role of Mid-Level Managers in Innovation? Here is a snippet:

Change heroes don’t sit in the executive suite and they’re not on the margins, either. They’re consummate insiders who get things done by working through other people. They are the people who will make or break your organization’s innovation initiatives.

I also believe that those who had a deep understanding of the various parts of a system (the organization and its processes and norms) are in a great position to innovate. Middle managers are in the thick of things.