Middle managers in many organizations block innovation and change. Most don’t do this deliberately; the organizational structure in which they sit restricts opportunities to break out of their silo, and the KPIs that measure their success reward the status quo. Bold changes of direction from the top of the organization and creative ideas from below meet in the middle, where they drown in a quagmire of institutionalized inertia. Future fit organizations will rethink the role of their middle managers to succeed.