Changing Church: Middle Managers and Learning in Dogmatic Organizations

Much of the scholarly literature investigating sources of learning within organizations dichotomize these factors into either top-down or bottom-up influences; however, this simplification ignores the role of the middle manager in learning processes. Many instances of productive organizational learning credited to upper-level leaders may have failed without the transformative contributions of middle managers. Middle managers facilitate communication between upper-and the lower-level personnel. By synthesizing the principles and goals articulated by executives with the practical knowledge and demands of lower-level personnel, middle managers contribute to organizational learning.