From the Financial Times via The Week (2-8-2008) we learn of a survey conducted by Roffey Park Institute that says that "82% of corporate directors believe their organizations are in good or excellent shape while only 52% of middle managers share this opinion. Similarly, more than a third of directors believe company morale is high; only 9% of middle managers agree." The lesson: "if CEOs want to know the truth about the organizations they lead, they need to spend more time listening to middle and junior managers."

I would propose that this is a lesson applicable to nonprofit CEOs as well, particularly as nonprofits face mergers and other opportunities for growth that actually create a larger nonprofit middle manager community.