--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We find that the manager, particularly at…" description: "\"We find that the manager, particularly at senior levels, is overburdened with work. With the increasing complexity of modern organizations and their pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/henry-mintzberg-10810_brevity_we-find-that-the-manager-particularly-at_1176924.png" --- # We find that the manager, particularly at senior levels… ![“We find that the manager, particularly at senior levels, is overburdened with work. With the increasing complexity of modern organizations and their problems, he is destined to become more so. He is driven to brevity, fragmentation, and superficiality in his tasks, yet he cannot easily delegate…” quote by Henry Mintzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/henry-mintzberg-10810_brevity_we-find-that-the-manager-particularly-at_1176924.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/henry-mintzberg-10810_brevity_we-find-that-the-manager-particularly-at_1176924.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/henry-mintzberg-10810_brevity_we-find-that-the-manager-particularly-at_1176924.png) > “We find that the manager, particularly at senior levels, is overburdened with work. With the increasing complexity of modern organizations and their problems, he is destined to become more so. He is driven to brevity, fragmentation, and superficiality in his tasks, yet he cannot easily delegate them because of the nature of his information.” [Henry Mintzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mintzberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Senior managers become overloaded, leading to fragmented, shallow work and difficulty delegating due to information complexity. **In simple terms:** Leaders are overburdened and struggle to delegate. Key Takeaway Simplify tasks and empower clear delegation. Themes leadership overload delegation Mood analytical pragmatic concerned Type business leadership When to use this quote - strategic planning - team meetings - project handoffs - process redesign Key Concepts information asymmetry organizational complexity decision fatigue Questions to Reflect On - How can you reduce information overload? - What structures support effective delegation? A Different Perspective Delegation may fail if trust isn’t built. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brevity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Delegates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delegates/) [Destined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destined/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Fragmentation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragmentation/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Levels Overburdened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels-overburdened-3435238/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Manager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manager/) [Manager Particularly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manager-particularly-3435236/) [Managers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/managers/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Organizations Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizations-problems-3435237/) [Overburdened Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overburdened-work-1197369/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senior/) [Superficiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficiality/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) ## Related quotes > [I try to do everything as soon as possible, and not at the last moment. This ensures that, when I am overburdened with work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-try-to-do-everything-as-soon-as-possible-and-not-at-the-last-moment/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Pornography and obscenity...work by specialism and fragmentation. They deal with a figure without a ground - situations in which the human factor is suppressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/pornography-and-obscenity-work-by-specialism-and-fragmentation-they/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“First radio, then television, and now the World Wide Web have migrated entertainment’s public from the social community to the domestic sphere, where further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-brent-laytham/first-radio-then-television-and-now-the-world-wide-web-have-migrated/) [D. 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If we are not able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/an-insipid-voice-message-or-an-incongruent-emergence-from-the-other/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Writing is not destined to leave traces, but to erase, by traces, all traces, to disappear in the fragmentary space of writing more definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/writing-is-not-destined-to-leave-traces-but-to-erase-by-traces-all/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [Fragmentation is a big part of the problem. You have a city where trash is taken away from the curb every week, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/severn-cullis-suzuki/fragmentation-is-a-big-part-of-the-problem-you-have-a-city-where/) [Severn Cullis-Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/severn-cullis-suzuki/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [“An attempt to wrest from God the prerogatives of absolute freedom and infinity leads to the inversion of Pentecost and what is in effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-e-gunton/an-attempt-to-wrest-from-god-the-prerogatives-of-absolute-freedom-and/) [Colin E. 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Engagement is what managers do with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mintzberg/empowerment-is-what-managers-do-to-people-engagement-is-what-managers/) [Henry Mintzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mintzberg/) > [“A good part of the work of managing involves doing what specialists do, but in particular ways that make use of the manager’s special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mintzberg/a-good-part-of-the-work-of-managing-involves-doing-what-specialists/) [Henry Mintzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mintzberg/) > [Why does every generation have to think that he lives in the period with the greatest turbulence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mintzberg/why-does-every-generation-have-to-think-that-he-lives-in-the-period/) [Henry Mintzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mintzberg/) > [Management is a curious phenomenon. 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I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/this-is-going-to-take-a-while-i-m-a-fantasy-author-we-have-trouble/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If, in the very intense electric field in the neighbourhood of the cathode, the molecules of the gas are dissociated and are split up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/if-in-the-very-intense-electric-field-in-the-neighbourhood-of-the/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. 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