This sentence shows up in every operations-heavy organization. Airlines. Travel. Construction. Healthcare. Government. Technology.
It’s not a complaint about effort. It’s a signal that something deeper is broken.
Chasing updates is invisible work
Nobody puts “chase updates” on a job description. But it quietly becomes the full-time job of middle managers.
Following up. Checking status. Reconfirming facts. Translating between teams. Forwarding screenshots. Summarizing calls. Escalating issues that should have moved automatically.
This work feels necessary, but it produces no durable progress.
Why the work shifts from fixing to coordinating
When data, ownership, and decisions are split across systems, the system stops moving on its own. People have to push it forward manually.
The moment a problem crosses team boundaries, execution turns into coordination.
Instead of solving the issue, managers spend their time answering:
- What’s the latest status?
- Who owns the next step?
- Has this been approved?
- Did anyone notify leadership?
- Are we sure this is still accurate?
The middle-manager trap
Middle managers are accountable for outcomes, but they don’t own the tools.
They’re expected to keep things moving without control over systems, workflows, or escalation paths. So they compensate by chasing.
“I’m accountable for keeping things moving, but I don’t own any of the tools.”
Why escalation feels slower than the problem
Escalation is often a conversation instead of a mechanism.
Someone notices a risk. Someone validates it. Someone screenshots it. Someone pings leadership. Leadership asks for a meeting.
By the time a decision lands, the situation has changed.
Coordination is stealing time from real work
Every hour spent chasing updates is an hour not spent fixing root causes.
This is why teams feel busy while progress feels slow.
This gap between effort and progress is the defining symptom of coordination-heavy systems.
What to fix first
- Create one shared source of truth for active issues.
- Attach a next action and owner to every update.
- Capture decisions where the work happens.
- Turn escalation into a system behavior, not a meeting.
If this sounds familiar, these related posts expand the picture: AI Adoption, Outreach Cost, CRM Alternatives, and Business Momentum System (BMS).
FAQ
Why do managers spend so much time chasing updates?
Because systems don’t carry context, ownership, and decisions forward. People become the glue.
Is this a communication problem?
No. It’s an execution problem. Meetings and messages fill the gap when systems can’t move work end-to-end.
What is a Business Momentum System (BMS)?
A Business Momentum System is designed to keep work moving. It sits before your CRM and before reporting tools, focusing on next actions, handoffs, and follow-through.
Where does TODD fit?
TODD is our Business Momentum System. It reduces coordination work by turning next actions into system behavior instead of manual follow-up.
Do we have to replace our existing tools?
No. Most teams keep their core systems and add a momentum layer that reduces the need for chasing updates.
Tyrone Showers