Im not a pilot, but fly constantly because of work related commitments and meetings. For years I ran the quality assurance and maintenance control divisions for anywhere between 14-52 aircraft and about 150-400 people. The problem with middle management is that you are often pulled from both directions. You have to be able to keep the bosses happy and keep your people happy at the same time to remain productive. Six Sigma, TQL, TQM and a dozen other tools have sprung up over the last ten years to classify managers. All it really boils down to is knowing your people and their individual jobs, sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty. I thought about becoming a corrections officer, a friend of mine says it's a very stressful job.