The organization/employee spectrum is the quintessential expression of the squeeze in which lower- and mid-level managers often find themselves, caught as they are between their subordinates and their superiors.
They must always, of course, keep an eye on the interests of the organization that is paying their salary and on the goals of those above them who are more familiar with the bigger strategic picture.
Note
Tip
Ensuring that subordinates understand the organization's higher-level goals is a good way of aligning them with the organization's interests.
Your superiors will obviously be concerned if they see that you are sacrificing their goals and interests in order to ingratiate yourself with your team. At the same time, your employees will see you as a pushover, and they will take advantage of you, which will only make things worse for you with your superiors.
On the other hand, if your employees see that you are routinely throwing them under the bus in order to ingratiate yourself...