The most underestimated role in a company: the middle manager
Companies talk endlessly about leadership at the top.
Vision, strategy, C-level alignment, culture.
But most of what truly shapes a company does not happen in the boardroom.
It happens in the middle.
Middle managers are the backbone of an organisation.
They hold the operational heartbeat, the cultural tone and the execution quality.
And yet, they are the most overlooked, underdeveloped and underinformed group inside most companies.
People assume that because someone does not lead a team, they are not a leader.
This is a mistake.
Leadership is not a job title. It is influence, clarity and ownership.
The people in the middle, with or without direct reports, are the ones who make or break how a company actually works.
And still, they are often the least trusted with real information.
There is an unspoken fear inside many organisations.
A fear that if middle managers know too much about strategy, financial reality or internal challenges, they will panic, disengage or spread misalignment.
The truth is the opposite.
When you hide information from the people who run the day to day, you weaken the very system you rely on.
Information does not destabilise companies.
Silence does.
Below are the three biggest challenges middle managers face today and how we should be addressing them differently.
1. They are held accountable without being truly empowered
Middle managers are often responsible for execution but have zero influence on decisions.
They carry the weight of results without access to the reasoning behind strategic choices.
This creates frustration, disengagement and, over time, quiet resistance.
How to address it differently:
Bring them into the briefing, not just the rollout.
Share context early.
Let them question decisions.
Give them access to the why so they can deliver the how with confidence and ownership.
2. They are expected to uphold culture without having the tools to shape it
Founders and CEOs define values on paper.
Middle managers live those values in reality.
If they do not understand how culture translates into behaviours, decision making and priorities, culture collapses in the middle before it ever reaches the teams.
How to address it differently:
Teach them what culture looks like in practice.
Define behaviours, not slogans.
Explain how decisions are made and how trade-offs are chosen.
Let them carry culture with clarity, not guesswork.
3. They carry the emotional load of both sides
Middle managers absorb pressure from the top and frustration from the bottom.
They are the shock absorbers of any organisation.
And without preparation, tools and mentorship, this turns into burnout disguised as “resilience”.
How to address it differently:
Invest in leadership skills early. Communication. Boundaries. Prioritisation. Emotional intelligence.
These are not senior skills, they are survival skills.
The earlier companies invest in them, the stronger the entire organisation becomes.
Why this matters for C-levels
When I work with founders and C-level leaders, one of the first things I help them see is this:
If your middle is weak, your company cannot scale.
You can have clear strategy, strong vision and ambitious goals.
But if the people who run the machine do not have clarity, context, trust and leadership skills, everything slows down and quality drops.
Bringing middle managers closer to strategy is not a risk.
It is an accelerator.
Equipping them with real leadership tools is not optional.
It is the foundation of execution excellence.
And giving them space to influence decisions does not make the organisation heavier.
It makes it smarter, faster and more resilient.
Companies that grow sustainably are not carried by heroic founders.
They are carried by strong middles.
The question every leader should ask is simple.
Are your middle managers just executing, or are they truly empowered to lead?
