I grew up in a large family.
If you’ve ever been part of a big family, you know what that means. Differing personalities. Competing perspectives. Changing agendas, with each trying to prioritize their own. Dizzying schedules, especially around sports. Occasional chaos around the dinner table, if you can actually eat together.
And somewhere in the middle of it all… was the middle child, me.
Often, I found myself stepping into a role I didn’t fully understand at the time—I became a connector.
When tensions rose, I was often the one pulling people back together.
When arguments escalated, I worked to help each side feel heard.
When communication broke down, I helped translate what one person meant so the other could understand it.
In today’s organizations, there are people who fill this very same role – they are the middle managers. Middle managers are not the top leaders of the organization nor are they the operational workers or employees. They must lead in two directions, speaking two languages, one to the leaders of the organization and the other to the employees. Great middle managers are key to any successful organization.
The Reality Most Organizations Are Facing
Today’s workplace is facing new challenges. Communication may feel fractured at times, indeed with more remote workers. Employees feel a disconnect from leadership. Layoffs and new hires are almost constant. Engagement continues to slip. Employees and leaders feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and over-worked.
According to research from Gallup, in 2025 global employee engagement fell, costing the world economy US$438 billion in lost productivity. Gallup also reported that in 2024 manager engagement fell from 30% to 27%. This could point to a causation – when managers struggle, so do their teams.
And even when executive teams are setting direction, building strategies, and goals are clearly defined, teams are still struggling.
But here’s something to think about: According to Gallup research, middle managers account for a significant portion of the variance in employee engagement.
Not executives.
Not frontline employees.
Middle Managers – the ones who are leading up and leading down simultaneously.
Which raises an important question: If middle management has that much impact in an organization, why are we not investing in them like they matter?
The Middle Child Parallel
Middle managers sit in a position that is often underestimated. They are not setting the vision at the highest level, nor are they solely responsible for the execution at the front lines. They are the people in the middle.
And that is exactly where the power is.
They Are the Peacekeepers
Just like a middle child learns to navigate conflict between siblings, middle managers navigate tension across teams. They de-escalate issues before they become larger problems. They create space for productive conversations and help individuals feel heard and seen, even if they have a different perspective.
In many ways, they are the emotional regulators of the organization. Without them, small conflicts don’t stay small for long.
They Are the Translators
In a family, different people communicate in different ways. The same is true in organizations.
Executives speak in terms of vision, strategy, and outcomes.
Employees experience the day-to-day reality of workloads, expectations, and pressure.
Middle managers are fluent in both and can translate for both.
Middle managers are often the ones carrying that responsibility of helping all sides navigate important conversations, inspiring clarity and trust.
They Are the Stabilizers
When organizations go through change—and just about every organization is right now—stability becomes everything. Middle managers keep teams grounded, maintain focus when things are changing, and constantly try to promote morale during uncertain times.
In this way, they are not just managing tasks. They are managing energy, emotion, and momentum.
They Are Often the Most Overlooked
Here’s the truth most organizations don’t say out loud: Middle managers carry some of the heaviest pressure in the entire system.
They are accountable to leadership above them, responsible for the teams below them, and expected to deliver results in the middle of constant change.
And yet—they are often the least supported. As highlighted in the book entitled, “The Making of a Manager,” by Julie Zhuo, many managers are promoted for performance, not prepared for leadership. And according to HRD Connect, only 37% of middle managers get training when promoted, and 74% say they never get ongoing training after that.
We ask them to lead… without fully equipping them to do so. It’s a different hat in the middle.
What Happens When the Middle Breaks Down
When middle leadership is weak, unsupported, or overwhelmed, the effects are felt across the organization:
- Strategy gets lost in translation
- Employees disengage
- Silos begin to form
- Trust erodes
- Performance declines
Organizations don’t lose momentum overnight. They lose it when the middle begins to fade.
The Opportunity Many Leaders Are Missing
If you want to unlock performance across your organization, the answer is not just better strategy or better hiring at the top. It’s stronger connection. And that connection lives in your middle leaders.
Organizations that get this right do three things well:
1. They Develop Middle Managers as Leaders
Not just operators. Not just task managers. Leaders.
They invest in:
- Communication skills
- Conflict resolution
- Emotional intelligence
- Decision-making under pressure
2. They Create Real Feedback Loops
Not one-way communication, but true, authentic alignment:
- Upward feedback that informs leadership decisions
- Downward clarity that drives execution
- Cross-team collaboration that eliminates silos
3. They Build a Culture of Trust and Candor
As emphasized in the book, “Radical Candor,” by Kim Scott, strong relationships are built on the ability to challenge directly while caring personally. Middle managers are the ones who bring that to life—every day, in every conversation.
The Courtside Leadership Perspective
At Courtside Leadership, we believe great teams are not built from the top down. They are built through connection across every level. And middle leaders are the ones who foster that connection and make it real and authentic.
They are:
- The glue
- The translators
- The stabilizers
- The heartbeat of team performance
When middle managers are equipped, supported, and empowered, teams don’t just function. They perform. And in doing so they facilitate the performance of others as well. The team is stronger because of middle management.
Coming Full Circle
Looking back, I didn’t realize what I was learning as a middle child. I wasn’t trying to lead. I was just trying to help people understand each other.
But that’s where leadership often begins.
Not at the top.
Not with authority.
But in the middle. This is where connection happens, where trust is built, and where teams either come together… or fall apart.
Final Thought
If you want stronger teams, don’t just invest in your top leaders. Invest in the ones in the middle. Because that’s where alignment turns into performance.
Leadership, Teamwork