Start empowering your middle manager who is neither here nor there.

Middle managers are “storytellers” in organizations, according to an article by Emily Field, Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger in the Harvard Business Review (July-August 2023). Stop giving them low value work and start giving them important and difficult tasks and promote them.

Noted business writer, Simon Sinek says middle managers are a “weird mix.” He blames upper management for not providing leadership training for middle managers. This has left businesses with an abundance of middle managers but few leaders. Sinek says in companies that never take the middle manager’s role seriously, the middle manager should “be the leader you wish you had.”

Many frontline positions will get eliminated as artificial intelligence starts impacting the way we work. However, the role of the middle managers will be important because of their history managing frontline employees and institutional knowledge. Businesses that value middle managers can develop caring, trustworthy, inclusive teams and allow human resources to attract better talent.

If you are a middle manager, don’t lose heart. Be the leader you wish you had!