Middle Manager to Middle Leader
As I stared at my screen, dread settled in. How could this have happened? What did this mean for my research?
Throughout my doctoral program, I had sought to answer one question: “What leadership competencies do middle managers need to perform as middle leaders?”
The dilemma I faced that Sunday afternoon was that my initial research data revealed 87 unique leadership competencies. How would I make sense of it all? More importantly, how could a leader or organization make this practical?
Middle managers didn’t know what leadership skills were required of them.
Ultimately, I found a methodological solution that distilled the list to 19 competencies across five categories. But, as I did, a realization struck me: the sheer breadth of skills confirmed my problem statement: Middle managers didn’t know what leadership skills were required of them.
Despite outnumbering top executives nearly three to one and holding immense collective influence over organizational outcomes, middle managers were essentially guessing at their leadership skillset. Without a clear guide, their development was left to chance—resulting in untapped organizational potential.
My research hadn’t just identified a list of competencies; it exposed a critical gap. If organizations fail to develop middle leaders, they risk losing one of their most powerful assets.
Who Are Your Middle Leaders?
Middle managers exist at all levels between front-line supervisors and top executives. A middle leader is a middle manager who demonstrates leadership competencies that influence their teams’ thinking, behavior, and performance.
As recounted by both scholarly research and countless internet memes, middle managers’ position in the organizational hierarchy is often fraught with ambiguity, misunderstanding, and confusion. However, it is precisely their position in the middle of the hierarchy that defines their significance.
Middle managers serve as conduits of communication...
Middle managers serve as conduits of communication, understanding, and change – cascading and translating information in all directions. They drive daily business results while balancing strategic vision. They influence senior leadership to align strategy with reality while removing operational friction for their teams. In short, nearly all organizational outcomes rise and fall on the leadership effectiveness of middle managers.
Middle Leadership Competencies
Effective middle leadership requires development across a broad spectrum of skills aligning with the diverse responsibilities of middle managers. While my research identified 19 competencies across five categories, I have added to the model based on practical experience developing middle leaders across a range of industries:
- People – Communication, coaching and developing others, translating and sensemaking, teambuilding, building trust, listening, influencing others, understanding people, and emotional intelligence
- Managerial – Executing work, performance management, giving feedback and recognition, delegating and prioritizing, problem-solving and clearing roadblocks, and job-specific skills
- Strategy – Strategic thinking and planning, goal setting, and decision making
- Character – Empathy, humility, adaptability, and resilience
- Followership – Critical thinking, active engagement, and influencing up
When building a middle leadership competency model, organizations should select five to eight competencies on which to focus, ensuring that all five categories are addressed.
Developing Middle Managers Into Middle Leaders
Effective middle leadership development should:
- Increase Role Clarity – Organizations that acknowledge and define the complexity of middle managers’ role generate clarity that strengthens middle managers’ leadership foundation.
- Build Enabling Relationships – Middle managers with supportive senior leaders – who provide strategic clarity, trust, and autonomy – are more effective. Likewise, strong peer networks help middle managers navigate organizational complexity and apply leadership competencies more effectively. A middle leadership development program must include mechanisms for strengthening these key relationships.
- Implement a Middle Leadership Competency Model – Learning teams with leadership development expertise should define and implement a competency framework based on the five middle leadership categories. Aligning leadership development with the breadth and complexity of the middle manager role increases effectiveness, organizational performance, and competitive advantage.
By intentionally cultivating middle leadership, organizations activate untapped potential, driving performance improvement across all levels.
Seeking Him: Christian Leaders are Followers First
A defining trait of middle leadership is the simultaneous co-enactment of followership and leadership. Similarly, Christian leaders seek Christ and, from a place of followership, lead others to seek him. Paul emphasized this in his letter to the Corinthians: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ," (1 Cor. 11:1.)
Paul’s relationship with Timothy exemplifies this principle. In Second Timothy, Paul recounted his faithfulness to Christ through suffering (2 Tim. 3:10-11) and urged Timothy to remain faithful to God’s Word while leading others (2 Tim. 3:15-17).
As Christ-followers first and leaders second, Christian leaders reflect the same dual role inherent in middle leadership – simultaneously following and leading in service to others.
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Dr. Julie Armstrong is Director of Operations and EOS Integrator at Moody Global Media, as well as Founder and Principal Consultant for 3H Leadership Consulting, LLC, helping organizations develop the “head, heart, and hands” to lead people well.
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Dr. Julie Armstrong will be teaching a workshop at The Outcomes Conference 2025 entitled “Developing Middle Leaders.” Join us April 29 – May 1, 2025, in Dallas: www.outcomesconference.org.
